Brewin Flames Posted March 22, 2023 Author Share Posted March 22, 2023 Game # 70 Bos 2 Sens 1 Ullmark's 40 saves carries Bruins past Senators, 2-1 0:49 Jake DeBrusk scores goal off great assist by Brad Marchand Jake DeBrusk scores goal off great assist by Brad Marchand ByAP Updated: 6 hours ago BOSTON -- — Linus Ullmark made 40 saves, Jake DeBrusk had the go-ahead goal and the NHL-best Boston Bruins continued their pursuit of the league’s record for regular-season victories with a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. “I thought he was outstanding and he needed to be," Boston coach Jim Montgomery said of Ullmark. “Unfortunately we gave up a lot of good looks, a lot of odd-man rushes because of our puck management and he bailed us out like he has all year.” David Krejci added a power-play goal for Boston, which won its fourth straight. Dylan Gambrell scored for the Senators and Mads Sogaard made 33 stops. “We had a shooters' mentality for two periods,” Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "The third period, they've won 54 games now, they're not going to give you an odd-man rush, they're not going to give you anything. You're going to have to earn it." The Bruins posted their 54th win and with 12 games left are on pace to break the mark of 62, set by the Detroit Red Wings in 1995-96 and matched by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018-19. Chasing the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot, Ottawa has lost six of seven following a season-high, five-game winning streak. Coming off a 3-2 road trip where they won the last three games by a combined score of 15-2 that included two shutouts by backup Jeremy Swayman, the Bruins converted on a two-man, power-play advantage to tie the game at 1 midway into the opening period when Krejci poked in a rebound from the edge of the crease. DeBrusk completed a nifty play with Brad Marchand when he collected a pass cutting down the slot at full speed, shifted and tucked a rebound past Sogaard at 15:52 of the first period for his 23rd goal. “It was ‘all world.’ I saw him and he fed it through a lot of guys for a breakaway,” DeBrusk said of the pass. “It was one of those passes where I didn't know what to do. I was going to point at him (after) but I was going too fast.” Gambrell’s wraparound score gave Ottawa a 1-0 edge. “I thought I played a good game today,” Sogaard said. “I just battled and stayed with it the entire way. ... These ones are tough because we were so close.” HEAVY WORKLOAD Ullmark stopped 22 shots in the second period with at least a dozen of them high-quality chances. During an Ottawa PP, he jumped from a crouch to make a right-shoulder stop on Alex DeBrincat’s bid from in close. “We talked about it,” defenseman Hampus Lindholm said of the second period. “We know we're a good team in the third and wanted to tighten it up for him. ... They got a lot of chances that were our own fault in the second.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 24, 2023 Author Share Posted March 24, 2023 Game # 71 Bos 4 Habs 2 Pastrnak gets 49th goal, Bruins top Montreal, 5th win in row 0:47 Tyler Bertuzzi nets goal vs. Canadiens Tyler Bertuzzi nets goal vs. Canadiens ByAP Updated: 6 hours ago BOSTON -- — David Pastrnak scored his 49th goal, Tyler Bertuzzi had a goal and an assist and the Boston Bruins overcame a sluggish performance to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory. Jake DeBrusk scored on a breakaway, David Krejci put home on a rebound midway through the third period and Jeremy Swayman stopped 29 shots for the Bruins, who managed 21 shots and went 0 for 5 on the power play. While denied a chance to clinch the Atlantic Division when Toronto beat Florida, Boston to 55-11-5 and remained on pace to break the league record of 62 wins in a season. “I don't think we skated very well, but it's understandable at times,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said, referencing a busy end-of-season schedule. “But you've got to give credit to those guys. We find a way to win hockey games.” Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach each scored power-play goals against Boston's No. 1 penalty kill, Suzuki added an assist and Jake Allen made 17 saves in Montreal's 10th loss in 12 games. The 932nd meeting between the Original Six rivals and their only matchup in Boston this season was chippy. The Bruins were upset early with Rem Pitlick's hit on Patrice Bergeron, leading Brad Marchand to take down Pitlick. “You don't hit our captain like that. It was a three-second late hit,” Montgomery said. “I love the fact that Marchand made the guy pay a price.” There were 31 penalty minutes in the first period, including a game misconduct against the Bruins' A.J. Greer after his crosscheck to the face of Mike Hoffman as they awaited a face-off. “A pretty dirty play," Suzuki said. The Canadiens got within 2-1 on the ensuing power play on Suzuki's one-timer. It was the first goal allowed by Swayman after consecutive shutouts. But Swayman made two tremendous saves to start the second period before Pastrnak buried a shot from the low slot to give him a career-high in goals. Allen later robbed Pastrnak in his bid to get No. 50. Krejci's backhander at 12:16 gave Boston a cushion. Pastrnak earned the secondary assist to give him 95 points. “These games against Montreal never get old,” Pastrnak said. Boston took the lead 4:34 in when Bertuzzi earned his first goal since being acquired from Detroit on March 2. And it was an odd one. His feed from behind the net bounced off Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson's stick, then banked in off the back of Allen's leg. DeBrusk raced past a colliding Joel Edmundson