Boston Bruins 2019/20 Season Chatter

[Brewin Flames]

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 1

Bos 2 Dallas 1

Ritchie beats former team on 1st shift, Bruins top Stars 2-1

Brett Ritchie and Danton Heinen notch goals in the first period, as the Bruins defeat the Stars 2-1.

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By Associated Press

 

DALLAS -- Brett Ritchie had never taken the ice in an NHL game with a team other than the Dallas Stars when he debuted for the Boston Bruins.

 

After scoring on his first shift, Ritchie watched his former teammates basically form a parade route out of the rink with injuries.

 

The new Boston forward scored barely a minute in, Dallas defenseman Roman Polak was taken off on a stretcher just before the Stars' only goal and the Bruins opened defense of their Eastern Conference title with a 2-1 victory Thursday night.

 

Danton Heinen had a power-play goal in the first period as the Bruins beat Vezina Trophy finalist Ben Bishop with their first two shots in a season-opening meeting of teams that lost Game 7s in the playoffs to Stanley Cup champion St. Louis last season.

 

"You're not going to score on your first two shots very often," said Ritchie, who was with the Stars when they lost in double overtime in the second round last spring before the Bruins fell to the Blues in the Cup finals.

"We jumped out to the lead there and built the momentum for the first, and then they took it to us in the second."

 

Dallas' goal came less than a minute after Polak had to be taken off on a stretcher after going head-first into the boards when he tried to check Chris Wagner with 12:56 remaining in the second period.

 

Polak barely moved while face down on the ice before being rolled onto a board and lifted onto the stretcher during a delay that lasted almost 10 minutes. Coach Jim Montgomery said after the game Polak was OK after an evaluation at a hospital and could return soon.

 

"I think obviously we kind of didn't want to think about it after it happened," defenseman John Klingberg said. "We got to get back playing again. It's tough to see a teammate go down like that."

 

Roope Hintz's goal came 51 seconds later when the 22-year-old beat Tuukka Rask stick side on a partial breakaway after Mattias Janmark split two defenders with a pass. Joe Pavelski got his first point with the Stars with an assist on the takeaway that started the rush.

 

"You've got to find ways to stay in games and give yourself a chance," Pavelski said. "I thought we did a good job with that. We kept coming, kept getting better. It was right there for us."

 

The Stars had 16 of their 29 shots in the third period, and Rask stopped them all to finish with 28 saves. The 13th-year pro entered the season with the best goals-against average among actives goalies at 2.28.

 

"I felt the best in the third," Rask said. "I don't know if that's because it was the most action or what, but a big win."

 

Before Polak's injury, forward Blake Comeau sustained a lower body injury when he fell awkwardly after getting hit in the cheek by a puck in the first period. Montgomery said he would miss multiple weeks.

 

The Stars lost another forward after the first period when Jason Dickinson didn't return with an upper body injury.

 

"It's life in the NHL," Montgomery said. "Next man up. We went through it all of last year and we're a resilient group. We're a deep organization and we're going to be OK."

 

Ritchie's goal came 1:09 in when Andrew Cogliano couldn't get a clearing pass from Bishop out of the zone and turned over the puck near the blue line. Charlie Coyle got an assist.

 

The 26-year-old Ritchie spent his first five NHL seasons with Stars as a 2011 second-round pick, signing as a free agent in Boston following two disappointing seasons in Dallas after he scored 16 goals -- nearly half his career total -- in 2016-17.

 

"I'm still confident in what I can do," Ritchie said. "New team, new opportunity, fresh start, whatever you want to call it. I just tried to take advantage of it."

 

Heinen beat Bishop from the left circle about five minutes later after Alexander Radulov was called for holding. Bishop stopped all 18 Boston shots after that.

[OccamsRazor]

Stay classy Jack Edwards...what a jackass...

 

 

[Brewin Flames]

As a bruins fan, I say this...

 

His knowledge and passion of the game is both awesome and intense, but sometimes his blatant bruins homerism is over the top...

 

This incident, i'm guessing that he was implying that Polak was going for a hit and missed and wound up taking himself out instead, hence the "bad" hockey karma.

 

Either was it was a pretty bad and un needed choice of words...

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 2

 1 0

Halak stops 35 shots in Bruins' 1-0 win over Coyotes

Brad Marchand scores the only goal of the game as the Bruins win 1-0 against the Coyotes.

