Brewin Flames Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 Game # 64 Jeremy Swayman makes 28 saves, Bruins beat weary Maple Leafs 4-1 for 20th home victory ByAP Updated: Mar 7, 2024, 11:51 pm BOSTON -- — Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves and the Boston Bruins beat the weary Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 on Thursday night in a possible playoff matchup. David Pastrnak, Trent Frederic, Morgan Geekie and Brandon Carlo scored to help Boston win for the 20th time at home this season. At 37-13-15, the Bruins trail Atlantic Division rival Florida by a point for the NHL lead. “I thought we were really physical to start the game and finishing checks,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “I can’t give enough credit to our defense. They hold everyone accountable and everyone follows suit.” Mitch Marner scored for Toronto, and Joseph Wall made 22 saves. The Maple Leafs were coming off a 2-1 overtime victory over Buffalo at home on Wednesday night. They are 10-3-0 in their last 13 — and 36-19-8 overall. “They made it hard on us to create offense," Toronto defenseman Morgan Reilly said. "They manage the puck and don’t make a lot of mistakes.” Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk teamed up for Boston’s first goal that came with 17 seconds remaining on a 5-on-3 power play. Working it down low, DeBrusk zipped the puck past Woll, with Pastrnak wiring it in for his 39th goal. Brad Marchand was also credited with an assist on Pastrnak’s goal, one of two recorded by the Boston captain. Frederic turned a Toronto turnover into a fast-break opportunity for his 17th goal and a two-goal lead 4:16 into the second period. The Maple Leafs got on the board when Marner took a pass off the boards and beat Swayman for his 25th goal. “Just trying to get the long strides going and push hard,” Frederic said. The Bruins entered the final period with a three-goal cushion thanks to Geekie converting on the power play and Carlo blasting one in from the blue line. The two goals came 1:07 apart. “They’re a good team and found a way to bear down. You have to give them credit,” Toronto forward Max Domi said. “Look forward to playing them in the future, for sure.” After leaving the ice to a chorus of boss after Tuesday’s overtime loss to Edmonton, the Bruins gave their fans plenty of reasons to cheer, and not just because they posted a comfortable victory on a night when members of the franchise’s 2011 Stanley Cup championship team were in the building in conjunction with the team’s season-long centennial celebration. Several times, Boston and Toronto engaged in skirmishes. The teams combined for 19 penalties that covered 30 minutes. At one point, Swayman stood near mid ice and challenged Woll to a goalie fight, but the Toronto netminder wanted no part of dropping the gloves. “Probably didn’t call for that, but seeing all my guys go in, it’s a team effort and we all go in,” Swayman said. “(Woll)) is my buddy. It was an opportunity but nothing happened.” Boston extended its winning streak to seven games against Toronto, which last beat the Bruins on Nov. 22, 2022. The teams met Monday night in Toronto, with Boston also winning 4-1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 On 3/6/2024 at 7:45 AM, OccamsRazor said: So rumor has it the Bs want to trade Ullmark? Why? They need playoff depth no? This teams has success the past few seasons riding a goalie tandem and not naming a true # 1 When then went with sole Ullmark in net last year it did not work...they feed off each other, and while it may be silly to have two #1's, it works...why fix it if not broke. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 Game # 65 David Pastrnak reaches 40 goals as Bruins beat fading Penguins 5-1 ByAP Updated: Mar 9, 2024, 06:51 pm BOSTON -- — David Pastrnak reached 40 goals for the third consecutive season, and the Boston Bruins beat the fading Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 on Saturday. Coming off a 4-1 victory over Toronto on Thursday, the Bruins posted consecutive regulation wins for the first time since Jan. 20 and 22. They are fighting for the NHL’s top record a year after setting league records for victories (65) and overall points (135). “I won't take it for granted, obviously,” Pastrnak said of reaching 40 goals again. “It's my job to score goals, but, at the same time, I play in the best league in the world, so I don't take it for granted. It doesn't mean anything to me right now, but I love scoring, so it makes me happy.” Pavel Zacha had two goals and an assist for Boston, which has 91 points. Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk each had a goal and an assist, and Linus Ullmark made 38 saves. “He was our best player,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said of Ullmark. “It wasn't close. ... Glad he's still a Bruin.” Ullmark was rumored to be on the trade block Friday. “I'm just very happy to be here,” Ullmark said when asked if he utilized a no-trade clause in his contract. “This is the team that I want to be (with). I'm very fortunate to be a part of this group, and ever since Day 1 I've loved it here, so I'm very happy with where I am right now.” Kris Letang scored for Pittsburgh, and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 17 shots. The Penguins have lost five of six games to drop into 13th place in the Eastern Conference, far behind the eighth and final playoff spot. “It's a lot of work to get there, but we've got to find a way to just go a game at a time at this point,” Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby said. “You can't grab all those points at once.” Boston defenseman Hampus Lindholm returned to the lineup after missing the previous nine games with an undisclosed injury. Pastrnak one-timed DeBrusk’s pass from the high slot for his milestone goal, sending it over Nedeljkovic to make it 1-0 at 2:26 of the second period. Zacha chipped in a shot from the edge of the crease for a power-play goal, making it 2-0 at 12:48 of the second. Marchand cut across the front of the net and slipped a backhander into the top right corner with 1:35 left in the period. Ullmark stopped all 14 shots in a busy opening period, including a glove save on Michael Bunting’s clean break-in. Bunting was acquired in a trade with Carolina on Thursday night. Looking for a spark after struggling to close out some games this past month, the Bruins added some beef at Friday’s trade deadline, acquiring veteran forward Patrick Maroon from Minnesota and defenseman Andrew Peeke from Columbus. Neither played on Saturday. “Pat Maroon is a proven champion. He’s going to add a lot of leadership to our group. Obviously, he has a lot of moxie, too,” Montgomery said. Maroon won the Stanley Cup with St. Louis in 2019, when it defeated Boston in seven games, and two championships with Tampa Bay, which faced Boston in the playoffs. “I feel like I’m hated here,” Maroon said, smiling. “Obviously, there’s been a lot of chirps and a lot of fighting with these guys.