and David Savard and scored seconds after a Montreal power play expired to make it 2-0 at 13:38. But the Canadiens, last in the Atlantic, rallied despite more injury issues. While Montreal welcomed back Jake Evans (knee) after a 28-game absence, it played without Josh Anderson, who appeared to injure his right ankle in the final minute of Tuesday’s win over Tampa Bay. “I thought we were the better team for most of the night,” Suzuki said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 26, 2023 Author Share Posted March 26, 2023 Game # 72 Bos 2 Bolts 1 NHL-best Bruins clinch Atlantic with 2-1 win over Tampa Bay 0:58 Garnet Hathaway bats in Bruins' go-ahead goal Garnet Hathaway bats the puck in to put the Bruins up for good and clinch the Atlantic Division. ByAP Updated: 11 hours ago BOSTON -- — The Boston Bruins are winning so much that clinching their division didn't merit any celebration. Captain Patrice Bergeron didn't even realize it had happened. Garnet Hathaway scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and the NHL-best Boston Bruins wrapped up first place in the Atlantic Division with their sixth straight victory, 2-1 over the Tampa Bay Lightning, on Saturday. The win was the Bruins’ 56th and moves them one behind the club record set in 1970-71. It also keeps them on pace to set the NHL record for victories in a regular season with 10 games left. The Detroit Red Wings won 62 in 1995-96 and Tampa Bay matched it in their final regular-season game (at TD Garden in Boston) in 2018-19. “I forgot because things were happening so quickly,” Bruins first-year coach Jim Montgomery said when asked what he told his team about winning the division. “We didn't actually talk about the Atlantic Division, but its a tremendous feat with 10 games left.” Bergeron added a power-play goal for the Bruins and Linus Ullmark made 26 saves, raising his record to 36-5-1. “Last game, you mean?” Bergeron said when asked about winning the division. Informed it had happened Saturday, he said: "Oh really." Victor Hedman had a shorthanded score for the Lightning and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 32 shots. Tampa Bay has lost four straight. “I thought we played physical. I thought we played the way we want to play,” Hedman said. “That's kind of the mindset we went in with and talked (about) before the game. I'm proud of the guys the way we battled today.” Hathaway, positioned in front of the net, batted the rebound of Matt Grzelcyk’s shot from the left point out of the air and into the net before Vasilevskiy could control it with 2:28 left in the period. Ullmark stopped Anthony Cirelli’s backhander on a partial breakaway with about seven minutes left. With Lightning winger Pat Maroon in the penalty box with an unsportsmanlike conduct for something he did on the bench, Bergeron was credited with his 27th goal when Brad Marchand’s pass hit his skate before caroming into the net off Hedman’s skate 6:46 into the opening period. Hedman beat Ullmark with a slap shot from the top of the left circle for his goal just under three minutes later. EARLY DUSTUPS Maroon and Hathaway had to be separated before the opening puck drop. It didn’t matter, they still dropped their gloves just nine seconds into the game. The scrum started when Tampa Bay center Ross Colton, who got a double minor for roughing, went after Boston center Jakub Lauko. Asked if he thought the game would be physical at the start, Tampa Bay's coach Jon Cooper said: “I did,” before ending his brief postgame news conference. WELL DONE The Bruins killed a two-man, power-play advantage midway into the second, holding the Lightning to one shot on goal — and then just one shot before the second penalty expired. Tampa Bay was shorthanded five times in the opening period, holding the Bruins to one goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 27, 2023 Author Share Posted March 27, 2023 Game # 73 Bos 4 Canes 3 SO Pastrnak scores twice, Bruins top Hurricanes 4-3 in shootout 0:50 Bruins prevail over Hurricanes for SO win Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk score in the shootout period for the Bruins in a 4-3 win over the Hurricanes. ByAP Updated: 8 hours ago RALEIGH, N.C. -- — David Pastrnak’s milestone performance with the Boston Bruins came with additional responsibility. Minus a couple of key players, Pastrnak moved to the forefront and eclipsed the 50-goal mark by scoring twice and the Bruins won their seventh game in a row by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in a shootout Sunday. Forwards Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand didn’t make the trip with the NHL-leading Bruins, so Pastrnak boosted his contributions. “I’ve been learning from those guys,” Pastrnak said. “You recognize when they’re not here that you have to take a step forward.” Pastrnak posted the 12th 50-goal season in Bruins history. “With Bergeron and Marchand back at home, you can see his leadership skills really come out,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “I think he put the team on his back and played the right way.” Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk scored in the shootout in a matchup of Eastern Conference division leaders. Jakub Lauko also scored for the Bruins, who earned their 57th victory and are five wins shy of matching the all-time NHL record with nine regular-season games to play. Charlie McAvoy had two assists and Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves. “We’ve had a lot of character wins in a lot of different fashions,” Montgomery said. Boston tied the franchise record for wins in a season. That’s special in Montgomery’s opinion. “Especially when you think about all the great Bruins teams,” he said. Jack Drury, Brady Skjei and Sebastian Aho scored for the Hurricanes, who won three of their previous four games. Brett Pesce had two assists and Frederik Andersen stopped 35 shots. Carolina wiped out a two-goal deficit to secure a team point. “It wasn’t our best game, but I thought the third period we certainly came on,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It’s one of those games where you say it’s probably a good point to get considering how it was looking.” Pastrnak’s 50th goal of the season came 4:43 into the game. He received a pass from McAvoy and skated half the length of the ice on a breakaway, though lost full control of the puck and still beat Andersen. Pastrnak was on track for 50 goals in March 2020, but he ended up with 48 when the COVID-19 pandemic caused an early end to the regular season. “You never know what can happen,” Pastrnak said. Drury, set up in the slot, scored his second goal of the season off a pass from Jalen Chatfield at 7:44 of the second. Just 1:28 later, Pastrnak’s second goal came on a power play when he blasted a shot from the left side just inside the post. Lauko’s fourth goal extended the lead at 11:46 of the second. Carolina pulled even at 3-3 when Skjei and Aho scored in the first four minutes of the third period. “We knew that was coming,” Montgomery said. “There’s no need to panic. We knew they were going to come with a push.” CHECK THE LINEUPS Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm was scratched along with Bergeron and Marchand with what Montgomery referred to as nagging injuries. The trio has accounted for 57 goals this season. “It shows the depth that we have,” Swayman said. “I think all of us thrive on the energy in a building like this.” Carolina’s only significant lineup adjustment came with center Paul Stastny in the lineup in place of Jesse Puljuharvi, who had played in eight straight games since making his debut with the Hurricanes. Puljuharvi arrived in a trade from Edmonton in late February. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 Game # 74 Bos 1 Preds 2 Saros's 35 saves carries Predators past Bruins, 2-1 0:33 Updated: 4 hours ago BOSTON -- — Juuse Saros stopped 35 shots, Cody Glass scored late in the second period and the Nashville Predators beat NHL-best Boston 2-1 on Tuesday night, halting the Bruins’ seven-game winning streak. Chasing the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot, the Predators won for just the third time in eight games. Cole Smith added an empty-netter late in the third. “There's a lot of belief in this room,” Glass said of the team's playoff chances. “Just beating that first-place team gives you that much more belief.” Boston, which matched its franchise record of 1970-71 with its 57th victory on Sunday, is five away from tying the league record of victories in a regular season with eight games left. Boston’s David Pastrnak scored his 52nd with less than a second left in the game. The Detroit Red Wings set the mark of 62 wins in 1995-96 and Tampa Bay matched it in 2018-19. The Bruins could have earned the President's Trophy with a victory and Carolina losing, which the Hurricanes did against Tampa Bay. “If we play the way that we have all year, then things will take care of itself,” Boston winger Brad Marchand said. Linus Ullmark made 21 saves for Boston, which suffered only its fourth regulation loss at home (30-4-3). “Tonight was one of those nights where we kind of did it to ourselves,” Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron said. There were very few scoring chances in the opening two periods before Glass collected the rebound of a blocked shot in the slot, spun and fired a wrister past Ullmark with 1:49 left in the period. Saros made a body save on Hampus Lindholm’s backhand bid from just outside the crease with just under 13 minutes left in regulation and another on David Krejci with about six minutes left. The Bruins outshot the Predators 16-4 in the final period. SUPPORT Both the Predators and Bruins wore helmet stickers to show support for The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, after a shooting there Monday claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adult staffers. The Bruins also held a moment of silence before the national anthem with the PA announcer saying: “The Bruins stand alongside the Nashville Predators in solidarity against gun violence and its support of the Nashville community.” "We felt like we needed to do our job the best we could and sacrifice and leave it all out there and maybe try to bring an inspiration to the city of Nashville," said Predators defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who didn't fly with the team Monday and stayed with his family after one of his three daughters was in lockdown at a nearby school. REST VS. RUST Asked after the morning skate how the Bruins planned to rest players before the playoffs, coach Jim Montgomery said: “We do map it out. We talk to sports science. Obviously, (GM Don Sweeney) and I talk about it first. … We’re playing so many games right now players are not going to get rusty even if they only play two games a week.