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By

Associated Press

Updated: 16 hours ago

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Jaroslav Halak was tested from the start, facing breakaways, odd-man rushes, numerous good chances on power plays.

 

He turned away every one and the Boston Bruins won yet another game in the desert.

 

Halak stopped 35 shots, Brad Marchand scored and the Bruins extended their winning streak over the Arizona Coyotes to 15 straight games with a 1-0 win Saturday night.

 

"It's good to get in the game early and if you get tested early you stay focused more," Halak said. "That's what happened tonight."

 

The Bruins opened defense of their Eastern Conference title with a 2-1 victory over Dallas on Thursday night behind Tuukka Rask's 28 saves.

 

Boston turned to Halak for Game 2 and the veteran was sharp against Arizona.

 

Halak stopped Vinnie Hinostroza on a short breakaway in the first period and slid over to get a skate on Clayton Keller's shot from the slot. He also stopped Michael Grabner on a short-handed mini breakaway later in the period and had Phil Kessel muttering to himself with a glove save in the third.

 

Halak faced a flurry of shots after Arizona pushed late in the third and turned those away, too, finishing off his 48th career shutout.

 

"He was good like Tuukka the other night," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Not a lot of rebound issues, pucks were sticking to him and I think we did a good job of clearing the ones that didn't."

 

Darcy Kuemper stopped 23 shots to keep Arizona it in, but the Coyotes couldn't convert on numerous good scoring chances -- just as they did in the opener at Anaheim. Arizona has not beaten Boston since 2010 in Prague.

 

"Play like that, most of the nights you're going to come out on top," Coyotes center Derek Stepan said. "I like tonight. Sometimes you get snake bitten. Their goaltender stood tall and we didn't bury them."

 

The Coyotes made one of the biggest offseason splashes by acquiring Kessel in a trade with Pittsburgh.

 

Kessel had an assist on Arizona's only goal in its opener on Thursday, but the Coyotes lost 2-1 to Anaheim.

 

Kuemper, who played well after Antti Raanta was injured last season, stopped 27 shots in that game and started again Saturday after Raanta was recalled from Tucson of the AHL.

 

Arizona controlled play most of the first period until Boston made a push. Marchand beat Kuemper to the stick side with a wrister from the left circle with less than two minutes left.

 

"I didn't see anything," Marchand said. "I just tried to get it on net and it found its way in."

 

Kuemper made some difficult saves in the second period, stopping David Pasternak on one shot and sliding over for a spectacular save on Marchand's rebound attempt.

 

Kumper also stuffed Chris Wagner on a near breakaway early in the third period and gave the Coyotes a chance with several quality saves.

 

"He had a really good game," Coyotes captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson said. "I thought when we turned a couple pucks over in the second, he kept us in the game. It could have been a different game there. He's a good goalie and showed it tonight."

[Brewin Flames]

Bruins top Golden Knights 4-3, off to best start in 18 years

Brad Marchand nets two goals as the Bruins edge the Golden Knights 4-3.

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By

Associated Press

Updated: 3 hours ago

 

Game # 3

 

   4  3

LAS VEGAS -- The defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Bruins won't play their first home game until Saturday.

 

That hasn't stopped them from opening on a rampage in Western Conference cities, clearly putting last season's Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup Final behind them.

 

The Bruins (3-0-0) remained undefeated when Brad Marchand had two goals and an assist in a 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.

 

Boston scored four straight goals after falling behind 2-0 early in the first period and has won its first three games for the first time in the past 18 seasons.

 

"We have a good group. We're pretty much all together again. We've got a couple of new guys, but we have a good team," said Marchand, who has three goals this season. "We're going to compete every night. That's what's in this room, that's what we expect.

 

"If we're going to get beat, we're either going to have a really bad game or another team is going to battle us."

Neither of which has taken place yet, as the Bruins have outscored Dallas, Arizona and Vegas 7-3.

David Pastrnak and Torey Krug also scored for the Bruins, and Tuukka Rask made 31 saves.

 

"It's not too long since we last played together and I think we have pretty much the same group, so we know the system and it helps," said Rask, who moved into sole possession of 49th place with his 267th career win. "I think we're feeling comfortable playing together and even though we were down a couple of goals we just trust the system and it worked out today."

 

Boston, which was 4-0-2 in the preseason, improved to 4-1-0 all-time vs. the Golden Knights and concludes its four-game road trip Thursday in Denver.