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 Game # 66 Kapanen, Thomas score in 1st period; Blues roll past Bruins 5-1 ByAP Updated: Mar 11, 2024, 10:34 pm BOSTON -- — Kasperi Kapanen and Robert Thomas each scored in the first period, Joel Hofer stopped 36 shots and the St. Louis Blues beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 on Monday night. Entering the night eight points out of a wild-card spot and tied for 10th in the Western Conference with two other teams, the Blues snapped a three-game losing streak and completed a five-game road trip (2-3) with a solid win. “This is a big win for our club,” Hofer said. “ That's obviously a good team over there. Hopefully we can keep this going, going home.” Kevin Hayes, Brandon Saad and Alexey Toropchenko also scored for St. Louis, which totaled just three goals during its losing streak. It was the Blues’ highest goal total since a 6-3 victory over Edmonton at home on Feb. 15. David Pastrnak scored his 41st of the season for Boston, which had a two-game winning streak stopped. The Bruins are in position to finish with the NHL’s best record after recording league records with victories (65) and points (135) last season. St. Louis improved to 26-3-1 this season when it scores first, and 17-1-1 when leading after one period. Boston pulled goalie Jeremy Swayman for an extra skater with just under 9 minutes left, giving up Toropchenko’s score with 8:33 left. Kapanen collected a loose puck in the slot and fired a wrister past Swayman for a 1-0 lead midway into the opening period. “Finally, that's what I thought,” Kapanen said, smiling, when asked what he thought when the puck bounced over to him. “Finally caught a lucky break. Just happy it went in.” Skating on a two-man, power-play advantage, Thomas one-timed a pass from Pavel Buchnevich from the right circle for his 21st of the season with 2:01 left in the first. “It was one of those games where we had a lot of chances, too, but it just wasn't good enough,” Boston forward Pavel Zacha said. “We have to start playing these games from the beginning. ... I think it was a slow start. I think everyone saw that.” Hayes scored at the end of a 3-on-1 break 4:31 into the second, slipping a wrister between Swayman’s pads to make it 3-0. After Boston had Justin Brazeau’s goal taken off the board because of a coach’s challenge for offside, Saad’s goal came late in the period when he outworked two Bruins’ defenseman, knocking in his own rebound from the edge of the crease for a 4-0 lead. The Bruins left the ice at the end of the second to a loud chorus of boos. Buchnevich played his 500th career game. Boston captain Brad Marchand’s next goal will be the 400th of his NHL career. “We had a tough start,” Marchand said. “This time of year teams come out playing for a lot, and we need to do the same.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 Game # 67 Bos 2 Habs 1 Jake DeBrusk scores in overtime as the Bruins beat the Canadiens 2-1 ByAP Updated: Mar 14, 2024, 11:28 pm MONTREAL -- — Jake DeBrusk scored 25 seconds into overtime, and the Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Thursday. DeBrusk was set up by Bruins captain Brad Marchand, ending a high-energy night at the Bell Centre. It was DeBrusk's 16th goal of the season. Danton Heinen scored in the first period for Boston (39-14-15), which was coming off a 5-1 loss to St. Louis on Monday. Linus Ullmark made 18 saves in his second straight win. Nick Suzuki scored for Montreal (25-30-11). Sam Montembeault stopped 22 shots. The historic rivalry drew both “Let’s Go Bruins!” and “Go Habs Go!” chants at the Bell Centre — and jeers for Marchand every time he touched the puck. The matchup has overwhelmingly favored Boston in recent years, with the Bruins winning 13 of 14 meetings. “The biggest rivalry probably in hockey, you expect that,” DeBrusk said. “The Bell Centre here has great fans. We heard when they had swings, we heard when we had swings.” The Canadiens jumped on the power play with 8:53 left in the third period, only for Suzuki to take a double-minor penalty for high-sticking Charlie McAvoy a minute into the man advantage — leading to a mix of cheers and jeers from the crowd. Montreal killed off Boston’s power play, which didn’t generate any quality chances. The Bruins defeated the Canadiens 9-4 in their last meeting in Boston on Jan. 20, and appeared to have the upper hand again early on Thursday. Heinen opened the scoring at 4:49, sliding a rebound past Montembeault while falling after a check from Juraj Slafkovsky in front of the net. “He’s a good hockey player. I know that he complements people,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said of Heinen, who was signed on a professional tryout in training camp. “He’s a real intelligent player that can play all 200 feet.” Boston dominated the play through 11 minutes, outshooting the Canadiens 8-1 while holding the puck in Montreal’s zone for minutes at a time. Suzuki evened the game at 14:37 with his 26th of the season, tying a career high. Cole Caufield started the play with a relentless forecheck that led to a Brandon Carlo turnover. The puck eventually fell to Slafkovsky, who set up Suzuki for the tying score. “We’re continuing to develop as a team, we’re playing well and we’re showing consistency in our performances, and our schedule is tough,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “It’s a good challenge for us. You’ve gotta embrace it when it’s hard.” Andrew Peeke made his Bruins debut after Boston acquired the 25-year-old defenseman from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jakub Zboril and a third-round draft pick ahead of last week’s trade deadline. Peeke slotted in on Boston’s third pair alongside Parker Wotherspoon. Forward Colin White returned to the Canadiens lineup after missing four games with an upper-body injury. Montgomery said the game wasn’t “a Picasso,” but noted it was important for the Bruins to win this type of game late in the season. “I didn’t think we had our normal legs, for whatever reason, but our guys dug down and found a way to win,” he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 17 Author Share Posted March 17 Game # 68 Charlie Coyle scores twice as Bruins hold off Flyers 6-5 to move into top spot in NHL ByAP Updated: Mar 16, 2024, 11:00 pm BOSTON -- — Charlie Coyle scored the tying and go-ahead goals, John Beecher and Jake DeBrusk added insurance scores 19 seconds apart early in the third period, and the Boston Bruins held off the Philadelphia Flyers 6-5 on Saturday night in a wild third period that included seven goals. Morgan Geekie and Danton Heinen each added a goal for Boston, which moved a point ahead of Florida for the league’s top record with 95 points — one more than the Panthers. Last season, the Bruins set NHL records for wins (65) and points (135), but were eliminated by the Panthers in the opening round of the playoffs. “Unfortunately, we took a seat back and that's obviously a very desperate team over there in a playoff race,” DeBrusk said before being asked about the team's struggles late in games. “We won. Obviously, we don't want to give up leads, but we did score six.” Jeremy Swayman made 24 saves for Boston, which won for the fourth time in five games. “It's not hard for me to look at the glass half full,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said when asked about taking the league's top record despite the inability to close games this season. “You want to learn these lessons and the desperation of the team, and our schedule's really tough down the stretch," he said. “We're going to continue to play teams that are fighting for playoffs and fighting for position in the playoffs, which is what we like. We want to be prepared for all these things come playoff time.” Joel Farabee had two goals and Ryan Poehling, Nick Deslauriers and Morgan Frost each added one for the Flyers, who have lost four of their last six. The