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 31, 2023 Author Share Posted March 31, 2023 Game # 75 Bos 2 CBJ 1 OT Bruins wrap up Presidents' Trophy with win over Blue Jackets 0:54 Bruins clinch Presidents' Trophy with OT win vs. Blue Jackets David Pastrnak nets his 53rd goal in overtime and the Bruins defeat the Blue Jackets 2-1 to clinch the Presidents' Trophy. ByAP Updated: 7 hours ago BOSTON -- — David Pastrnak scored his 53rd goal of the season 41 seconds into overtime and the Boston Bruins wrapped up the Presidents’ Trophy with their franchise-record 58th victory, 2-1 over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night. Hampus Lindholm sent a pass to Pastrnak for the backhand winner. The Presidents’ Trophy goes to the NHL regular-season points leader. Boston broke a tie with the 1970-71 team for the franchise victory mark and moved four away from tying the NHL record of 62 set by Detroit in 1995-96 and matched by Tampa Bay in 2018-19. “It's been a magical season so far," Bruins' first-year coach Jim Montgomery said. “We know the hardest part is ahead of us and we're looking forward to that grind.” Tyler Bertuzzi had a tying power-play goal in the second period and Linus Ullmark made 25 saves to help the Bruins win for the eighth time in nine games. “It's been great and obviously the guys are awesome,” said Bertuzzi, picked up at the trade deadline. “Winning is fun. We come to the rink everyday and we have one goal in mind and we keep pushing towards it.” Jack Roslovic scored for Columbus and Michael Hutchinson stopped 29 shots. The Blue Jackets have lost six of eight. “Of course you're proud,” Boston captain Patrice Bergeron said. “A lot of games and a lot of hard work. I'm proud of the way we've done it, sticking to our process and growing as a team.” Boston tied it when Bertuzzi redirected Pavel Zacha’s pass between Hutchinson’s pads. Roslovic tipped Liam Foudy’s pass just past Ullmark’s outstretched left skate at 8:08 of the first. “That was a battle, obviously a tight game. A good team there and we battled right to the end,” Columbus center Boone Jenner said. “It's too bad we we didn't get rewarded with the other (point), but loved the compete and the fight in us tonight.” ONE PUNCH Boston’s Trent Frederic sent Columbus’ Lane Pederson to the ice on the first punch when the pair squared off midway into the second. Game notes Bruins F Jakub Lauko returned to the lineup after missing the last game with an upper-body injury. He also had his first career fight, squaring off against defenseman Billy Sweezey. … Lane Pederson was given a major for high-sticking Bergeron, but it was reduced to a minor following a review. … Roslovic lost his balance and went into the boards at nearly full speed, appearing to hit his head before he got up and skated slowly to the bench. … Columbus killed a double minor for high-sticking by Kirill Marchenko in the second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 2, 2023 Author Share Posted April 2, 2023 Game # 76 Bos 4 Pens 3 Pastrnak's 14th career hat trick lifts Bruins by Pens, 4-3 0:46 David Pastrnak's hat trick propels Bruins past Penguins David Pastrnak is up to 56 goals after notching a hat trick against the Penguins. ByAP Updated: 10 hours ago PITTSBURGH -- — The Boston Bruins have been playing hockey for nearly a century. Never, however, quite like this. David Pastrnak finished off his 14th career hat trick with a blast by Tristan Jarry with 2:26 remaining to lift the Bruins to a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. Boston improved to 59-12-5 with the win and is now within three games of the NHL’s all-time single-season victory mark of 62 set by Detroit in 1996 and tied by Tampa Bay in 2019. Boston has six games remaining. The Bruins, which entered the NHL in 1924, also set a franchise record for most points in a season, moving past the 121 points produced by the 1970-71 team. “It’s a great accomplishment, but it’s hard when you’re right in the moment to embrace it, I guess maybe, enjoy it,” first-year Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. "I think after the season is over, we’ll be able to sit back. It’s historical, what we’re doing. It’s a pleasure to coach these guys.” Especially when Pastrnak is on a heater. The veteran forward has 10 goals in his last eight games and 56 on the season, the fifth-highest single-season total in franchise history. His first goal of the game, a deflection from in front, gave him 100 points for the first time in his nine-year career. “I’ve said many times, I’d probably take 100 (points) over 50 goals,” Pastrnak said. This year, Pastrnak didn't have to choose. The Bruins won for the ninth time in 10 games even with captain Patrice Bergeron getting the day off by turning aside all six Pittsburgh power plays — including a 45-second two-man advantage in the second period — and responding every time the Penguins drew even. “We’ve been doing that all year, finding ways to win games,” said defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who scored his seventh goal of the season in the first period. "I feel like our leadership and our overall team composure has been good for us. Never too high, never too low.” Bryan Rust scored twice for Pittsburgh, his first multigoal game since Feb. 1, 2022, against Washington. Jake Guentzel's 35th of the season with 7:30 left in regulation tied the game. Jarry stopped 31 shots but couldn't get a handle Pastrnak's one-timer from the slot in the final minutes. “We got better as the game went on,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "I think that we had our chances to get the lead and obviously special teams are a big part of today. But if the power play gets one, it’s the difference in the game. They’re a good team and that’s a fine line.” The Bruins wrapped up the franchise's fourth Presidents Trophy with a victory over Columbus on Thursday and aren't shying away from a shot at putting together the greatest regular season in NHL history. Still, with home ice throughout the playoffs assured, Montgomery gave Bergeron a chance to rest to deal what Montgomery called nagging injuries. No matter. The machine rolled on as Boston jumped on Pittsburgh's mistakes. The Bruins went 2 for 3 on the power play while the Penguins