Boston Bruins 2019/20 Season Chatter

[Brewin Flames]

Brazal scores in regulation and OT, Isles beat Bruins 3-2

 

Game # 35

 

 2   3 SO

 

 

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By

Associated Press

Updated: 18 hours ago

BOSTON -- The New York Islanders felt they had something to prove. Matthew Barzal scored in regulation and the shootout as the Islanders beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 on Thursday night.

 

Despite being third in the Eastern Conference and winning six of nine coming in, the Islanders saw this game as a measuring stick because Boston has only lost one home game in regulation. “They are so tough at home,” Barzal said. “For us to stay level with them all night, says something about this group.”

 

Varlamov had 27 saves as New York snapped a seven-game losing streak to Boston. He made a highlight-reel save with 3:33 remaining in the second period. He dove across the crease and robbed Anders Bjork, who hung his head in disbelief. “Only had a chance to reach with my glove and he shot it right in the glove,” Varlamov said.

“If he shot that 10 times, he would have scored nine of 10. It was important to win this game and get our confidence back after game against Nashville.”

 

New York lost 8-3 Tuesday to the Predators and have now won four of five.

 

In the shootout, Jordan Eberle and Barzal scored for the Islanders. David Pastrnak scored for the Bruins. Brad Marchand 's attempt to extend the shootout was stymied by Varlamov.

 

Anders Bjork and Torey Krug scored for Boston. The Bruins are winless in four straight at home and seven of eight overall.

 

“Something about this team, we have a lot of confidence and swagger,” Bjork said. “Don’t sense any nerves, even when we are down, and still feel like we will come back.”

 

Devon Toews had a chance to end it for the Islanders in the closing seconds of overtime, but he lost control of the puck on a breakaway as he approached Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask.

 

Johnny Boychuk scored for the first time in 21 games, tying the score at 1 when beat a screened Rask with a shot from the blue line at 3:26 of the second.

 

Krug capitalized on a two-man advantage and tied the game at 2 with 12:36 remaining in the third period.

 

“They don’t give you much and record and goals against are evidence of that,” Krug said. “Every guy in this room feels like they can give a little bit more and hope we can right the ship soon.”

 

Rask stopped 19 shots for Boston and has dropped five straight.

[Brewin Flames]

Ellis scores winner in OT, Predators beat Bruins 4-3

 

Game # 36

 

 

 3  4 OT

 

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By

Associated Press

Updated: 16 hours ago

BOSTON -- The Nashville Predators will look back on this road trip as the turning point if the rest of their season gets rolling.

 

Ryan Ellis scored with 54.2 seconds left on the clock in overtime to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the stumbling Boston Bruins on Saturday night.

 

"The guys were working hard trying to get back to where we need to be," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "The road trip was a big part of it."

 

Roman Josi had two goals, Filip Forsberg also scored and Pekka Rinne stopped 29 shots to help Nashville finish a four-game trip at 3-0-1.

 

"It is crucial for us," Rinne said of the trip that included wins in New York against the Rangers and Islanders, and an overtime loss to Ottawa.

 

"Before this road trip, we weren't where we wanted to be," Rinne said. "This is a huge road trip against good teams."

 

Patrice Bergeron scored twice and Par Lindholm had the other goal for the Bruins, who have won just once in their last eight games (1-5-2). Jaroslav Halak finished with 25 saves.

 

Boston had won eight straight from mid-November to early December.

 

"It's frustrating losing. We want to win. We were in the games, it's just one goal," Boston forward David Pastrnak said. "That's hockey. Sometimes you win games you weren't (supposed) to win. That happened to us a little in November."

 

Boston had been 10-3-1 lifetime at home against Nashville.

 

Ellis beat Halak with a wrister from the edge of the slot for the winner after getting a pass from Ryan Johansen.

Bergeron had tied it when he tipped Pastrnak's shot from the left circle past Rinne with 65 seconds left in the third period. Bergeron nearly won it when he had a close flip shot from the edge of the crease with about 30 seconds left in regulation.

 

Trailing 2-1 in the third, the Predators tied it when -- with Rinne off for an extra skater during a delayed penalty -- Forsberg came around the net and tucked the puck into the goal inside Halak's right pad and the post at 7:35.

Josi's second of the game came 35 seconds later when Halak came charging way out before diving to try and poke a loose puck away, but the Predators' captain got to it near the boards, turned and fired a shot into the wide-open net.

 

"I was first to the puck," Halak said. "It was just one of those plays it bounced the other way and he was able to put it in. It happens to everyone. Too bad there's no one (behind) when the goalie makes a mistake that can cover him."

 

With Forsberg off for roughing late in the second period, Torey Krug made a backhand pass from along the boards to Bergeron in the slot, where he one-timed a shot inside the left post to give Boston a 2-1 lead with 47.7 seconds left in the period.

 

Early in the second, Halak made a nice pad stop on Matt Duchene's wrister from the slot before Lindholm made it 1-0 at 7:30 when he skated hard to get his stick on the rebound of Brett Ritchie's shot from the right circle.

 

The puck ended up trickling into the net off Predators defenseman Kyle Turris' knee as he went to the ice with Lindholm.

 

Nashville tied it a little less than five minutes later when Josi slipped a backhander from the slot past Halak, who looked like he may have been screened when Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson cut in front of him as Josi was firing his shot.

 

Stumbling through their toughest stretch of the season, Boston coach Bruce Cassidy has been preaching lately the team's need to get back to its identity. They failed to close out another tight game at home, falling to 0-1-4 in their last five at TD Garden.

[Brewin Flames]

Bruins score 4 in 1st to chase Holtby, beat Capitals 7-3

 

Game # 37

 

 7  3

 

 

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 6 hours ago

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins had one goal taken away by an inadvertent whistle, and the Capitals were about to go on the power play.

 

Boston's four first-period goals had chased Washington starter Braden Holtby, but no one on the Bruins bench was all that confident Monday night with almost 35 minutes left in the game against a team that had beaten them in 16 of the previous 17 tries.

 

That's when Brad Marchand forced a turnover at center ice and tipped the puck ahead to Charlie Coyle, who skated in for a short-handed goal to give Boston a 5-0 lead. The Bruins went on to a 7-3 victory that snapped a five-game home losing streak.

 

"The shorty definitely was big. They had an opportunity to get back in the game," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said after his team held on despite being outshot 34-6 over the final two periods. "It's been a while since we've been in the winner's circle here."

 

Brad Marchand and Anders Bjork scored 27 seconds apart in a four-goal first period against Holtby, and Coyle's short-handed goal in the second made it a five-goal lead before Alex Ovechkin put Washington on the board.

 

Lars Eller cut the deficit to 5-2 with about 4 1/2 minutes left in the third before David Krecji added an empty netter. After Garnet Hathaway caught the Boston defense napping on a would-be icing call with just over two minutes left, Patrice Bergeron scored an empty-netter for his second goal of the game and a 7-3 lead.

 

"We've had a tough time against Washington lately," said David Pastrnak, who had a pair of assists and a roughing penalty for fighting Tom Wilson as the game got chippy in the last half of the third period.

 

"That's what it takes to beat this team," Pastrnak said. "It reminded me a little bit of playoff hockey. Sometimes those games are like that in December."

 

Tuukka Rask made 39 saves to snap his five-game losing streak and help Boston win for just the second time in its last 10. The Capitals had won eight straight in Boston and 16 of the previous 17 matchups overall.

Krejci had two assists and an empty-netter, and Jake DeBrusk also scored for Boston.

 

Holtby allowed four goals on 11 shots for Washington, which had won 10 of its previous 12 games. Ilya Samsonov replaced him to start the second period and stopped three of the four shots he faced in almost 38 minutes.

 

"Obviously, we gave Holts no chance," Ovechkin said. "We left him alone in the first 10-11-12 minutes, take penalties, made bad plays. ... You can see the last two periods how we played, to have chances to come back. But in the first period we lost the game."