Bruins beat the Flyers 6-2 in the teams’ first meeting. The season series ends in Philadelphia next Saturday. After tying the game late in the second, Coyle took the puck down the left wing, shifted around Flyers forward Travis Konecny before flipping it into the net inside the left post to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead 68 seconds into the third. Beecher scored from the edge of the crease 2:37 after Coyle’s go-ahead score and DeBrusk then made it 5-2 at 4:04. But Deslauriers and Frost scored 62 seconds apart, slicing the deficit to 5-4 with just under 5 minutes left before Heinen’s score. Farabee’s second — with the Flyers' net empty to give Philadelphia an extra skater — cut it to 6-5 with 2:04 left. “It's a tough one to swallow. I thought we played a pretty good game,” Frost said. “You see the fight we had at the end. I think that's encouraging for the rest of the stretch that's super tough.” Midway into the second period, Farabee was positioned in the slot when he redirected Cam York’s shot from the point just as a Flyers power play expired, making it 2-1. Coyle then scored from the edge of the crease for his career-high 22nd goal 5:21 later. Flyers coach John Tortorella was back on the bench after serving a two-game suspension and being fined $50,000 for failing to leave the bench following his game misconduct during a 7-0 loss to Tampa Bay on March 9. Tortorella probably liked what he saw from his team’s start, when the Flyers held the Bruins without a shot on goal for the opening 13½ minutes. “We self-inflict sometimes and we're just not deep enough right now,” he said. “I thought we had a lot of good minutes, I thought we had patience to our game. We just couldn't sustain it to the full 60 (minutes).” Bruins forward James van Riemsdyk was honored with an on-ice ceremony before the game for reaching 1,000 career NHL games earlier this month. After a video tribute, Hall of Famer Johnny Bucyk gave him Tiffany crystal from the NHL, President Cam Neely presented a painting from the team and GM Don Sweeney delivered a silver stick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 Game # 69 Pastrnak's 17th regular-season hat trick leads Bruins over Senators 6-2 0:35 BOSTON -- — David Pastrnak scored two goals less than three minutes apart in the first period and then completed his hat trick in the third to lead the Boston Bruins past the Ottawa Senators 6-2 on Tuesday night. Pastrnak picked up his 17th regular season three-goal game and passed team president Cam Neely for No. 7 on the Bruins’ all-time scoring list with 345 career goals. “It was great. I’m very happy for our team because after two, we were nowhere near our game but we were up by one goal,” Pastrnak said. After allowing a goal in the final seconds of the second period that allowed Ottawa to pull within 3-2, Pastrnak scored the first of three unanswered goals for Boston that sealed the Bruins' 41st victory of the season and kept them atop the NHL standings with 11 games to go in the regular season. In addition to the dozens of hats that cascaded onto the ice following Pastrnak’s third goal, one fan threw a bear coat — complete with eyes, ears and a nose — that Pastrnak decided was a keeper. “I actually put it on and took a picture of it,” Pastrnak said. “It was cozy.” Justin Brazeau scored twice, Jesper Boqvist had a goal and Kevin Shattenkirk had three assists as the Bruins won their third straight. Morgan Geekie added two assists for Boston and Linus Ullmark finished with 30 saves. Brady Tkachuk and Shane Pinto scored for the Senators, who have lost two in a row following a three-game winning streak. Joonas Korpisalo had a rough night, allowing all six goals on 26 shots as a close game through two periods became a rout in the third. “They were persistent tonight and they were able to get a couple goals in the third that made the difference,” Senators interim coach Jacques Martin said. “I liked how we played in the second. I think it’s just that we need to be able to put three periods together.” Pastrnak completed the hat trick 4:43 into the period with a backhand from the slot through traffic and the hats started started raining down onto the ice. Pastrnak said he was more pleased with how the Bruins sealed the victory and dominated the final 20 minutes. “We made sure we were going to keep playing on our toes and extend the lead and don’t sit back. I think we just did that. The first five minutes set the tempo for the rest of the period,” he said. Pastrnak scored his 42nd of the season on a tip 8:27 into the game, redirecting a shot from the blue line by Matt Grzelcyk past Korpisalo to put the Bruins up 1-0. Less than three minutes later, Pastrnak pounced on a pass by Tim Stutzle just inside the Boston blue line and headed the other way on a breakaway, beating Korpisalo with a backhander for a 2-0 at 11:23. Ullmark had to make only five saves in the opening period, then faced 23 in the second as the Senators pressured the Bruins from start to finish and wound up with a pair of goals. The Senators had several strong scoring chances after the Bruins were called for consecutive penalties early in the period. Ottawa had 37 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage and Stützle got off a one-timer from in front but Ullmark made the save, then he caught a break when a shot from the side bounced off the crossbar,. Pinto scored a power-play goal on a slap shot that Ullmark got a piece of with his glove but couldn't keep out of the net. After Brazeau put Boston up 3-1 with a power-play goal on a rebound with 1:09 left in the second, Tkchuck cut the margin back to one in the waning seconds of the period when he poked in his own rebound. With 31 goals, Tkachuk is just four shy of his career high, which he set last season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 Game # 71 Artemi Panarin tallies hat trick to help Rangers beat NHL-best Bruins 5-2 BOSTON -- — Artemi Panarin only needed to beat the goalie once to tally his third hat trick of the season. The Rangers forward gave New York a 1-0 lead on a wrist shot he threaded through the legs of a Boston defender and goalie Jeremy Swayman. After the Bruins tied it, Panarin got credit for his second goal when Boston's Jake DeBrusk knocked the puck into his own net. “It’s a nice feeling, obviously, when you get that goal. But I was pretty honest, for my part: I tried try to pass,” said Panarin, who completed his seventh career hat trick with an empty-net goal. “I got it on my side tonight,” he said with a sheepish smile, “and thank you.” Jonathan Quick stopped 24 shots to help the Rangers beat NHL-best Boston for the third time in as many tries this season. It was his 391st career victory, tying Ryan Miller for the most by an American goalie. “Unreal guy. So glad he’s on our team,” defenseman Braden Schneider said. “Legend. I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s an amazing player and an amazing person.” The Rangers now have 96 points to lead the Metropolitan Division and close within one point of Boston, the defending Presidents’ Trophy winners, for the best record in the NHL. “They were No. 1 in the league coming into this game. And to come here and get two points is massive,” Schneider said. “Obviously, we know where we’re at. And coming into this game, it means a little bit more when we know we’re right behind them. You go game by game, but you really get up for these ones because they’re important.” Adam Fox also scored