 

"Obviously being down early, being able to come back, winning a close game at the end, pushing them off a little bit at the end, those are just experiences that we'll put in our pocket and use for another day," Krug said. "Early on you're trying to find your legs, your game and sometimes it's not going to be pretty.

 

When you go on the road you don't worry about putting on a show for the fans. We're just able to grind out some games.

 

"We got some greasy wins, they weren't pretty early on, it's still not where we want to be -- but they're steppingstones. I think it's beneficial to go out on the road."

 

The Golden Knights (2-1-0), who swept a season-opening home-and-home series with San Jose, looked out of sync much of the night despite occasional flashes from their top two lines.

 

Mark Stone, Reilly Smith and Max Pacioretty scored for Vegas.

 

Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves but dropped to 12-8-5 against the Bruins with a .915 save percentage.

 

"Their defense has good gaps, big, long sticks -- we had to be prepared for that," Stone said. "We didn't do a good enough job in the neutral zone and that led to their attack.

 

We had our looks in the second period to score goals. A bounce here, a bounce there, we're right back in it. We've just got to clean up our mistakes."

 

Vegas started out strong with back-to-back goals in the first period by Stone and Smith to take a 2-0 lead in the first 8:20. But then the Bruins answered with four consecutive goals -- three from their top line of Marchand, Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron.

 

Marchand scored 33 seconds into the second period to put Boston ahead 3-2, handing Vegas its first deficit of the young season, and Krug extended the lead with a blistering slap shot that got through traffic to make it 4-2.

 

The Golden Knights, who didn't get their first shot on goal in the third period until there was 8:28 left in the game, made it a one-goal game when Pacioretty beat Rusk with his first of the season, a power-play goal with 5:18 remaining.

[Brewin Flames]

Burakovsky scores late goal, Avalanche beat Bruins 4-2

Game # 4

 

  2 4

 

Colorado comes back from a two-goal deficit to beat Boston 4-2.

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By

Associated Press

Updated: 4 hours ago

DENVER -- Andre Burakovsky skated by one Boston defender and collided with another. In between, he had an instant of separation, just enough to get off a shot.

 

Burakovsky scored the go-ahead goal with 7:06 remaining, Boston had two goals disallowed after video reviews, and the unbeaten Colorado Avalanche handed the Bruins their first loss of the season with a 4-2 victory on Thursday night.

 

Gabriel Landeskog added an empty-net goal with 1:01 remaining for the Avalanche, who are off to a 3-0 start for just the second time since relocating to Denver from Quebec in 1995. The 2013-14 club opened the season 6-0.

 

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Nathan MacKinnon also had goals for Colorado and Philipp Grubauer made 39 saves.

 

David Pastrnak and Zdeno Chara had goals for the Bruins.

 

Burakovsky, acquired last June in a trade with the Washington Capitals, scored his first goal as a member of the Avalanche. From the top of the left circle, Burakovsky banged in a shot off the post, falling on his backside an instant after the shot as he took a hit from a defender.

 

"It felt great," Burakovsky said. "I don't think the (defenseman) was fully awake when I kind of jumped by him. We've been talking all the time about getting pucks to the net. That's something that was in my mind and I was just lucky it hit the post and went in."

 

Colorado coach Jared Bednar said there was a lot more than luck involved in Burakovsky's game-winner.

"That's the best game we've seen out of him," Bednar said. "He was on pucks, he was making some plays, he was using his speed and driving by guys in foot races."

 

Boston had appeared to take a 3-1 lead on a goal by Karson Kuhlman at 1:50 of the second period, but it was negated after Bednar's challenge was upheld. Officials rescinded the goal after a video review

determined David Krejci interfered with Grubauer as he jostled with a defender in front of the net.

 

The Bruins had an apparent tiebreaking power-play goal by Jake DeBrusk negated in the opening seconds of the third period, again when a challenge by Bednar was upheld on a video review that showed Pastrnak was narrowly offside on the play.

 

"Any time you get production finally and it gets taken away from you -- twice -- you almost don't believe it, but that's how things are going for me," said DeBrusk, who also was in line for an assist on the first disallowed goal. "I scored and had an assist tonight but they got called back.

 

We should've won this game 4-2, but I guess neither of them were goals and that's how they called it. They looked at it and called it out how it was. It won't snowball for me, but I'm definitely (upset)."