 

The Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals had won each of the two previous meetings this season, but the Atlantic-leading Bruins owned this one from the start. DeBrusk scored about five minutes in, and then Marchand made it 2-0 at 13:29 on the rebound of Pastrnak's shot.

 

Before the announcement could be completed, Coyle brought the puck out from behind Holtby and Bjork slapped it in to make it 3-0. Bergeron tipped in a shot from Pastrnak on a 5-on-3 advantage with a minute left in the period to give Boston a 4-0 lead.

 

The Bruins almost had another goal on one of the odder plays of the season.

 

David Krejci was called for tripping Ovechkin behind the Washington net, but before Boston could gain possession the Capitals knocked the puck into their own goal. A replay confirmed an inadvertent whistle blew the play dead before the puck went in.

 

No matter. Coyle scored a short-handed goal on the ensuing power play to make it 5-0. It was the 100th goal of his career.

[OccamsRazor]

@Brewin Flames

 

 

Imagine if you could go back to the draft of 2015 and taken Kyle Connor, Jake Debrusk Travis Konecny or Mathew Barzal???

 

Instead of Zboril and Senyshyn???

[Brewin Flames]

1 hour ago, OccamsRazor said:

@Brewin Flames

 

 

Imagine if you could go back to the draft of 2015 and taken Kyle Connor, Jake Debrusk Travis Konecny or Mathew Barzal???

 

Instead of Zboril and Senyshyn???

 

[Brewin Flames]

Every day my friend, every day .

[Brewin Flames]

Bergeron's 3rd straight 2-goal game lifts Bruins over Sabres

 

Game # 38

 

 3   0

 

 

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 16 hours ago

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Patrice Bergeron is known as one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL. It looks like the 34-year-old has plenty of offense left in him, too.

 

Bergeron scored two goals for the third consecutive game, and the Boston Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-0 on Friday night. Bergeron became the fifth player in Bruins history to score two goals in at least three games and the first Bruin since Cam Neely in 1988-89 to accomplish the feat.

 

"It's one of those things where at times the puck's going in, you get some puck luck and other times it doesn't," Bergeron said. "To me it's always about details, making sure I play the right way and that's where we're at as a line. ... It's one of those things, you take it when it's going well and you try to keep working on it."

 

Jaroslav Halak made 26 saves for Boston for his third shutout of the season and the 50th of his career. Brandon Carlo added an empty-net goal.

 

"It's special, but it's a team win right now," Halak said. "We did a lot of good things. We just need to keep building on it, keep playing that way."

 

Bergeron opened the scoring with 21.3 seconds left in the first. With Marcus Johansson in the penalty box for holding, Bergeron finished a tic-tac-toe sequence from David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, scoring on a low one-timer from the slot.

 

That line connected in similar fashion on Boston's second goal with 1:34 left in the second. This time, it began with Pastrnak picking up the puck after a turnover by Jimmy Vesey. Pastrnak fed Marchand, who was in close on a 2-on-1 with Bergeron, and Bergeron had an easy finish.

 

"Right now it's going in for him," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said of Bergeron. "There was a stretch about a month ago it seemed like he couldn't buy a goal. He was in great spots and goalies were making saves, or it was off the net. ... Sometimes I think you get enough volume from good spots eventually you figure they're going to go in and that's what I think has happened."

 

Linus Ullmark made 22 saves for Buffalo, which has lost five of its last six games.

 

"They're a great team defensively. ... That's their game, they do a good job of it," Sabres captain Jack Eichel said. "I thought we still had a fairly good amount of chances.

 

Give Halak credit, I thought he played well. We didn't capitalize on some of them and they did, so that was the difference."

 

Buffalo had some positive moments in the third while attempting to get back in the game but was repeatedly thwarted by Halak and the Bruins. Buffalo outshot Boston 10-5 in the final period.

 

"We were really angry after the second period," Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said. "That was good that the group came back out and fought and tried to turn it, but it wasn't there. I've seen Halak play very well. He was our goalie at the World Cup and he really had a good game today."

 

Both goalies made their share of big saves. Ullmark stretched wide with his glove to stop Danton Heinen 1:40 into the game, and Halak had a big glove save of his own on Johansson with 3:35 left in the first. Halak also did a fine job of laying on the ice to cover up a potential loose puck with several Sabres buzzing nearby five minutes into the third and then again with nine minutes remaining.

[Brewin Flames]

DeBrusk gets 2 PP goals early in 3rd, Bruins top Sabres 3-2

 

Game # 39

 

 3  2

 

 

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 8 hours ago

BOSTON -- Jake DeBrusk sat on the bench wondering when he’d see the ice again.

 

Then he made up for his early hiccups with two quick goals.

 

DeBrusk scored power-play goals 18 seconds apart early in the third after getting benched for much of the opening period, and the Boston Bruins completed a home-and-home sweep of the Buffalo Sabres with a 3-2 victory Sunday night.

 

“There’s obviously a lot of emotions going on. You care and take pride in yourself,” DeBrusk said. “It’s one of those things where I’ve kind of been in that situation before. You never want it to happen as a player, but usually I respond pretty well. It was nice to get the two goals there.”

 

Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said it’s a message he needs to send sometimes when someone isn’t playing well.

 

“I think internally, the message you usually send, as long as it’s not personal -- you’re trying to get them to play the right way,” Cassidy said. “(You) give them an opportunity to play their way out of it. It’s not like we buried him the rest of the game.

 

He was back on the power play, back playing his regular shift. Give him the opportunity and he responded.”

David Pastrnak added his NHL-leading 29th goal and Tuukka Rask made 24 saves for the Bruins, who have earned at least one point in each of their last seven games (4-0-3).

 

Rasmus Ristolainen and Curtis Lazar scored for the Sabres, who have lost six of seven. Linus Ullmark stopped 19 shots.

 

“I’m just trying to help out as much as I can here,” said Lazar, recalled Friday from Rochester of the AHL. “I feel a lot better this time around here, making an impact.”

 

With Johan Larsson in the penalty box serving a double minor for two separate penalties on the same shift -- one for tripping and the other for hooking -- DeBrusk scored his power-play goals.

 

On the first, he circled the net and tipped Steven Kampfer’s shot past Ullmark at 2:37. The second came when DeBrusk fired a tough-angle shot from the left wing that hit the goalie’s right pad and popped into the net inside the near post.

 

“They got two big goals,” Ristolainen said. “That was a big thing tonight -- special teams.”

 

Pastrnak double shifted, skating with his regular line -- the team’s top one -- and on the second in place of DeBrusk for a large portion of the opening period.

 

Rask made a couple of big stops in the final three minutes.

 

With an extra skater on due to a delayed penalty, Lazar’s goal sliced it to 3-2 at 5:08 of the third period. Lazar also hit the crossbar with just more than seven minutes to play.

 

Facing each other again after Boston won 3-0 in Buffalo on Friday, the Sabres seemed a bit more energized at the start, holding the Bruins without a shot on goal for more than 11 minutes into the opening period.

 

But the Bruins took a 1-0 lead when Pastrnak converted on their second shot, firing a wrister past Ullmark after taking a cross-ice pass from Brad Marchand at the end of a 2-on-1 break 12:39 in.

 

The Sabres tied it when Ristolainen was credited with a goal at 6:37 of the second. Rask came across and made a pad save on Ristolainen's wrister from the right circle.

 

The puck trickled between his pads and was in the crease slightly behind him when defenseman Zdeno Chara tried to poke it back under his legs but banked it into the net off one of the goalie’s skates.

 

The Bruins had three power plays in the second, but hardly generated any quality chances. In fact, on the third one Buffalo had two good chances that Rask turned aside.