for New York, which has won six of its last eight. Mika Zibanejad added an empty-net goal with two minutes left, and Panarin added his career-high 41st goal of the season a minute later with Swayman still off for an extra skater. DeBrusk and Justin Brazeau scored for Boston, and Swayman made 26 saves. The Bruins lost for just the second time in seven games. The Bruins led 1-0 when Panarin scored through the legs of defender Pavel Zacha and Swayman with eight minutes to play in the second period. Panarin tallied his second when he tried to cross the puck, but DeBrusk dove onto the ice to block the passing lane but instead deflected it into the goal. Brazeau tied it for Boston, cleaning up a puck that snuck behind Quick on Marchand’s shot. But just 40 seconds later, Fox wristed a bullet into the top shelf to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 24 Author Share Posted March 24 Game # 72 Foerster's third-period goal lifts Philadelphia Flyers over Boston Bruins 3-2 0:51 PHILADELPHIA -- — Tyson Foerster scored with 1:29 left and the Philadelphia Flyers snapped a seven-game losing streak to Boston with a 3-2 win over the Bruins on Saturday. Travis Konecny scored two goals and Foerster also had an assist. Samuel Ersson made 18 saves in Philadelphia's first victory over Boston since Oct. 20, 2021. Justin Brazeau and Danton Heinen scored for the Bruins in the opener of a six-game trip. Linus Ullmark made 26 stops. Boston started play with an NHL-leading 97 points as it looks to repeat as the Presidents’ Trophy winners, which is awarded to the team with the best regular-season record. Philadelphia began play in third place in the Metropolitan Division, and the victory over the Bruins will boost the rebuilding Flyers’ surprising playoff chances. “That’s two games in a row that our third periods have been our strongest periods,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. The teams engaged in a tight checking contest, with quality scoring chances hard to come by, until there was a flurry of offense in the final minutes. “These are the games you want to be in this time of year," Heinen said. “Coming up, that’s what they’re going to be like.” Konecny put Philadelphia ahead 2-1 with a wrist shot from the circle 15:16 into the third period. He has a team-high 30 goals on the season. “I’m honestly trying not to think about that,” Konecny said. “It’s awesome, but it’s so important for us to stay focused on the season. I think, truly, right now no one cares about their personal stuff.” Heinen answered with his 14th goal at 16:12. He converted a one-timer from the side of the net. Foerster netted the go-ahead tally with a perfectly placed wrist shot from long range that went over Ullmark’s left shoulder. It was Foerster's 18th goal. “As he continues to get better, we’re only going to see more of that,” Konecny said. Philadelphia captain Sean Couturier returned to the lineup after two consecutive games as a healthy scratch. “Coots was good,” Tortorella said. Philadelphia got on the board first when Konecny scored on a power play with 1:45 left in the second. Scott Laughton passed to the slot to Foerster, who partially fanned on a one-timer attempt. But the puck went to a wide-open Konecny at the side of the net. The Flyers nearly went up two goals entering the second intermission, but Ullmark made a stellar glove save on Laughton’s backhander on a breakaway in the final minute. The Bruins tied it with 9:41 remaining in the third when Brazeau scored on a backhander from in close. “I thought my best chance was going to the back post, and I did and got lucky it went in,” Brazeau said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 Game # 73 Pavel Zacha scores late winner to lift Bruins over Panthers, 4-3 Updated: Mar 26, 2024, 10:33 pm SUNRISE, Fla. -- — Pavel Zacha scored the winning goal with 2:21 remaining in the game and the Boston Bruins defeated the Florida Panthers 4-3 on Tuesday night. “It gives us confidence in three weeks when it starts for real,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said, referring to the playoffs. “We were down three times, we kept coming back. So we can believe in our process, believe in our identity and keep playing.” The Bruins also broke a tie with Florida atop the Atlantic Division and now hold a two-point lead although the Panthers have played one less game. Boston is also in second place in the Eastern Conference with 99 points, one point behind the New York Rangers, who beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-5 in overtime on Tuesday night. “I thought it was a good effort by our group,” Bruins captain Brad Marchand said. “It was a playoff-type game there, the teams played hard, they didn't really have any holes, so it was a good character win.” Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak and Trent Frederic also scored for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman made 18 saves, and also had an assist on Federic's tying goal that came on the power play with less than five minutes to play. Evan Rodrigues, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe scored for the Panthers while Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves. Rodrigues scored just 27 seconds into the game, and three times the Panthers took a one-goal lead. Florida lost for the fifth time in its last six games, going 1-4-1 since losing star defenseman Aaron Ekblad to a lower-body injury on March 9. “It was a really good hockey game and you want to win it,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “You get the lead like that and you want to be able to close it out, but suffering is sometimes good. It's good for you to put that much effort in and come away with nothing.” Florida captain Aleksander Barkov picked up an assist 27 seconds into his return from a five-game absence from a lower-body injury. Panthers star defenseman Gustav Forsling also returned from an illness while Ekblad remains day-to-day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 Game # 74 Brayden Point scores, Andrei Vasilevskiy stops 23 and the surging Lightning beat the Bruins 3-1 TAMPA, Fla. -- — Brayden Point scored his 42nd goal of the season to break a second-period tie, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves, and the surging Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Bruins 3-1 on Wednesday night. Tampa Bay also got goals from Mitchell Chaffee and Nikita Kucherov as the Lightning improved to 7-0-1 over their last eight games. The Lightning moved within two points of third-place Toronto in the Atlantic Division. Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman and Point both returned after missing one game with lower-body injuries. Hedman had an assist to become the fourth active defenseman to have three 70-point seasons. Linus Ullmark stopped 28 shots, and Danton Heinen scored for the Bruins. Boston was coming off a 4-3 win Tuesday night at Florida in a matchup for the division lead. “I didn’t think either team was really on top of their game, to be honest,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “I think they were traveling back from the West Coast. so I don’t think they were as sharp as they’ve been. The intensity and the emotion in the game was not the same as it was for us last night.” Point put the Lightning up 2-1 on a wraparound 6:50 into the second period. The center has 10 goals over his last seven games. “Getting the lead for us was big tonight,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “I thought it was big for us to take advantage of a team that, you know, emptied the tank the night before and I thought we did.” Kucherov took over the NHL points lead with 124 on an empty-net goal with 27 seconds left. The right wing has a career-high 42 goals. “They forechecked better than we did, which I think led to more o-zone time for them,” Montgomery said. "I mean, their second goal was a real nice breakout from them but it was a poor forecheck by us.” Vasilevskiy won his 290th game to tie Ed Giacomin for 46th place on the career list. The goalie, who missed the first 20 games this season after having surgery to address a lumbar disc herniation, said physically he feels “not good, not bad.” “Trying to take care of myself and I will work on myself,” Vasilevskiy said. “Again, it’s a different season for me, like surgery-wise and all that stuff.” Tampa Bay appeared to go up 3-1 on what would have given Steven Stamkos his ninth 30-goal season at 5:44 of the third, but a video review found the play was offside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 Game # 75 Bruins beat the Capitals 3-2 in a shootout in a potential first-round playoff preview 0:25 WASHINGTON -- — Hampus Lindholm watched helplessly from the penalty box as his Boston Bruins teammates killed off his four-minute double minor for high sticking in overtime and marveled at how they got the job done from goaltender Jeremy Swayman on out. They were just paying Lindholm back. Lindholm scored a goal at one end, prevented one at the other and Boston beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 in a shootout Saturday night in a potential first-round playoff preview. The defenseman from Sweden got just his second goal of the season but arguably more importantly dived in the crease to stop the puck from going in the net in the opening minute. “I owe him a couple Swedish fikas," Swayman said, referring to the Scandinavian country's popular coffee break pastry. “I was pretty fired up when that happened, and it obviously saved a goal and that’s two points.” Kevin Shattenkirk scored the shootout winner, rookie John Beecher had a goal and Swayman made 18 saves in regulation and overtime for the Bruins, who were playing for the first time since clinching their eighth consecutive postseason appearance. With the victory after surviving the lengthy penalty kill, they leapfrogged the Florida Panthers to move back into first place in the Atlantic Division and kept pace with the New York Rangers for the Presidents’ Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. “We had our moments there where we losing a lot of these games a couple months ago going into overtimes and either losing there or losing in shootouts,” said Shattenkirk, who has been in and out of the lineup and was chosen by goaltending coach Bob Essensa to go fifth in the shootout. “It’s great to see us turn the corner and, obviously, taking strides there.” The Capitals hope to join Boston in the playoffs, but that’ll depend on how they play their final eight games and what happens with Detroit and Philadelphia, the other teams vying for the final two spots in the Eastern Conference. By picking up a point, they moved ahead of the Flyers, who lost Saturday night, for third place in the Metropolitan Division because they've played fewer games and went two up on the Red Wings, who lost in a shootout at Florida earlier Saturday. “We’re just really mission-focused right now instead of destination-focused right now,” said goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced. “We’re worrying about the product that we’re putting on the ice. The other teams, they have to worry about themselves. We’re going to worry about ourselves in here.” John Carlson became just the ninth defenseman to score a goal in his 1,000th NHL game, Michael Sgarbossa also had a goal, validating coach Spencer Carbery’s decision to keep him in the lineup when Sonny Milano returned from an injury absence. "It would’ve been nice to win, but it showed a lot of guts from us tonight," Carlson said. “You bear down in every game, in every situation, and we showed some poise. It wasn’t perfect tonight, but we showed some poise coming back and battling in it until the end and giving ourselves a chance to win.” But Lindgren was hardly to blame for the Caps' second consecutive loss, as the opportunistic Bruins took advantage of turnovers and other mistakes and cashed in with goals. They bounced back from a deflating 3-1 loss at Tampa Bay, blocking 29 shots against the Capitals to reach 101 points on the season. “This win definitely goes to my D core blocking shots all night,” Swayman said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 3 Author Share Posted April 3 Game # 76 Bos 3 Preds 0 Ullmark's 32 saves, rare assist lead Bruins over Predators 3-0 1:46 ByAP Updated: Apr 2, 2024, 11:37 pm NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- — Linus Ullmark made 32 saves and had an assist on Charlie Coyle’s short-handed goal in the third period that led the Boston Bruins to a 3-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night. David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha each recorded a goal and an assist in the big final period as the Bruins won for the third time in four games and extended their lead in the Atlantic Division to four points over Florida, which lost at Montreal. “You’ve got to look at the team game we had in front of me,” Ullmark said. “We played a full 60 minutes, showed we don’t get frustrated easily.” Juuse Saros made 30 saves for Nashville, which has lost three straight. The skid follows a franchise-record 18-game point streak (16-0-2). “I actually thought we got better as the game went on,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “I really liked our second and third period where I thought we were taking over the game. We put ourselves in a great position for somebody to make a play. Unfortunately we made a play going the wrong way.” The shutout was the second of the season and eighth of Ullmark’s career. Coyle broke the tie with 6:42 remaining. Ullmark stopped a Nashville dump-in behind the net and rimmed a pass up ice to Brad Marchand, who was just inside the Nashville blue line. From the left boards, he found Coyle skating through the slot and he beat Saros high to the glove side. “Playing that puck on the PK and getting it up there around their guy to spring us, that’s huge,” Coyle said. “You don’t really expect those plays from your goalie to make those big-time plays and assist one like that, but it sure helped. He played a heck of a game even besides that.” Boston’s tenacious penalty kill denied Nashville on all four of their power plays, limiting the Predators to three shots on goal with the man advantage. “I thought we won a decent amount of faceoffs, and I thought our forecheck up ice, I don’t think we gave them easy entries,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. Zacha doubled the Boston lead with 2:42 remaining and Pastrnak closed out the scoring with his 46th of the season. The Predators maintain the top spot in the battle for the Western Conference’s two wild-card berths, leading the second-place Los Angeles Kings by three points and the third-place St. Louis Blues by six. Nashville’s best opportunity to score came with 4:33 remaining in the second period when captain Roman Josi’s shot from the left circle hit the near post. “I thought it was a good game,” Josi said. “It was fast. It felt intense, kind of like a playoff game. I felt like we went toe-to-toe. Obviously that short-handed goal was costly for us. Just looking back, our power play has got to be a lot better.