struggled to generate much of anything even when they had the man advantage. Boston's Jeremy Swayman finished with 21 saves to win his fifth straight start. “We’ve got to find a way to get over it,” Sullivan said. “It’s a tough way to lose tonight. A tough way to lose. And that stings when the games have so much meaning like they do this time of year.” Pittsburgh rallied from a one-goal deficit three times, the last on Guentzel's shot from the slot with 7:30 to play. Yet a chance to earn at least a point in the standings by pushing the game to overtime vanished when Pastrnak's second hat trick of the season moved him into a tie with Cam Neely for second on the franchise's all-time hat trick list behind only Phil Esposito's 26. “Great players in this league, they want to be out there in big moments,” Montgomery said of Pastrnak. “He wants to be out there, he wants to be the guy with the puck on his stick.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 3, 2023 Author Share Posted April 3, 2023 Game # 77 Bos 4 Blues 3 SO Coyle SO goal helps Boston beat St. Louis 4-3 for 60th win 0:33 Bruins win in shootout for 60th win of the season The Bruins continue their history-making run with their 60th win of the regular season via shootout against the Blues. ByAP Updated: 8 hours ago ST. LOUIS -- — Charlie Coyle scored the game-winning shootout goal as the Boston Bruins recovered from blowing a 3-0 lead to beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3 for its 60th win of the season. “It is special," Bruins center Brad Marchand said about reaching 60 wins. "At the end of the day, I think we’ve done a really good job at kind of staying in the moment. But when the year is over, and I guess the careers are all over and we kind of look back, it’s pretty special to be part of a group like this and to break records. So it is something that we try not to get caught up in.” Linus Ullmark made 35 saves and stopped all three St. Louis shootout attempts to lead Boston to its third straight win. “We wind up on top because of our great goaltender,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “He was fantastic tonight. And as soon as we scored, Charlie scored, I’m like, you know what, he's not letting one in. You could just see it through his cage.” Jake DeBrusk, Tyler Bertuzzi and Oskar Steen all scored in regulation for Boston. Jordan Kyrou scored a pair of goals, and Torey Krug also scored for St. Louis. “It was an exciting game, back-and-forth game,” Kyrou said. “It felt like a playoff game, so it’s all good.” Jordan Binnington made 28 saves for St. Louis which lost its second straight game and was officially eliminated from the postseason for the first time since 2018. “It’s very disappointing," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "This organization and what’s expected of everybody, we’re not very happy for sure.” Dmitry Orlov appeared to have scored the game-winner 2:24 into overtime, but after a quick review the goal was overturned as David Pastrnak was off-side entering the St. Louis zone. Kyrou scored his second goal of the game and team-leading 36th of the season with 25 seconds remaining in regulation after Binnington was pulled for an extra attacker to tie the game 3-all. “We made some mistakes that we can’t make,” Montgomery said. “So it’s good learning. You’re still going to get mentally fatigued in the playoffs, and we can’t make the mistakes we made and give them odd man rushes or really good looks and ended up in the back of our net.” Krug buried a rebound from Brandon Saad past Ullmark for his seventh goal of the season 9:47 into the third period to cut the Boston lead to 3-2. Kyrou scored his first goal of the game with nine seconds remaining in the second period. Bertuzzi scored his seventh goal of the season on a power play 7:18 into the second period and Steen added his first goal since Jan. 22, 2002, 44 seconds later to expand Boston’s lead to 3-0. DeBrusk scored his 25th goal of the season when he tapped in his own rebound past Binnington 5:51 into the first period to give Boston an early 1-0 lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 7, 2023 Author Share Posted April 7, 2023 Game # 78 Bos 2 TO 1 OT David Pastrnak scores in OT, Bruins beat Maple Leafs 2-1 1:04 David Pastrnak wins it for Bruins in OT David Pastrnak's overtime winner gives Boston its 61st win of the regular season. ByAP Updated: 5 hours ago BOSTON -- — David Pastrnak scored his 57th goal of the season at 2:30 of overtime to give the history-chasing Boston Bruins a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night. Pastrnak blasted a shot from inside the left circle as the Bruins notched their 61st victory — one off the NHL season record set by Detroit in 1995-96 and matched by Tampa Bay in 2018-19. “Got it by the defense and it ended up going into the net,” said Pastrnak, who still took the ice despite battling a stomach virus. “The guys did an amazing job and helped motivate me, too. I give thanks to them.” “I can’t give him enough credit for how he willed himself to help us win this hockey game tonight,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves for Boston, winners of four straight, and Charlie Coyle also scored. The Bruins are now 61-12-5 – good for 127 points with four games remaining in the regular season. The 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens hold the regular-season record with 132 points “That’s why this city is so special to play in front of. It was good preparation (in relation to the upcoming Stanley Cup playoffs),” said Swayman. Ilya Samsonov made 31 saves for Toronto, which led 1-0 heading into the third period on Sam Lafferty’s second-period goal. “I thought our guys played incredibly hard. It took a bit to adjust to the opponent, but that’s a big point for us,” said Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe. After outshooting Toronto, 11-7, in a scoreless first period, Boston saw the visitors break through with the first goal with 9:26 left in the second. A turnover near center ice resulted in Maple Leafs forward Zach Aston-Reese firing a shot from just inside the blue line. Lafferty beat Swayman for his 12th goal of the season. Boston got the equalizer with 8:25 remaining in regulation. Brandon Carlo kept the possession alive in the Toronto zone before getting a pass under duress to Coyle, who beat Samsonov for his 14th of the campaign. “I had a bunch of room to work with and that gave me time,” Coyle said. “Lucky that it found a way in.