[Brewin Flames]

Devils slip past Bruins with 3-2 win in a shootout

 

Game # 40

 

 2   3 SO

 

 

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By

Associated Press

Updated: 15 hours ago

NEWARK, N.J. -- Damon Severson took a ribbing from his teammates as the unlikely shootout star for the New Jersey Devils.

 

Severson scored in the sixth round Tuesday to give the Devils a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins.

 

Severson beat Jaroslav Halak with a backhand and Mackenzie Blackwood clinched the win by stopping Patrice Bergeron.

 

After the first eight shooters were stopped, Jack Hughes for New Jersey and Chris Wagner of Boston both scored in round 5 to set the stage for the defenseman who was taking only the sixth shootout appearance in a six-year career.

 

"There were a lot of accusations after the game that I didn't know what I was doing out there," Severson said.

Far from it. By closely watching, Severson saw that Halak was flashing a strong glove in the shootout. It was time for a change of pace.

 

"I figured if I could make a good fake and go backhand and get it upstairs, I'd have a better chance to score," Severson said. "Ultimately it went in. That was a big one. It felt good."

 

It was his second career shootout score, and it lifted the Devils to a second straight win as they rallied from a two-goal deficit.

 

Blake Coleman and Jesper Bratt scored for New Jersey in regulation and Blackwood stopped 28 shots.

 

"Everyone competes all the time." Blackwood said. "Whether we get down a goal or two, everyone plays the same way. I think we're really starting to learn how to win, and what it takes to play the right way.

 

Brad Marchand and Joakim Nordstrom scored for Boston and Halak stopped 42 shots. The loss snapped the Bruins' winning streak at three but they did extend their points streak to eight games (4-0-4). Boston is winless in six shootouts this season.

 

"You get a 2-0 lead on the road; typically we've been able to handle those situations well but not tonight," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "So we leave with a point but no one is satisfied in there. It just looks better tomorrow in the standings."

 

The Bruins took advantage of an early opportunity when Devils defenseman P.K. Subban was whistled for interference 1:17 into the game.

 

David Pastrnak unloaded a heavy shot from the left dot that Blackwood partially blocked. Marchand cleaned up the rebound in the crease at 2:03 for his 20th goal, reaching that mark for a seventh straight season.

 

That lone tally of the opening period extended Pastrnak's point scoring streak to eight games with three goals and 10 assists.

 

Boston extended the lead to 2-0 at 4:27 of the second as Nordstrom jammed the puck past Blackwood in a goal-mouth scramble.

 

Falling behind by two goals seemed to spark the Devils, who matched the Bruins chance for chance the rest of the period.

 

The renewed energy paid off as Coleman, polishing off a give and go with Nikita Gusev, scored at 8:58 to cut the deficit to one.

 

The Devils had several other good chances in the middle period, especially a shot by Sami Vatanen that rang off the post. They continued to push hard into the third and it paid off.

 

Bratt pulled New Jersey even at 13:11, deflecting Subban's wrist shot from the point to tie the score at 2-2.

The Devils outshot the Bruins 19-5 in the third.

 

"We're playing a team that usually plays hard and gets their chances by working hard and getting to the net," Bergeron said. "We knew what we were facing. We spent too much time in our zone, and energy there, and you can't do that. That's where it hurt us."

 

Boston defenseman Matt Grzelcyk fired a shot off the crossbar, the best opportunity for either side in the overtime.

[Brewin Flames]

Dubois scores in OT, Blue Jackets beat Bruins 2-1

 

Game # 41

 

 1  2 OT

 

 

---

By

Associated Press

18 hours ago

BOSTON -- Seth Jones took control of the puck behind the Columbus goal line in overtime and saw a lot of open ice ahead of him.

 

He got by Bruins forward David Krejci deep in the Blue Jackets zone and then stickhandled David Pastrnak onto the back of his skates. From there, he and Pierre-Luc Dubois had a wide-open 2-on-1 for the game-winner.

 

"He just took off," Columbus coach John Tortorella said after Jones fed Dubois with 52 seconds gone in overtime to lead the Blue Jackets to a 2-1 victory over the Bruins on Thursday night. "He put it into another gear. That's always impressive."

 

Sonny Milano also scored for the Blue Jackets in his first game back since Dec. 14.

 

Rookie Elvis Merzlikins, who is filling in after starter Joonas Korpisalo was injured, stopped 25 shots to earn his second straight victory after Columbus lost his first nine appearances.

 

"When you have injuries, nobody feels bad for you. Nobody stops. Nobody changes their game," said Dubois, who has eight points in his last eight games, including three game-winning goals.

 

"They all see an opportunity."

 

Pastrnak scored his 30th goal of the season for Boston, and Tuukka Rask made 31 saves as the Bruins lost in overtime or a shootout for the third time in four games. Boston is tied with Washington at 59 points for the most in the NHL, recording a point in nine straight games despite winning just four of them.

 

In all, the Bruins are 0-6 in shootouts and 2-5 in games that end in overtime.

 

"It would be better if we won more of them," Rask said. "But try not to get frustrated. Just keep plugging away and hopefully we'll start turning those overtime losses into wins, too."

 

Columbus seemed to score in the first 17 seconds when Gustav Nyquist beat Rask, but the replay showed goaltender interference and the goal was waved off. Tortorella, who was fined $20,000 by the NHL for criticizing the officials after Sunday's loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, held his temper.

 

"I think he was fine," Jones said. "I think he was fine, for once."

 

It remained scoreless until Pastrnak scored five seconds into a man advantage -- his NHL-leading 14th power-play goal of the season. Milano tied it when his centering pass bounced off Boston defenseman Matt Grzelcyk's heel and past Rask.

[Brewin Flames]

Oilers surge past Bruins for 4-1 victory

 

Game # 42

 

 1  4

 

 

---

By

Associated Press

1 day ago

BOSTON -- Edmonton goalie Mike Smith took a deep sigh when asked how it felt to finally get a victory. The Oilers had a little bit of help from the Boston Bruins, too.

 

Darnell Nurse and Gaetan Haas each had a second-period goal off poor Boston plays, Connor McDavid added an insurance score in the third after being stopped twice by Jaroslav Halak and the Oilers beat the Bruins 4-1 on Saturday.

 

Smith made 35 saves for his first victory since Nov. 23rd as Edmonton won for the second time in five games (2-2-1). Leon Draisaitl added an empty-net goal.

 

"It's been a while since me personally was in for a win," Smith said after the pause. "Obviously you want to contribute to the team's success. That was a great team effort by everyone."

 

David Pastrnak scored his NHL-leading 31st goal for the Bruins, who have won just four times in their past 10 games. Halak made 22 saves.

 

It was just Boston's second home loss in regulation (14-2-9).

 

"Against a team like that, obviously you've got to manage the puck a little better," Boston center David Krejci said.

 

"They have good forwards. If you make them chase the puck a lot, they get frustrated. I don't think we managed the puck well today."

 

Nurse's goal with 6.3 seconds left in the second gave the Oilers a 2-1 edge. He fired what looked like a relatively easy shot to handle from the left circle, but the puck slipped into the net between the post and Halak's right shoulder.

 

"I don't even know how it went in honestly," Halak said. "I thought I was right there. Hockey is a game of mistakes. I made a mistake and it went in."

 

McDavid cut down the slot after taking a pass from Zack Kassian and slipped a wrister into the net for his 23rd goal 1:48 into the third period.

 

The Oilers tied it at 1 in the second when Boston winger Jake DeBrusk turned the puck over right in front of his own net -- whiffing on a pass -- and Haas slipped a shot under Halak 7:41 into the period.

 

"That was a gift," Haas said, breaking into a laugh.

 

Edmonton has three points in the first two of a five-game road trip.

 

"We talked about playing a full 60 minutes and competing hard for the 60 minutes and building on the team things we're doing right now," Oilers coach Dave Tippett said. "We capitalized on a couple of chances."

 

Halak made a pair of splendid stops on McDavid in the opening period. On the first, he flashed his right pad when the center came in alone down the left wing.