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 5 Author Share Posted April 5 Game # 77 Bos 4 Canes 1 Bruins beat Hurricanes 4-1 in matchup of playoff-bound teams 1:47 RALEIGH, N.C. -- — David Pastrnak and Danton Heinen each had a goal and an assist in the first period and the Boston Bruins beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 on Thursday night. Brad Marchand had the game’s first goal for the 400th of his career, Hampus Lindholm added an empty-netter and Jeremy Swayman made 27 saves for Boston. The Bruins won their third game in a row and moved four points in front of the Hurricanes, who have a game in hand, in a matchup of Eastern Conference playoff-bound teams. Boston finished a six-game road stretch at 4-2-0. “You have to be able to win on the road,” Marchand said. “It’s the way you want to play. You want to play these tough games coming down the stretch.” It was the first loss in more than five months for Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen, who had gone 7-0-0 since returning to action following a health issue that kept him off the ice since early November. He made 24 saves. Andersen, in his 100th game as a Hurricane, fell to 11-2-0 this season. Carolina’s Jake Guentzel scored on a 5-on-3 power play in the second period, but the Hurricanes were left without a point for just the second time in their last 11 games. “We let their best players kind of get behind us and give them all that open ice,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “They’re not going to give us too much after that.” Marchand, in his 1,024th game took Morgan Geekie’s pass to go in on Andersen, who initially blocked the shot, but the puck got under his pads and into the net just 2:12 into the game. He had gone 10 games without a goal. “Kind of the elephant in the room,” Marchand said about reaching a milestone. “Nice to get it and I don’t have to worry about it anymore.” It was Marchand’s 19th goal this season. Geekie, a former Hurricane, increased his career-high assists total to 20. Pastrnak skated in patiently from the left side and wasn’t challenged before popping the puck over Andersen from close range for his team-leading 47th goal of the season. Heinen one-timed a pass from Pastrnak for his 16th goal, giving the Bruins a 3-0 edge less than 11 minutes into the game. “In the first period, we executed really well,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “Caught them on some odd-man rushes, made some high-end plays.” Swayman stopped all nine shots he faced in the third. “It is important to us when we do get leads that we maintain them,” Swayman said. Guentzel lifted the puck over Swayman, who was laying across the crease, to score at 15:12 of the second. Guentzel has 25 goals this season, including three in 12 games since joining the Hurricanes in a trade from Pittsburgh. The Bruins played without winger Justin Brazeau, who was injured Tuesday night in Nashville and returned to Boston for evaluation. He hadn’t missed a game in more than a month. Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast was back on the ice after missing six games with an injury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 7 Author Share Posted April 7 Game # 78 Jesper Boqvist scores in OT as Bruins beat Panthers 3-2 to move 5 points up in Atlantic 0:50 BOSTON -- — Jesper Boqvist scored 2:05 into overtime, Linus Ullmark stopped 28 shots and the Boston Bruins beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Saturday in a matchup of the top two teams in the Atlantic Division. First-place Boston moved five points ahead of second-place Florida. Both teams have four games left in the regular season — with the Panthers’ all at home. “It's another big game, another playoff-type game against a team that's going to be there and those games aren't hard to get up for,” said Boston center Charlie Coyle, who had a power-play goal in the second period. “It makes you feel good. It gives you confidence to win those ones, first off, but just to do it and play the way we want to play and know how to play.” Charlie McAvoy also scored for the Bruins, who improved to 5-1 since coach Jim Montgomery blasted the team during practice on March 25 for their lack of attention to details and not being prepared for the playoffs. “I just think that was a wake-up call that our group needed that day,” Montgomery said. “I think why we're 5-1 is because our team is growing and maturing, and we have great leaders.” Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers, who lost for the fifth time in seven games. Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves. The Bruins swept the four-game season series between the teams and moved a point behind the New York Rangers for the NHL’s best overall record. The Panthers knocked out Boston in the opening-round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring after the Bruins set NHL records for wins (65) and points (135). In the extra period, Boqvist skated down the left wing on a partial breakaway after taking a loose puck near center ice and fired a wrister inside the left post for the win. With the Panthers trailing 2-1 and the teams skating 4-on-4 due to matching minor penalties, Barkov snapped a rebound past Ullmark 5:24 into the third period. “I thought we got better in the third period,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “We had nothing in the tank to do it. They pushed through it. I was happy with the effort. I wasn’t happy with the result, but happy with the effort.” With Tkachuk in the penalty box for interference, Brad Marchand sent a pass from the left wing to Coyle, who was hustling down the slot. He redirected it inside the left post for his 25th goal, making it 2-1 with 4:15 remaining in the second to end Boston’s 0-for-13 power-play drought. Bobrovsky made a sprawling left-pad save on Marchand’s bid from in close with just under a minute left in regulation. Florida outshot Boston 13-5 in the third period. Ullmark made a glove stop on Evan Rodrigues at the end of a 2-on-1 break with just over six minutes left in the third. “Linus was again really good,” Montgomery said. “He just continues a lot of impressive starts in a row here, making real desperation saves look easy.” Tkachuk took advantage of a crazy bounce when Vladimir Tarasenko’s entry pass hit high off the back glass and directly to him in the slot, where he slipped a wrister past Ullmark to make it 1-0 just 37 seconds into the opening period. McAvoy tied it at 5:42 of the first when he collected Danton Heinen’s backhand pass in the high slot before firing a wrister past Bobrovsky’s glove. The teams showed a bit more intensity than a normal regular-season game, with tussles and scrums after whistles numerous times. “It's fun, it's emotional,” McAvoy said. “I thought both teams played hard today and it was a really good hockey game.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 Game # 79 Svechnikov dazzles with lacrosse-style goal, Hurricanes beat Bruins 4-1 0:35 BOSTON -- — Andrei Svechnikov opened the scoring with a lacrosse-style goal and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Tuesday night. Svechnikov, who also had an assist, surprised goalie Jeremy Swayman by cradling the puck with his stick blade and flicking it into the net about midway through the second period. It was his 19th goal of the season on a dazzling move that isn't new to his coach. "He's kind of revolutionized it," Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “That one was impressive — how fast it was. And again, that's a big goal in the game.” Teuvo Teravainen, Jake Guentzel and Seth Jarvis also scored as the Hurricanes pulled away for their third straight win and fifth in their last six. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 22 shots. The Hurricanes reached 50 wins and pulled within three points of the New York Rangers for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. “I've said this for years, what a great group it is,” Brind’Amour said, adding that they “just keep seeming to find new guys that” fit into the culture. “It's just special for me because I get to come to work with these guys every day. We're pushing through something special and we'll see where it goes.” Charlie McAvoy scored the only goal for the Bruins, whose four-game winning streak came to an end. Boston still leads the Atlantic Division at 46-18-15 with three games to go. Swayman finished with 22 saves. Guentzel's goal midway through the third put Carolina up 3-1, then Jarvis sealed it 13:22 into the final period with a short-handed goal. “That probably put the game away there," Brind’Amour said. "It could go a different way if they got a power-play goal there." After splitting the first two meetings of the season, the Hurricanes took the season series and dominated the Bruins on their home ice, outshooting Boston 15-6 in the second and controlling much of the third after McAvoy pulled the Bruins within 2-1 late in the second period. Despite the loss, McAvoy said the Bruins got a stern reminder of what's ahead after three more regular-season games. “If there's anything to learn from this or use sort of in context, it's that this is playoff hockey,” McAvoy said. “We're going to se these teams again and it's who's going to adapt and who's going to be able to elevate from the beginning of the series to the end.” Carolina opened a four-game road trip that will wrap up the Hurricanes’ regular-season schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 14 Author Share Posted April 14 Game # 80 Brad Marchand caps Bruins' four-goal second period in 6-4 win over Penguins Updated: Apr 13, 2024, 11:50 pm PITTSBURGH -- — Brad Marchand scored short-handed to cap Boston’s four-goal second period, and the Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-4 on Saturday night. Pavel Zacha had a goal and an assist, and Jake DeBrusk, Kevin Shattenkirk, Danton Heinen and Morgan Geekie also scored as the Bruins regained the top spot in the Atlantic Division with their fifth win in six games. Linus Ullmark finished with 28 saves. “I didn’t think we came out with a lot of emotion,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “I thought (Pittsburgh) came out very desperate and they were the better team. Second period, I thought we got to our game.” Michael Bunting scored twice, Drew O’Connor had a goal and an assist, and Bryan Rust also scored for the Penguins, who lost in regulation for the first time in 11 games (7-1-3). Alex Nedeljkovic was pulled after giving up three goals on 16 shots midway through the second period. He was replaced by Tristan Jarry, who stopped 12 of the 14 shots he faced. The Penguins fell out of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference and now trail Washington, Detroit and Philadelphia by one point. “We knew this was a tough stretch,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “We knew it was going to be a tough one against one of the best teams in the league. Regardless of how this goes, we still have two more games to play.” After O’Connor scored short-handed for Pittsburgh at 4:32 of the third to cut the deficit to 4-3, Geekie got his 17th of the season with 5:50 left to restore a two-goal lead. Heinen added an empty-net goal with 2:47 remaining to seal the Bruins’ win. “Obviously, (Pittsburgh) is fighting for their lives,” DeBrusk said. “There were some momentum shifts. We capitalized on our chances.” Boston got rebound goals from DeBrusk and Zacha 14 seconds apart in the second period to take a 2-0 lead at 8:22. Zacha’s goal was his 20th and DeBrusk got his 19th. Rust cut Pittsburgh’s deficit in half when he redirected O’Connor’s pass behind Ullmark 2:05 later for his career-high 28th. Boston regained its two-goal advantage as Shattenkirk — back after missing three games as a healthy scratch — chased Nedeljkovic from the game with 8:25 left in the second for his sixth. Marchand scored a short-handed goal on the first shot Jarry faced, giving Boston a 4-1 lead with 5:06 left in the middle period. However, Bunting scored on the power play from the top of the crease 58 seconds later to get the Penguins to 4-2. “We scored enough to win,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “It was just a matter of limiting their chances. We gave them some time and space and they have some skilled guys that will make you pay and they did that tonight.” Penguins D Erik Karlsson became the 398th player in NHL history, and 46th active, to skate in 1,000 career games. Karlsson, who split his career between Ottawa, San Jose and Pittsburgh, is the 18th Swedish-born player to reach the milestone and he has 814 career points, ninth-most by a defenseman. During pregame warmups, the Penguins all wore Karlsson’s No. 65 jersey. Before the game, Karlsson, on the ice with his family, was presented a silver hockey stick and other gifts commemorating the accomplishment and a video tribute aired with comments from Daniel Alfredsson, Joe Thornton and others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 16 Author Share Posted April 16 Game # 81 Capitals beat the Bruins 2-0 to move one win away from making the playoffs 1:49 ByAP Updated: Apr 15, 2024, 10:21 pm WASHINGTON -- — Leaving the ice and seeing the results of other games around the NHL after beating the Boston Bruins 2-0 on Monday night, Washington Capitals players took turns telling each other that it doesn't matter. “We take care of our business, we know where we’re going to be at," goaltender Charlie Lindgren said after his 16-save shutout. One more victory and they're in the playoffs. After John Carlson scored another big goal, Lindgren made one crucial stop after another and Nic Dowd sealed it with an empty-netter with 11.7 seconds left, a win at Philadelphia on Tuesday night would put Washington back in the playoffs, regardless of other results. “It's in our hands, and that’s the best way,” All-Star winger Tom Wilson said. The Capitals, if they make it, would be the second wild card in the Eastern Conference after the New York Islanders clinched third place in the Metropolitan Division and face the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers. Boston also still has something to play for in its regular-season finale Tuesday night at home against Ottawa: the Atlantic Division title, with Florida just one point back in the standings. The Bruins could have wrapped it up by beating the Caps, but couldn't match the urgency of an opponent fighting to for its playoff life. “I think the word ‘struggle’ is a compliment the way we played," coach Jim Montgomery said. "I thought Washington, their desperation, how well they defended, how well they hung on to pucks in the offensive zone is the way we wanted to play.” No one exemplified that intensity more for Washington than