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 9, 2023 Author Share Posted April 9, 2023 Game # 79 Bos 2 Devils 1 Bruins beat Devils 2-1, match NHL record with 62nd win 1:20 Patrice Bergeron: Reaching 62 wins is special Captain Patrice Bergeron reflects on the Bruins' 62-win milestone and how they're approaching their final three games. ByAP Updated: 4 hours ago BOSTON -- — Now that they are on the verge of the NHL wins record, the Boston Bruins aren't afraid to say they're going for it. “I think it's an incredible accomplishment,” forward Taylor Hall said Saturday night after the Bruins tied an NHL record with their 62nd victory of the season. “And it's OK to say that.” Pavel Zacha scored twice in the the first five minutes, and the Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins held on to beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 for their fifth straight victory and their 12th in 13 tries. Boston has three games left to try to top the record for regular-season wins set by the 1995-96 Red Wings and matched by the 2018-19 Lightning. Neither of those teams went on to win the Stanley Cup, and the Bruins insist that that remains their ultimate goal. But coach Jim Montgomery also said that trying to win their remaining games can help them stay sharp for what they hope will be a long postseason run. “Anytime you’re talking about putting your team’s name — and putting our ‘Spoked B’ — in the history books of the most wins ever in a regular season, it’s special,” he said. “Our regular season has been great, but we need to win our last game of the season. And that’s what we’re building towards." The Bruins have already clinched their third Presidents’ Trophy since 2014, and with it the No. 1 seed in the postseason. They also have 129 points and a chance at the record of 132 set by the 1976-77 Canadiens, who played an 80-game season and didn’t earn points for overtime or shootout wins. Their first chance at the wins record is at Philadelphia on Sunday before they return home to play Washington on Tuesday and then in Montreal on Thursday. “You’ve got to recharge, reload for tomorrow’s game as well. Because there’s no freebies,” said Linus Ullmark, who stopped 29 shots. “And as happy as we are right now with with this, we can pat ourselves a little bit on the shoulder. But there’s a new day tomorrow.” Jesper Bratt scored and Mackenzie Blackwood made 38 saves for the Devils, who remain one point behind Carolina and two ahead of the Rangers in the race for the Metropolitan Division title. Jack Hughes assisted on the goal, giving him 96 points for the season to tie Patrik Eliáš' franchise record. The Devils picked up a penalty about a minute in when Ryan Graves got called for upending Brad Marchand in pursuit of a loose puck heading toward the net. Graves didn’t think much of the call, and tried to get to Marchand to let him know it, but was held back by the official. A minute into the power play, Zacha tipped a shot from Hampus Lindholm into the net. With five minutes gone in the first, Zacha scored again, backhanding a rebound off Blackwood’s pads and into the net to make it 2-0. The Devils cut it to 2-1 a minute later when a turnover left Bratt free all alone on Ullmark. They had another one-on-none with the goalie in the second period, but Ullmark stooped two swipes by Hughes and a rebound attempt by Yegor Sharangovich. The Bruins killed a double-minor that straddled the break between the second and third periods. Blackwood stopped David Pastrnak on a second-period breakaway. Pastrnak also had a wraparound attempt on an empty net in the final seconds but it appears to have been cleared off the goal line by Nico Hischier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 10, 2023 Author Share Posted April 10, 2023 Game # 80 Bos 5 Flyers 3 Bruins break NHL single-season wins record by beating Flyers 1:12 Bruins set NHL wins record behind David Pastrnak's hat trick David Pastrnak nets a hat trick, as the Bruins move alone in the NHL record book with their 63rd win of the season. ByAP Updated: 8 hours ago PHILADELPHIA -- — David Pastrnak posed with the puck he used to score his 60th goal of the season in front of the whiteboard in the locker room that had “63 WINS” written in blue marker. It's not the Boston Bruins' biggest goal, but they now own the NHL single-season wins record thanks to their best player putting on a show. Pastrnak recorded a hat trick to reach 60 for the first time in his career, leading the Bruins to their 63rd victory of the season, 5-3 at the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday night. The win snapped a tie with the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning. “It’s been a lot of fun, I’m not going to lie,” Pastrnak said after his fourth four-point game this season. "It’s been enjoyable, especially the group we have here. We obviously knew the stakes, and it’s definitely special to hit it in