 

The second was even better; the goalie quickly slid across the crease to block his wrister from the right circle at the end of a 2-on-1 break when McDavid had a wide-open shot after a cross-ice pass.

 

The Oilers entered the day with the league's best penalty-killing unit on the road at 91%, but the Bruins need just 5 seconds to score on their first opportunity.

 

With Draisaitl in the box for elbowing Torey Krug, Pastrnak fired a wrister from the left circle that hit the stick of Edmonton defenseman Kris Russell and popped into the right corner of the net under the crossbar 3:10 into the game, extending his point streak to 10 games.

 

ELITE COMPANY

 

Pastrnak and Brad Marchand are the first set of Boston teammates to reach 60 points before the team's 45th game since Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito in 1974-75.

[Brewin Flames]

Pastrnak, Rask lead Bruins over Predators 6-2

 

Game # 43

 

 

 6  2

 

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 6 hours ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Boston's latest victory snapped the Bruins' losing streak and spoiled the debut of the Nashville Predators' new coach.

 

David Pastrnak scored for the third consecutive game, Tuukka Rask made 34 saves and the Bruins beat the Predators 6-2 on Tuesday night.

 

Danton Heinen, Patrice Bergeron, Chris Wagner, David Krejci and Charlie Coyle also scored for the Bruins, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

 

"Anytime you get balanced scoring, it just takes so much pressure off of the other guys," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "It turns a lot of those one-goal games into two or three goal wins if they can pitch in every night. That's the goal."

 

Filip Forsberg and Mikael Granlund scored for Nashville, which has lost five of six. Pekka Rinne finished with 30 saves.

 

New Nashville coach John Hynes lost his debut. Hynes replaced Peter Laviolette, who was fired Monday after five and a half seasons as head coach.

 

"Now having been on the bench with the players and going through a game and seeing the ups and downs and what it goes through, I really feel I have a strong grasp of some areas that I think we can improve," Hynes said.

Pastrnak scored the game's first goal at 1:36 of the opening period.

 

Driving down the right side, Pastrnak fired a slap shot from just above the faceoff dot past Rinne on the glove side.

 

Pastrnak has goals in three straight games and extended his point scoring streak to 11.

 

"We're a team that needs and relies on everyone to play their game and bring it every night," Bergeron said. "I thought tonight was a perfect example of how we want to play, how everyone wants to compete, and when you do that, most often than not, you're going to get the result. I thought we did that tonight."

 

Heinen made it 2-0 at 8:21 of the second.

 

From the high slot, Heinen sent a shot by Predators defenseman Matt Irwin, who slid in an attempt to block the shot, which beat Rinne high to the far side for his seventh of the season.

 

"Mentally, it kind of reminds you that you can do it," Heinen said. "I'll just try to build off of it and keep on trying to work on the details and I think that will come."

 

Forsberg cut the Boston lead in half at 10:54 of the second.

 

With the Predators on a 5-on-3 power play, Forsberg's shot from the high slot squeezed between Rask's right arm and body.

 

"I know we'll be making some changes to our game and I know that everyone's going to buy in," Predators forward Matt Duchene said. "We have a heck of a group in here. I know we believe in ourselves and believe in each other."

 

Predators captain Roman Josi assisted on the goal. Josi has points in 11 consecutive games. It's the longest point streak by a defenseman in the NHL this season.

 

Bergeron's power-play goal at 17:42 of the second restored Boston's two-goal lead and Wagner scored his first goal in a month at 2:51 of the third.

 

Granlund scored a power-play goal at 18:06 of the third, but Krejci and Coyle scored 22 seconds apart to conclude the scoring.

[Brewin Flames]

Pastrnak hat trick helps Bruins hold off Jets 5-4

 

Game # 44

 

 5   4

 

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 16 hours ago

BOSTON -- The Bruins used a barrage of different scorers to snap a three-game losing streak at Nashville earlier this week. Goals from two of their youngest stars were sufficient to help them get past the Jets.

 

David Pastrnak had a hat trick to extend his point streak to 12 games and Jake DeBrusk added two goals, including the go-ahead score in the third period, and Boston held off Winnipeg 5-4 on Thursday night.

 

It was Pastrnak's third hat trick this season and eighth of his career. He has nine goals and 10 assists during his current point streak, and his 35 goals overall lead the NHL.

 

"The last few games, I feel like we had a little trouble scoring," Pastrnak said. "It's good to finally be able to put together two games."

 

It comes a perfect time for Boston, which plays its next three on the road, beginning Saturday against the New York Islanders.

"We've got to keep it moving heading out to the road trip," Pastrnak said.

 

Kyle Connor, Andrew Copp, Neal Pionk and Mark Scheifele had goals for the Jets. Nikolaj Ehlers added a pair of assists. The loss stops the Jets' win streak at two. They end their four-game road trip 2-2.

 

"We were about 10 minutes away from it being a great road trip," Copp said. "Kind of a sour taste right now. I feel like we let one get away."

 

Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck rested on the second night of the Jets' back-to-back. Backup Laurent Brossoit, who hadn't started since Dec. 23, finished with 31 saves.

 

"It was a good game all the way throughout," Brossoit said. "A lot of good things on both sides. They just outscored us."

 

Backup Jaroslav Halak also got the start for the Bruins. He stopped 17 shots.

 

Winnipeg took a 4-3 lead in the third when Schiefele bounced a shot off the pad of Halak and into the net. But Pastrnak completed his scoring just minutes later, tying it on a shot just in front of the net off assists by David Krejci and DeBrusk.

 

Just 30 seconds, later DeBrusk tipped in Charlie McAvoy's shot out of a face off to put Boston in front with 8:14 left.

 

The Bruins edged in front 3-2 with just over a minute to play in the second when DeBrusk forced a turnover near center ice, sped ahead on a breakaway and pushed his shot into to the top of the net.

 

But after an interference penalty was called on Boston's Matt Grzelcyk, the Jets capitalized and tied it with 7.5 seconds left in the period on a long goal by Pionk from just inside the blue line.

 

Penalties also played a role in the early goals.

 

The Bruins were hit with a penalty for too many men with 15:37 left in the second. The Jets then took a 2-1 lead with 23 seconds left in their ensuing power play on Copp's tip-in of Josh Morrissey's hard shot from the high slot.

 

The goal came after Winnipeg, which entered with a league-worst 73% penalty kill percentage, held during a Bruins power play following Luca Sbisa's penalty for tripping Brad Marchand.

 

The Jets paid the price for a penalty less than four minutes later when Blake Wheeler was whistled for tripping David Krejci. Pastrnak scored his second goal of the night just 5 seconds later, assisted by Torey Krug and Marchand.

 

It was Boston's 40th power-play goal of the season.

 

The teams traded goals in the first period.

 

Connor got free on a 2-on-1 break up the left side, cut inside defender Krug and flicked a backhanded shot past Halak for his 22nd goal of the season to give the Jets a 1-0 lead.

 

The Bruins tied it with 2:46 left in the period after Joakim Nordstrom spun away from a scrum behind the net and fed Pastrnak at the top of the slot for his 33rd goal of the season.

[Brewin Flames]

Bergeron scores on power play in OT, Bruins top Isles 3-2

 

Game # 45

 

 3  2 OT

 

 

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 17 hours ago

NEW YORK -- Patrice Bergeron knew if he was in the right place, he'd get the puck with a chance to get the winning goal in overtime.

 

Bergeron scored a power-play goal 1:33 into the extra period to lift the Boston Bruins to a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday night.

 

With the Islanders' Brock Nelson off for tripping and Boston with its second man advantage of the game, Bergeron got a pass from Torey Krug in the left circle, settled the puck and beat Semyon Varlamov on the blocker side.

 

"It was an amazing play by Torey," Bergeron said "I was reading that there was two guys going at him, so I figured if I was to stay in that pocket the puck would come and I'd have a little bit of time, and I did."