Dylan Strome, who won a faceoff, controlled the puck and set up Carlson's goal on a blast from the point 12 minutes in. Strome is desperate for his first NHL playoff experience with fans in the stands, outside a pandemic bubble. So is Lindgren, who put together another stellar performance when his team needed it most — much like a lot of games down the stretch. Lindgren denied Bruins 47-goal scorer David Pastrnak on multiple occasions and turned aside other quality chances to maintain the lead, among them third-period stops on Andrew Peeke, Charlie McAvoy and Patrick Maroon in the final eight minutes. “Chucky came up with some big stops there sporadically throughout the whole game,” Carlson said. "And when it’s tight like that, that’s enormous.” Jeremy Swayman was great in goal for Boston, making 23 saves, including a sliding stop on All-Star Tom Wilson in the second period and one on Alex Ovechkin during a penalty kill in the third. “I thought he was very good — he gave us a chance," Montgomery said. "There wasn’t a lot of bright spots. Just wasn’t. Swayman would be the biggest bright spot.” The Capitals were playing without two injured defensemen, forced to roll with rookie Vincent Iorio and minor league callup Dylan McIlrath. Carlson skated a game-high 29:34 to get them through game 81. They lost depth winger Beck Malenstyn to an upper-body injury late in the second period on a hit by big Bruins forward Trent Frederic. Malenstyn traveled with the team to Philly, coach Spencer Carbery said. UP NEXT Bruins: If the regular goalie rotation continues, Linus Ullmark will be in net against the Senators on Tuesday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 17 Author Share Posted April 17 Game # 82 Jiri Smejkal gets 1st goal, Senators beat Bruins 3-1 in regular-season finale 0:11 ByAP Updated: Apr 16, 2024, 10:40 pm BOSTON -- — Jiri Smejkal scored his first career goal midway through the second period and Jakob Chychrun scored less than a minute later as the Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins 3-1 on Tuesday night in the regular-season finale for both teams. Artem Zub added an empty-net goal with 1:48 remaining and Anton Forsberg had 34 saves for the Senators, who avoided a three-game season series sweep by Boston and helped spoil the Bruins’ hopes of clinching the Atlantic Division title. “We didn’t have our best game,” Boston captain Brad Marchand said. “We played in the third, didn’t play the first two periods. That’s too late to start playing. Teams are too good. Doesn’t matter who it is. You can’t play one period.” The Bruins entered the day leading second-place Florida by one point, but the Panthers beat Toronto 5-2 to pass the Bruins for the top spot in the Division. Boston squandered back-to-back chances to clinch the division by getting shut out at Washington 2-0 on Monday, then a losing at home to the Senators. “We didn’t play very good the last two games. But other than that, we’ve been playing well. We’ve been playing within the structure and giving ourselves an opportunity to win every night,” Marchand said. “If we do that in the playoffs, we’ll be tough to play against.” The Bruins never really recovered after being outshot 11-3 in the opening period. Boston played better in the second, but it wasn't until the third period that the Bruins started to seriously pressure the Senators, outshooting Ottawa 23-2 over the final 20 minutes. And then, they couldn't beat Forsberg. “To finish on a positive note after the year we had, it’s definitely nice. Definitely feel a little bit better about yourself going into the summer. But I know we’re not winning that game if it’s not for Forsey and the big saves that he made in the third period,” Ottawa forward Brady Tkachuk said. “He was awesome. He stood on his head and made that big save at the right time.” The loss sets up a meeting with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round of the playoffs. “Results-wise, not what we wanted, obviously. Some things to clean up,” said Linus Ullmark, who finished with 17 saves for the Bruins. “It’s a good thing we have a couple of days now before the fun starts." Pavel Zacha scored for Boston, which won the President's Trophy last season with the league's best record but was knocked out in the opening round of the playoffs. Smejkal, playing in his 20th career game, got the first goal of the game when he slipped the puck under Ullmark’s pads as he was hugging the near post 10:03 into the second period. Officials needed a few minutes to review the video before confirming the puck continued across the goal line after hitting Ullmark’s pads. “He was fired up. It was a big goal to kind of get the game going and it was a great shot, too,” Tkachuk said. “I’m happy for him. The whole group is happy for him.” The next goal required no replay. Tkachuk started a rush for the Senators and carried the puck into Boston’s zone before slipping it to Drake Batherson, who crossed it over to Chychrun at the left circle for a wrist shot past Ullmark 51 seconds later. The Bruins didn’t score unitl Zacha got a power-play goal with 7:16 remaining in the third. Boston got another puck across the line with 6:31 left but it was after a whistle when Forsberg and the Bruins' Trent Frederic exchanged shots during a scrum in front of the net. Forsberg steered away the rest of Boston's chances, stretching out his left pad to stop a point-blank opportunity by Charlie McAvoy with about five minutes remaining. Zub intercepted a pass by David Pastrnak and scored into an empty net with 1:48 remaining. Tuesday was the final regular season game for Bruins television play-by-play announcer Jack Edwards, who announced he is retiring at the end of the playoffs after a 19-year run with the team. The Bruins honored Edwards and presented him with a commemorative stick during a brief pregame ceremony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBGordie Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 So sad the Capitals made the playoffs. I was so hoping the Flyers would knock them out. The Bruins knocked down to 2nd place so they are playing Toronto instead of Tampa. That might be a good thing. They can handle Toronto easier than Tampa. Anyone know what happened to Jack Edwards health? I expected him to retire considering he could hardly talk any more. Mispronouncing everything, mumbling, talking really slow, really hard to listen to. It's odd that there is no news about what happened to him. He almost sounds like he had a stroke! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 17 Author Share Posted April 17 Just now, RBGordie said: So sad the Capitals made the playoffs. I was so hoping the Flyers would knock them out. The Bruins knocked down to 2nd place so they are playing Toronto instead of Tampa. That might be a good thing. They can handle Toronto easier than Tampa. Anyone know what happened to Jack Edwards health? I expected him to retire considering he could hardly talk any more. Mispronouncing everything, mumbling, talking really slow, really hard to listen to. It's odd that there is no news about what happened to him. He almost sounds like he had a stroke! Jack has had sone medical issues happening, not sure of the extent, but it's enough where he feels he can not do it any longer.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 17 Author Share Posted April 17 Bring on Toronto.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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