a game like this. Made history today in the biggest league in hockey.” Hats rained down from the many Bruins fans in attendance after Pastrnak scored his third of the game early in the third period. The crowd chanted “We want the Cup!” in the final minutes, then showered players with cheers at the final horn. “It’s hard to win in this league and there’s a reason why this record is at 62 because not many teams can get there, so it’s a special honor,” said goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who made 34 saves. “These guys in this room are more than deserving." The Bruins have won six in a row and reached 131 points, one back of the record held by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens that has stood for nearly five decades, and with two games left against opponents well out of the playoff race. The Canadiens 46 years ago played in an era without overtime when games ended in a tie, and the Red Wings set the initial wins record before the shootout that has given the Boston four more. When the playoffs begin in a little more than a week, the Bruins will have home-ice advantage throughout in pursuit of the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship since 2011. Boston's top two centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci were out, along with No. 1 defenseman Charlie McAvoy, forward Taylor Hall, key trade deadline pickup Dmitry Orlov and All-Star goaltender Linus Ullmark. Even with a lineup chock full of players from the AHL's Providence Bruins, Boston relied on a familiar recipe to set the wins record. Beyond Pastrnak's goals, Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha scored, Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves and the Bruins extended their streak of consecutive penalties killed to 38. “They had some people out, but still that’s a really good hockey team,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. The Bruins also kept up what first-year coach Jim Montgomery called their “signature calling” of closing out games. After allowing a goal to Owen Tippett midway through the third period, the Bruins locked things down as they have so many times before, improving to 46-1-2 when leading at the second intermission. Pastrnak joined MVP favorite Connor McDavid as a 60-goal scorer, making this the first season with two players reaching that mark since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in 1995-96. The Czech winger had 48 games when the pandemic ended the 2019-20 season, so that gave him the belief he could put together a season like this. “I know what kind of player I am in this league right now," Pastrnak said. "I knew I could do it. That helps with your mindset.” Wade Allison and Joel Farabee also scored for the Flyers, who lost their seventh in a row late in another lost season. Felix Sandstrom made a few big stops among his 29 saves, but that wasn't enough to slow down the Bruins in their pursuit of a spot in the record books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 12, 2023 Author Share Posted April 12, 2023 Game # 81 Bos 5 Caps 2 Bruins top NHL season points mark, beating Capitals 5-2 2:10 Bruins keep rolling with 64th win The Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 for their 64th win of the season. ByAP Updated: 6 hours ago BOSTON -- — The Boston Bruins saved their latest record-setting performance of the season for their home crowd. Brad Marchand and Tyler Bertuzzi had power play goals and the Bruins broke the NHL points record with a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night in their regular-season home finale. Under chants of “We want the Cup!” from fans inside TD Garden the Bruins’ won their seventh straight to push their points total to 133, one more than the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens. Those Canadiens played in an era without overtime and shootouts. The Bruins have 11 extra points — five for shootout wins and six for overtime wins — unavailable to Canadiens when they set the record. “We're happy about it, don't get me wrong. But it's a regular-season record," Marchand said. “Playoffs start and everything starts over again. There's going to be 16 teams that have the same goal in mind and what we've accomplished so far has no bearing on that.” The Bruins broke the mark a game after setting the NHL victory’ record with 63 on Sunday at Philadelphia, breaking a tie with the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning. “I think (Montreal's) wins in 80 games is a little more significant," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. But he added it's still meaningful "because those were dominant hockey teams.” Tomas Nosek, Garnet Hathaway and Jake DeBrusk also scored for Boston on Tuesday night in win No. 64. A night after reaching 60 goals in season for the first time, David Pastrnak posted his 50th and 51st assists. Linus Ullmark finished with 19 saves, with left the game with just over nine minutes left with what Montgomery said was “muscle tightening.” Marchand and Patrice Bergeron added assists. When the playoffs begin the Bruins will have home-ice advantage throughout in pursuit of the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship since 2011. Nick Jensen and Tom Wilson scored for the Capitals. Charlie Lindgren had 33 saves, including a one-handed, gloveless save on Pastrnak early in the third period. Wilson narrowed what had been a two-goal deficit to 3-2 in the third before Nosek found Hathaway cutting toward the net for his 13th goal. The Bruins got their first power play of the game with 12:24 left in the second after Matt Irwin was called for a cross-check on Taylor Hall. Less than a minute later Boston turned it into a 