 

It gave the Bruins a goal with the man advantage for a club-record 13th straight game.

 

Jake DeBrusk and John Moore also scored, and Tuukka Rask stopped 35 shots to help the Bruins win their third straight. Boston also improved to 7-1-5 in its last 13 games.

 

Mathew Barzal had a goal and an assist, and Scott Mayfield also scored for the Islanders. Varlamov had 30 saves.

 

"The chances were there," Barzal said. "That's a heck of a hockey team over there. The whole lineup. That was two top teams going at it, I think it was what we expected it to be, a chess match."

 

New York, which snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Bruins in a 3-2 shootout win at Boston on Dec. 19, has now lost nine straight meetings at home.

 

Moore gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead as he fired a slap shot from the left point just inside the blue line that went between Varlamov's skates and in for his second at 5:48 of the third.

 

"I had a little bit of space and a lane," the defenseman said. "They did a really good job at fronting shots, so I just wound up and tried to hit it as hard as I could and it found its way to the back of the net."

 

Barzal tied it for the Islanders less than four minutes later. Josh Bailey picked up a loose puck, skated up the left side and found Barzal streaking to the net, and the star center tipped his teammate's pass past Rask for his 17th at 9:33.

 

"We had lots of net presence, we had chaos around their net," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "I thought we showed good resiliency when they they took the lead and we tied it up."

 

With the Islanders leading 1-0, Beauvillier had a chance to add to the lead off a pass from Barzal, but Rask made a nice right pad save a little more than five minutes into the second period.

 

DeBrusk tied it off the rebound of a shot by Charlie McAvoy with the puck deflecting off Mayfield's skate and over Varlamov at 8:33 of the middle period.

 

It was Debrusk's 14th and came on Boston's 10th shot of the game.

 

With the Bruins on a power play, Varlamov made a diving save to his right to deny David Pastrnak's wraparound try with 5:13 left, drawing chants of "Var-ly! Var-ly!" from the home crowd. Varlamov had another nice save on a try by Brad Marchand 24 seconds later.

 

The Islanders controlled play for much of the first period, outshooting the Bruins 14-5 over the first 20 minutes.

Mayfield got the Islanders on the scoreboard 4;36 into the game.

 

Barzal brought the puck around the back of the net, and found Mayfield in the right slot with a pass from the left corner, and the defenseman fired a long shot past Rask for his career-high fifth goal.

 

Rask had to make several nice saves to keep it a one-goal game.

 

"If not for Tuukka in that first 20 (minutes), you wonder where we'd be," Moore said. "You don't want to stick with that recipe. We want to learn from it and improve."

[Brewin Flames]

Marchand overskates puck in shootout, Bruins fall to Flyers

 

Game # 46

 

 

 5  6 SO

 

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 12 hours ago

PHILADELPHIA -- The Boston Bruins have lost shootouts every which way this season.

 

Brad Marchand found a new one Monday night.

 

The Bruins star overskated the puck at center ice on a shootout attempt in a bizarre ending to the Philadelphia Flyers' 6-5 victory over Boston.

 

Travis Konecny scored in the fifth round of the shootout for Philadelphia, and Marchand lined up for his turn needing to score to keep the game going. The two-time All-Star charged toward the resting puck but barely nipped it as he skated past -- he zoomed into the offensive zone, but the puck trickled forward just a few inches.

 

Officials met briefly before signaling that the game was over. Because Marchand made contact with the puck, it was considered a shot attempt.

 

"I was just trying to get going and just missed it," Marchand said. "That's the way it is. I'm not going to overthink it."

 

Boston entered the game tied with Washington and St. Louis for most points in the NHL but fell to 0-7 in shootouts.

 

"We've seen that movie before," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said.

 

Well, not exactly. Not quite like this.

 

"It was a nice way for us to know it was over," Konecny said.

 

Travis Sanheim scored twice in regulation for the Flyers, who rallied from a three-goal deficit.

 

"It's a big positive for us," Konecny said. "We went through a little stretch where we were struggling, so to come back against a team like this, it puts us right up there and we know we can win against these teams."

 

Sean Couturier, Connor Bunnaman and Kevin Hayes also scored for the Flyers, who were down 5-2 with 12 1/2 minutes left in the second period.

 

"They're a great team over there," Hayes said. "They're top of the league every year. To go down three goals and come back and play the way we did to win the game, it's a springboard of the good things coming up."

Philadelphia improved to 15-3-4 at home.

 

David Krejci had two goals and Anders Bjork, Charlie Coyle and David Pastrnak also scored for the Bruins.

 

The Flyers had the best opportunity in the five-minute overtime when Ivan Provorov was right on the doorstep, but Jaroslav Halak extended his right pad for a stellar save just before the buzzer sounded.

 

Sanheim got his second of the game by following his own miss to tie it at 5 with 7:02 left in the third period during a 4-on-4.

 

"He's real effective when he moves up in the play," Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said of Sanheim, a defenseman. "He's just scratching the surface with that potential."

 

The teams combined for six goals in an entertaining second period.

 

Boston looked in position for a blowout after Krejci's second of the night made it 5-2. The Flyers answered with the final two goals of the second.

 

Couturier pulled Philadelphia within 5-3 with 6:48 left in the period when he lost control of the puck near the crease and it slid under Halak's glove.

 

Connor Bunnaman, called up on Sunday from Lehigh Valley of the AHL, then was credited with his first career goal 1 1/2 minutes later when Mark Friedman's shot from the point hit him and two Bruins defensemen before going into the net.

 

It was Friedman's first career assist.

 

Cassidy wasn't happy with the Flyers' final three regulation tallies, especially the tying one.

 

"It's inexcusable," he said. "No compete in front of the net, no urgency to keep the puck out of the net."

 

Pastrnak notched his NHL-leading 36th goal on a backhander through Carter Hart's legs to open the second-period scoring.

 

Krejci scored his 10th of the season to make it 2-0 with 3:11 left in the first, finishing a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play with a one-timer from just inside the post to extend Boston's club-record streak with a power-play tally to 14 consecutive games.

 

Hayes pulled the Flyers within a goal with a one-timer from the right circle on a power play with 1:38 left in the first to snap Philadelphia's 0-for-11 skid on the man-advantage.

[Brewin Flames]

Merzlikins records 2nd shutout; Columbus beats Boston 3-0

 

Game # 47

 

 0   3

 

 

---

By

Associated Press

8 hours ago

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Elvis the King, make way for Elvis the Wall.

 

Elvis Merzlikins recorded his second consecutive shutout and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Bruins 3-0 Tuesday night for their fourth win in five games.

 

Alexander Wennberg, Kevin Stenlund and Riley Nash scored for Columbus.

 

Merzlikins won for the sixth time in his eight starts and turned aside all 34 shots he faced. His five wins since Dec. 31 tie him for the NHL lead with Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy.

 

"Tonight the team worked really hard," Merzlikins said. "They tried to cut the chances for Boston. I think the team did a bigger part than me tonight. It's a team shutout. They did a big job blocking the shots, so thank you to them."

 

Boston goaltender Jaroslav Halak entered the game at 1:12 of the first period after Tukka Rask was inadvertently struck in the head by an elbow in the crease.

 

Halak stopped 24 shots in relief as the Bruins lost their second straight and were shut out for the first time this season.

 

Wennberg got the Blue Jackets offense going, taking a feed from Vladislav Gabrikov off a pass from Nathan Gerbe at 13:27 of the first period and beat Halak through the pads.

 

The goal was the fourth of the season for Wennberg and his second in two games after a 35-game scoring drought.

 

The assist was the fourth point in five games for Gerbe, who three weeks ago was playing for the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League.

 

"I didn't like the way we defended," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Two defensemen got beat one-on-one. Something you've got to be able to do is play your one-on-ones. The puck then beat (Halak) on the ice through the legs. He'll tell you right now that was not a good goal."

 

Stenlund gave the Jackets breathing room with a power-play goal at 5:46 of the third, blasting a one-timer off a behind-the-net pass from Nick Foligno.

 

"That was a big goal, Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "It's all about momentum. ... To go up 2-0 in that type of game, it's a fairly big goal."

 

Nash sealed the win at 13:05 with an unassisted shot from the left circle.

 

"Our team is playing like a team and that's why we are winning," Foligno said.

[Brewin Flames]

Bergeron scores 20th, Bruins beat Penguins 4-1

 

Game # 48

 

 4   1

 

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 17 hours ago

BOSTON -- The Bruins turned an ominous start into a decisive victory against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.

 

Crosby scored 24 seconds into the game, but Jaroslav Halak didn't allow anything else to get past him as Boston beat Pittsburgh 4-1 on Thursday night.

 

"We just kind of responded the right way," said Halak, who made 29 saves. "We started skating. We put the pucks deep and we got a lot of those pucks back. That was a big thing tonight."

 

Par Lindholm, Sean Kuraly and Patrice Bergeron all scored for Boston before Brad Marchand capped the victory with an empty-net goal.

 

The Bruins played a solid defensive game after Crosby's fast start, stifling the Penguins through long stretches and keeping Pittsburgh from sustaining the early momentum Crosby generated in his second game back after a two-month layoff.

 

"I think we're going to see that a lot. I don't think that's the first team or the last that's going to try to be physical," Crosby said.

 

"We had times where we were able to get some good hits in, too."

 

Crosby returned Tuesday after missing 28 games following abdominal surgery. He fired off a slap shot from the top of the left circle and beat Halak, giving the Penguins a 1-0 lead and setting up Boston for another setback in a week that's been full of them.

 

The Bruins lost 3-0 at Columbus on Tuesday, the first time they've been shut out this season, and blew a 5-2 lead Monday at Philadelphia as the Flyers rallied to a 6-5 win in a shootout -- a game that ended when Marchand overskated a puck at center ice to spoil his shootout try.

 

"We weren't really happy with our last two efforts," Bergeron said. "And you're facing a team that's playing good hockey, it's a big challenge. I thought we responded well."

 

Tristan Jarry had 26 saves for Pittsburgh, which hosts Boston in the third meeting of the Eastern Conference contenders on Sunday.

 

After Crosby scored his seventh goal, Kuraly tied it at 10:03 on a shot that deflected off a Penguins' defenseman and Lindholm put Boston up 2-1 just 2:13 later when he redirected a shot by Karson Kuhlman after the Bruins forced a turnover in Pittsburgh's zone.

 

After outshooting Boston 12-10 in the first period, the Penguins didn't record a shot on goal in the second until Halak stopped a tip by Teddy Blueger with 6:50 left in the period.

 

Although he wasn't tested much in the period, Halak made four huge saves in the final seconds when he stopped Bryan Rust on a 2-on-1, then three rebound attempts by Zach Aston-Reese.

 

Halak came up big again late in the third as he kept a flurry of shots from crossing the goal line.

 

Boston led 2-1 after two and extended the lead 3:19 into the third when Bergeron beat Jarry on a long wrist shot. 

 

David Pastrnak got an assist on the play and added another when Marchand scored on an empty net with 53 seconds left to play.

 

Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said the Penguins responded well to some heavy hits by Boston, but the Bruins were still able to control the play much of the night.

 

When the Penguins got their best chances, Halak was there to stop them.

 

"You can define physicality different ways. You can define toughness different ways," Sullivan said. "For me, the biggest thing is getting your nose over pucks and winning puck battles.

 

That's when I know that we're at our best -- when your compete level is high and we're winning the puck battles all over the rink. I just didn't think we won enough tonight."

[OccamsRazor]

 

Looks like he is playing with kids...

 

 

Edited January 18, 2020 by OccamsRazor

[Brewin Flames]

Rust, Johnson help Pittsburgh rally past Bruins 4-3

 

Game # 49

 

 3  4

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 13 hours ago

PITTSBURGH -- Jack Johnson’s goal into his own net was one of the low points of a forgettable first period for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

 

Johnson’s short-handed slap shot later in the game helped the Penguins complete another memorable comeback.

 

Johnson and Bryan Rust scored third-period goals as Pittsbugh rallied to defeat the Boston Bruins 4-3 on Sunday.

 

Pittsburgh came back from a three-goal deficit for the third time this season.

 

It’s the second time in franchise history -- 2008-09 was the first -- that the Penguins have had three three-goal comebacks in a season.

 

“Getting down 3-0 isn’t what we had in mind,” Johnson said. “We’ve been able to come back before, but that’s not a recipe for success.”

 

Dominik Simon and Teddy Blueger also scored for the Penguins, who have won six of their last seven games.

Sidney Crosby has points in four straight games since returning from core muscle surgery. Crosby, who had two assists on Sunday, has three goals and eight points after missing the previous 28 games.

 

Matt Murray rebounded from a shaky start to make 34 saves for Pittsburgh. Murray, who won his fifth straight game, made consecutive starts for the first time since November.

 

“We didn’t say a whole lot,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said of his team’s poor start. “I just didn’t feel it was necessary to state the obvious that we didn’t have the start that we wanted. I did say that we had a lot of hockey left and we had to respond the right way.”

 

David Pastrnak scored his 37th goal, and Patrice Bergeron scored his 21st and Anders Bjork his eighth for Boston. 

 

Jaroslav Halak made 18 saves for the Bruins, who are winless in their last six visits to Pittsburgh

Pastrnak has 11 goals and 24 points in his last 17 games.

 

He’s the first Bruins player with 70 points in 50 or fewer games since Cam Neely and Adam Oates in 1993-94.

 

Pastrnak gave the Bruins a 3-0 lead at 15:07 of the first period, when he sent the puck to the front of the net, and it went in off Johnson's stick.

 

“It’s a 3-0 lead and there’s a lot of game left, so you have to play the right way and keep pushing to keep increasing that lead,” Bergeron said. “I don’t think it’s a matter of effort. I think it’s a matter of us being smart.”

 

It was just the second time since 2010-11 that the Bruins lost in regulation after leading by three or more goals.

 

Boston was 200-1-6 in that scenario, with the lone loss coming April 4, 2011, when the Bruins scored the first three goals before the New York Rangers scored the next five unanswered.

 

Johnson tied this game at 3 with a short-handed goal 1:41 into the third. He beat Halak to the blocker side with a slap shot from the top of the circle.

 

Rust gave Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead when he scored his 21st goal of the season at 12:35 of the third. Evgeni Malkin’s pass from behind the net set up Rust in the slot.

 

“I was just trying to get into the slot and be ready for it, and (Malkin) put it right on my tape,” Rust said.

 

The two teams met for the second time in four days. The Bruins won the first two games of the season series, both in Boston. Pittsburgh scored 24 seconds into the game on Thursday, but the Bruins responded with four straight goals.

 

Boston scored twice in the first 2:02 on Sunday.

 

Bergeron scored 11 seconds in, 3 seconds shy of the fastest goal to open a regular-season game by a Bruins player. Bjork netted the Bruins' second goal when he beat Murray with a glove-side wrist shot from the slot.

 

Simon made it 3-1 when he scored 1:37 after Boston’s third goal. Blueger cut the Bruins’ lead to 3-2 when he scored 33 seconds into the second -- off a between-the-legs pass from Crosby.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

I think the All Star break came at just the right time for the Bruins.
Overall, they've looked shaky that last week or two, but of particular note has been their goaltending.

Rask and Halak have been outstanding almost all year, but now, with Rask out of action, Halak is being pressed into more duty (not a good thing), and taken out of what worked perfectly.... a timeshare in net with Rask.