1-0 lead when Pastrnak gathered a pass from Patrice Bergeron, immediately drew some defenders in the middle of the ice and flipped it to bottom of the right faceoff circle to Marchand, who finished off his 21st goal of the season. It was his first goal in 17 games after having last scored in a loss to Edmonton on March 9. “You almost have to laugh about it," Marchand said. “It's one of those things I think where it gets frustrating, but then it gets to a point where it's just laughable. You can't take it too serious and I think that's where it got to. It's not the norm and I know that." Boston was on the power play again after Tom Wilson was called for roughing Charlie McAvoy with just under seven minutes to play in the period. The Bruins made it 2-0 when Bertuzzi found himself in perfect position to rebound a shot by Pastrnak and push through his eighth goal of the season. Jensen trimmed the margin to a goal with 4:53 left in the period, when his wrist shot appeared to clip McAvoy and trickle by Ullmark for Jensen’s fifth goal of the year of the year. BOWMAN WEIGHS IN Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman was in attendance when Tampa Bay hosted Toronto on Tuesday. A friend of Montgomery and coach for the previous record-setting seasons by Montreal and Detroit, the 89-year-old said he doesn’t mind seeing those marks surpassed. “We still have part of the record, we got 132 points in 80 games I keep telling him,” Bowman said with smile. “I don’t mind. I’m glad for him because he made a good comeback. He’s got confidence. They’ve got a good team. ... I’m old enough to know that I don’t need to have all my records, and if he can them I’m happy for him.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 14, 2023 Author Share Posted April 14, 2023 Game # 82 Bos 5 Habs 4 Bruins close out record regular season, beat Canadiens 5-4 0:46 David Pastrnak's goal gives Bruins the late lead David Pastrnak tips the goal in to give the Bruins the 5-4 lead vs. the Canadiens. ByAP 6 hours ago MONTREAL -- — David Pastrnak's goal midway through the third period was the winner and the Boston Bruins closed out their record-setting regular season with a 5-4 comeback win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. Dmitry Orlov had a goal and an assist. Trent Frederic, Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle also scored for Boston (65-12-5). Jeremy Swayman made 30 saves. The Bruins closed their Presidents Trophy-winning season by establishing records for wins (65) and points (135) in a season. “We took five minutes and celebrated it and we moved on,” said Jeremy Swayman, who was awarded the William Jennings trophy along with teammate Linus Ullmark. “We know that there’s a bigger goal in mind. … And we’re going to take that confidence into the playoffs.” Boston broke the NHL points record with a 5-2 victory over Washington on Tuesday. With that win, the Bruins pushed their points total to 133, one more than the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens and added to it on Thursday. Those Canadiens played in an era without overtime and shootouts. The Bruins' extra points for shootout wins and overtime wins were unavailable to Canadiens when they set the record. The Bruins also set the NHL victory record with 63 on Sunday at Philadelphia, breaking a tie with the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning. “I think we appreciate what we’ve accomplished,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “But the beauty of sports is you have to have a short memory because two days later, the next day, we’ve got to move on. Three days from now, we start Game One.” The Bruins will face the Florida Panthers, last season’s Presidents Trophy winners. in the first round of the playoffs. “They’re a really good team, very dangerous team and we’re gonna have to be at the top of our game if we want to have success,” Montgomery said of the Panthers. Lucas Condotta scored in his NHL debut, and Michael Pezzetta added a goal and an assist for the Canadiens. Nick Suzuki and Justin Barron also scored as Montreal closed the season at 31-45-6. Starting on back-to-back nights, Sam Montembeault made 16 saves. “It was loud, it was nice to hear,” Condotta said of the crowd cheering as his name was called. “To be honest, some of the best fans in the world. I grew up in Toronto and it beat that, times two.” Condotta put Montreal in front early when he moved into the crease and batted the puck in 3:27 into the first period. Joel Teasdale earned his first NHL point with an assist. Boston tied the game 9:19 into the period when Frederic redirected Connor Clifton’s shot from the right faceoff circle. DeBrusk gave the Bruins their first lead at 14:40, beating Montembeault with a shot from a tight angle. Joel Edmundson intercepted a clearing pass along the boards and took a shot from the point that Suzuki tipped in 7:16 into the second period. He tied Cole Caufield’s team-best mark of 26 goals. Montreal regained the lead just over a minute later when Rem Pitlick outraced Swayman for the puck and sent a pass to Pezzetta, who tapped in his seventh goal of the season into an empty net. Orlov fired a shot just under the crossbar, tying the game at 3 for Boston at 13:58 of the second. Barron scored on a loose puck in the slot for a short-handed goal, giving Montreal its third lead of the game 1:09 into the third period. Coyle knotted the score for Boston, beating Montembeault with a wrist shot at 8:48. Just over two minutes later, Orlov connected with Pastrnak on a cross-crease pass. Pastrnak's 61st goal of the season was the winner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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