I think this is exposing Halak (as it did in St. Louis and Montreal when he was asked to play more games than was really good for him), and thus, this break gives time for Rask to possibly be back and ready to go while Halak and the Bruins re-charge themselves.

At one time running away with the division....now they can clearly see the Lightning in the rearview as well as the surging Panthers who pushed themselves into a top 3 Atlantic spot.

Get back healthy players, possibly cool down the two hot State of Florida teams..... yea, I'd say this break is very welcome for Boston.

[Brewin Flames]

Krejci has goal, assist for Bruins in 3-2 win over Vegas

 

Game # 50

 

 3   2

 

 

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 16 hours ago

BOSTON -- Down a goal entering the third period with a long layoff ahead, the Boston Bruins rallied their way to a win before the All-Star break.

 

Jake DeBrusk tied it early in the third period and David Krejci got the go-ahead goal with 7:42 remaining, and the Bruins held on for a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.

 

"We can enjoy the break a little bit more now," said Krejci, who had a goal and an assist in his return after missing two games with an upper-body injury.

 

Krejci also assisted on Jeremy Lauzon's first goal of the season. Jaroslav Halak stopped 27 shots and picked up an assist as Boston entered the All-Star break with a win following a 1-2-1 stretch.

 

With a bye week following this weekend's All-Star festivities, the Bruins don't have another game until Jan. 31.

The Bruins can relax -- at least a little -- during the extended break with a record of 29-10-12, alone in first place in the Atlantic Division.

 

"We know how we want to play. We know if we play good or bad," Krejci said. "At the end of the day, we've got 70 points. We're sitting on top of the division now, so obviously we're happy where we're at but we know that the (playoff) stretch is going to be the most important."

 

Mark Stone scored 1:24 into the game for Vegas and Nicolas Hague added his first career goal.

 

 Nate Schmidt had two assists for the Golden Knights, who fell to 1-1-1 under new coach Peter DeBoer.

 

"There was some good tonight, but we weren't good enough overall to come in to a place like this and win," DeBoer said. "Boston's a team where you have to do everything right."

 

Marc-Andre Fleury made 34 saves, helping the Knights successfully kill five power-play opportunities for the Bruins in the first two periods.

 

DeBrusk tied it on a wrist shot 4:26 into the third off a slick pass from Halak. Krejci then scored on his own rebound after tipping a point shot by Brandon Carlo.

 

"They had the lead there and it seemed like they were pushing pretty good," DeBrusk said. "We understood that we just needed to tie the game and I thought we started off the third period actually really well."

 

Hague one-timed a slap shot off a pass from Schmidt for a power-play goal 10:59 into the second period to put the Golden Knights up 2-1.

 

"That's a goal scorer's goal. He's got an absolute bomb of a shot," Stone said.

 

Lauzon, recalled from Providence of the AHL earlier in the day, got his slap shot past Fleury 11:40 into the first period to tie it at 1.

[Brewin Flames]

Bruins ride power-play goals to 2-1 win over Jets

 

Game # 51

 

 2  1

 

 

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 14 hours ago

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk scored power-play goals and the Boston Bruins beat Winnipeg 2-1 on Friday night, extending the Jets' losing streak to five games.

 

David Pastrnak had two assists for Boston. Tuukka Rask, returning for the first time since suffering a concussion on Jan. 14, made 37 saves.

 

"Rask was terrific," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "He'd missed some time. Got hit in the head with one (puck tonight), so clearly that you're always worried because he's come off a concussion. Played well, tracked pucks well."

 

DeBrusk was left open on his winner after Jets defenseman Anthony Bitetto and forward Andrew Copp literally got tangled up and fell.

 

"I've never seen that, a skate loop," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "It's Andrew's skate lace that catches the back of the guard on Bitetto's skate and pulls him down as they lock skates.

 

"I've never seen that. That's what's going on right now. Tough one."

 

"I had no idea what (his skate lace) caught on, then I looked down and saw it was that," Copp said. "Less than one-in-a-million play."

 

Patrik Laine scored for the Jets, who failed to capitalize on five power plays in the second period. Winnipeg has lost seven of its last eight. Laurent Brossoit stopped 23 shots.

 

The defeat extended Winnipeg's longest losing streak of the season. The Jets are 1-7-1 in their last nine homes games.

 

The game was tied 1-1 after the first and second periods.

 

Winnipeg opened the scoring when Nikolaj Ehlers sped around the back of the net and fed the puck across the front to Laine, who scored his 18th of the season past Rask at 6:06.

 

Bergeron scored his 22nd with three seconds remaining in a two-man advantage at 19:07.

 

The Jets' first of five power plays in the second period began early.

 

The first advantage started at 2:11 when Boston defenseman Matt Grzelcyk was called for hooking Blake Wheeler.

 

That became a two-man advantage after Ehlers and Brad Marchand collided and started fighting. Marchand got an extra roughing penalty for the clash at 3:28.

 

The two-man edge continued when Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo got called for delay of game at 4:17. Charlie Coyle was then sent to the box for tripping at 7:07.

 

By the time those penalties expired, Winnipeg had nine shots on goal and Boston none.

 

The Bruins got their first shot on Brossoit a few seconds later, but then Carlo was whistled for instigating at 10:10.

 

The period ended with Boston's Torey Krug called for holding as time expired.

 

Winnipeg outshot the Bruins 11-4 in the middle frame.

 

Laine hit the crossbar during the early power play in the third, and Boston went on the power play when Sami Niku was sent off for slashing at 2:35.

 

DeBrusk scored his goal 32 seconds later, after Pastrnak went around the back of the net and sent a pass just outside the crease at 3:07.

 

Rask stopped a blast by Ehlers in the final minute.

 

"I think then first period my rebound control wasn't where it could have been, but after that I kind of found the pucks and hung onto them," Rask said. "I wasn't worried."

[Brewin Flames]

Pastrnak's NHL-best 38th goal caps 6-1 Bruins romp past Wild

 

Game # 52

 

 6   1

 

 

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 17 hours ago

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Boston Bruins used the break to recharge their power play. The time off sure didn't slow David Pastrnak down.

 

Then again, few opponents have done that this season.

 

The NHL scoring leader matched his career high with his 38th goal, Torey Krug scored twice and the Bruins had three power-play goals in the second period to surge past the Minnesota Wild 6-1 Saturday night.

 

"Just trying to help my team. That's the way I help the most, so hopefully I can keep going," Pastrnak said.

 

Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist for the Bruins, who stayed strong out of their brief hiatus and improved to 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.

 

 Jaroslav Halak had 25 saves, holding the shutout until 5:29 was left on a shot by Mats Zuccarello. Then the Bruins tacked on two more goals after that, by Anders Bjork and Jake DeBrusk.

 

Pastrnak, who also had two assists, broke a tie on the league leader board with Washington's Alex Ovechkin.

 

After tallying 35 goals in 82 games in 2017-18 and 38 goals in just 66 games in 2018-19, the 23-year-old right wing from the Czech Republic reached 38 goals in his 53rd game this season.

 

"He's not being selfish doing it. That's where we'll draw the line, if he's cheating behind everybody or making high-risk plays, and he's not," coach Bruce Cassidy said.

 

David Krejci added two assists, one of five players with multiple points against goalie Devan Dubnyk.

 

The Bruins converted all three of their man-advantage situations after scoring on two of four in a 2-1 win at Winnipeg on Friday night.

 

They're second in the NHL on the power play at 27.3%, and they put on a clinic against the Wild. In their last four games before the break, the Bruins had an 0-for-15 slide.

 

Krug, who used some slick stick work to finish a drop pass from Par Lindholm midway through the opening frame, scored again early in the second period off a setup by Marchand.

 

The initial shot glanced off Dubnyk's outside shoulder, hit the post and went off Dubnyk's back to bounce in.

 

Just 76 seconds later, after a second straight interference penalty on the Wild, Marchand's one-timer put the Bruins up 3-0.

 

Then with 4:31 remaining before the second intermission, DeBrusk distracted Dubnyk during a save attempt, and the ever-dangerous Pastrnak, who was parked just outside a crowd around the crease, snagged the loose puck and snapped it in for the 4-0 lead.

 

Pastrnak is on full-season pace for 59 goals.

 

"He's such a happy kid. He loves the game," Krug said. "If he were able to do it, I think there'd be a lot of happy guys in this room."

 

There wasn't much happiness down the hallway.

 

"One of the keys to the game was no lazy penalties," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "If you're not going to compete, you're going to get penalties, and we didn't compete hard enough. They won every battle. They won every race to the puck."

 

The Bruins kept up their push for the Presidents' Trophy, now trailing the Capitals for the Eastern Conference lead by just one point with one more game played.

 

Having revamped their roster last month by dumping veterans David Backes and Brett Ritchie, the Bruins could not have been happier about the way they skated out of the break.

 

And Halak, whose steady goaltending has allowed for more rest for the stellar Tuuka Rask, delivered another winner.

 

The Wild looked rusty out of their eight-day break for the All-Star Game and their bye week, starting their final push for a spot in the playoffs in precisely the wrong way.

 

They began the day six points out of the second wild card with games in hand on most of the teams in front of them, but they're in 12th place in the Western Conference with only 31 games to go.

 

With a few more performances like these, general manager Bill Guerin could be prompted to sell before the trade deadline on Feb. 24.

 

"He's been frank with us that he's going to wait as long as he can," Wild defenseman Matt Dumba said, "but we've got to play better and we've got to show him that this is the group."

 

The Wild have the worst penalty kill in the NHL over the last two months, with a 65.3% denial rate since Dec. 1, allowing goals on 26 of 75 short-handed situations.

 

"If I start talking about it I'm going to start using names. I'm not going to talk about it," Boudreau said. "It's just obviously as bad as you can possibly get in this league."

[Brewin Flames]

Rask makes 25 saves in shutout, Bruins blank Canucks 4-0

 

Game # 53

 

 

 4   0

 

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 6 hours ago

BOSTON -- Charlie Coyle had a goal and an assist, Tuukka Rask stopped 25 shots for his third shutout this season and the Boston Bruins extended their winning streak to four games with a 4-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.

 

Brad Marchand, David Krejci and Karson Kuhlman also scored. Charlie McAvoy had two assists as Boston won for the fifth time in six games, remaining a point behind Washington for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

 

The Bruins have won all three games since returning from the All-Star break and their bye, which led to a 10-day layoff in the schedule.

 

"It's nice to start off that way after a long break and you get a few wins under your belt and they're not really fluky, either," Coyle said. "We're doing the right things and that's a good sign coming out of a break."

 

Jacob Markstrom made 38 saves for Vancouver, keeping his team close until the Bruins got goals late in the third period by Krejci and Kuhlman.

 

The Canucks, second in the Western Conference, lost in regulation for the first time since Jan. 14, when they were shut out at Winnipeg 4-0. Vancouver had surged since then, winning five straight before a 4-3 shootout loss at Carolina on Sunday.

 

The Canucks' hopes to continue their point streak faded as Boston controlled the tempo from the start, outshooting Vancouver 13-6 in the first period.

 

"They know how to win. They know how to play. They're heavy on the puck. We didn't get inside enough on them," Vancouver coach Travis Green said.

 

"I thought in the small areas of the game they were harder than us."

 

Rask stopped the few chances the Canucks had, earning his 48th career shutout and improving to 11-0-6 at home this season.

 

The Canucks also hurt themselves with seven penalties, although only one resulted in a goal when Kuhlman scored on a redirection 18:10 into the third period.

 

Green also lost a challenge after Coyle's goal 14:24 into the game.

 

Green thought the Bruins were offside before McAvoy fired a slap shot on Markstrom and a long rebound bounced right to Coyle in the slot.

 

"I think we're playing hard and we're playing fast," McAvoy said. "Our forwards are so good at forechecking and the transition side of the game. If we can get up and make plays and just really move our feet, I think that plays to our style."

 

McAvoy also assisted on Marchand's goal with 4:25 left in the second on a one-timer from the slot off a centering pass by Patrice Bergeron.

 

Markstrom stopped Chris Wagner on a short-handed breakaway midway through the second during Vancouver's first power-play opportunity. Marskstrom came up with another big save against Coyle on a breakaway later in the second.

[Brewin Flames]

McAvoy, Bruins beat Blackhawks 2-1 for 5th straight victory

 

Game # 54

 

 2   1 OT

 

 

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 6 hours ago

CHICAGO -- Charlie McAvoy pointed to Jake DeBrusk in appreciation. DeBrusk then tackled McAvoy, sending the duo to the ice before they were mobbed by the rest of the Boston Bruins.

 

The Chicago Blackhawks also celebrated a big goal Wednesday night, but their party was cut short in a hurry.

McAvoy scored 1:19 into overtime, and the Bruins beat the Blackhawks 2-1 for their fifth straight victory.

 

"That was special," McAvoy said.

 

McAvoy finished a pretty passing sequence for the defenseman's first goal since he scored in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against St. Louis. 

 

David Krejci threw the puck outside to a streaking DeBrusk, who made a perfect pass to McAvoy for the tap-in on the right side of the net.

 

"I would say the last six, seven games we've been the better team most nights," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Our analytics back that up. I think just the eye test backs that up. The score backs it up."

 

McAvoy picked up his 15th career goal, and then waited patiently for the jubilant Bruins to let him up from the winning huddle.

 

"After about 30 seconds, I'm just, `I guess we're staying in Chicago tonight," a grinning McAvoy said.

 

The Blackhawks thought they had taken a 2-1 lead with 1:05 left in regulation when it looked as if Drake Caggiula beat Jaroslav Halak for a short-handed goal.

 

But it was waved off because one of the officials blew his whistle.

 

Both Chicago captain Jonathan Toews and coach Jeremy Colliton said the official told them he made a mistake.

 

"Caggy scores a big goal, and I don't know what happened there," Toews said.

 

Cassidy said he also wasn't sure what happened.

 

"I just heard the whistle. I don't know why," he said.

 

The crowd of 21,472 booed vociferously when the ruling was announced.

 

Sean Kuraly also scored for Boston, which was coming off a 4-0 victory over Vancouver on Tuesday night.

 

Halak made 21 saves to help the Bruins move ahead of the idle Capitals for the top spot in the NHL standings.

 

Chicago wasted a terrific performance by Robin Lehner, who made 38 stops in his first start since Jan. 21. The Blackhawks also lost defenseman Adam Boqvist to a right shoulder injury in the second period.

 

"I don't think it's anything super serious, but we'll know more in the next day or so," Colliton said.

 

Alex DeBrincat had Chicago's only goal. Next up for the Blackhawks, who are fighting to stay in the mix for the Western Conference's second wild card, is a five-game trip to Canada.

 

Boqvist got hurt when he was pushed into the boards by Krejci 6:13 into the second period. The 19-year-old Boqvist then skated off with his arm hanging on his side, while Krejci was sent off for boarding.

 

Krejci's penalty turned into DeBrincat's third power-play goal of the season. Kirby Dach was denied by Halak in front, but DeBrincat skated in from the side and knocked it home for a 1-0 lead at 6:50.

 

Boston controlled the play early on, but Lehner stepped up for Chicago. He made 16 saves in the first, including a terrific stop on Krejci with 1:51 left in the period.

 

"He's a huge reason why we had a chance to win," Toews said.

 

After the Blackhawks jumped in front in the second, Kuraly skated behind the net and into the right circle before beating Lehner through the goaltender's legs at 12:49.

 

It was Kuraly's fifth of the year.

 

Boston had a prime scoring opportunity near the end of the second, but Charlie Coyle, Torey Krug and Kuraly were denied in rapid succession by Lehner.