 

Boston took a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by Pastrnak and Chara, who scored on a slap shot from just inside the blue line.

 

Colorado got on the board with a power-play score by MacKinnon. Gabriel Landeskog split defenders while leading a rush into the Boston zone and let fly a shot that Jaroslav Halak turned away. But MacKinnon knocked in the rebound from up close.

 

The Avalanche evened the score at 2 on a goal by Bellemare at 9:43 of the second.

[Brewin Flames]

Rask, Bruins blank Devils 3-0 in home opener

 Game # 5 

 

 3  0

Brad Marchand and Joakim Nordstrom each score in the first as the Bruins blank the Devils 3-0.

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By

Associated Press

Updated: 7 hours ago

BOSTON -- It didn't take very long for the Boston Bruins to wash away the sting of last season's disappointing finish on home ice.

 

Tuukka Rask stopped 31 shots in his 46th career shutout, leading the Bruins to a 3-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils to win their home opener on Saturday night.

 

Brad Marchand, Joakim Nordstrom and Patrice Bergeron all scored in the Bruins' first home game since losing 4-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues in June.

 

"It's behind us -- we've got a new year," Bruins center Sean Kuraly said. "Everyone's got a clean slate this year. We're just trying to play good hockey. Last year is all gone, and we're looking forward."

 

Boston hasn't shown any signs of a Stanley Cup Final hangover, winning four of its first five games. The Bruins took three straight on the road before a 4-2 loss at Colorado on Thursday night.

 

"We're starting to figure it out a bit now," Marchand said. "A little bit of a different training camp this year, and a different feel. ... There's going to be a little bit of rust there, but I think we're feeling good."

 

Cory Schneider stopped 29 shots for the Devils, who are 0-3-2 after playing three of their first five on the road.

Wins were hard to come by last season for New Jersey, which finished with the second-fewest points in the Eastern Conference.

 

The Devils had a 11-27-3 road record a season ago, but were 20-14-7 at home.

 

"A good homestand is somewhere you can gain momentum," said Schneider, whose team begins a season-high, six-game stretch at home on Monday. "We need to get a win, get some confidence, and hopefully it snowballs from there."

 

Boston took a 2-0 lead after one period with a pair of goals in the first 11 1/2 minutes.

 

Marchand put the Bruins on the scoreboard 3:33 in when he skated to the high slot and fired a wrist shot to beat a screened Schneider.

 

Nordstrom doubled the lead with 8:38 left in the period. Kuraly corralled a rebound in the slot and backhanded the puck to Chris Wagner, whose pass in front of the crease was finished off by Nordstrom.

 

Bergeron made it 3-0 on a power-play goal with 46 seconds left in the second period, poking in a rebound of Marchand's shot from the right circle.

 

Rask turned away a handful of Devils' scoring chances during a second period mostly controlled by the visitors with a 16-9 shots advantage.

 

He also stymied New Jersey in the third to pick up his first shutout of the season.

 

"We're still working on our game like every other team, and I thought that's where Tuukka really stepped up and that's when he should get the credit," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "In a game like this, I thought that's when he earned his paycheck tonight."

[Brewin Flames]

Pastrnak scores 4 goals to carry Bruins past Ducks 4-2

 

 

David Pastrnak scores four goals to help Boston double up Anaheim 4-2.

 

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By

Associated Press

Updated: 2 hours ago

 

Game # 6

 

 4   2

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins' top line is rolling, pushing aside any talk of a Stanley Cup hangover.

David Pastrnak scored a career-high four goals on Monday for his fifth career hat trick, leading the Bruins to a 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.

 

"I think the best thing that happened to our group was pretty much staying together," said winger and Pastrnak's linemate Brad Marchand, who had two assists. "We didn't lose or bring in that many guys. It's allowed us to continue our chemistry and kind of roll in from last year.

 

"It's easy to get into the game early in the season when you feel comfortable with one another."

 

Jaroslav Halak stopped 30 shots and top center Patrice Bergeron added an assist for the Bruins, the Cup runner-up off to a 5-1 start.

 

The Pastrnak-Marchand-Bergeron trio has accounted for 24 points, with Pastrnak collecting 10 and Marchand nine.

 

"We've been together a long time now," Pastrnak said. "It's kind of expected from us."

 

Rickard Rakell and Adam Henrique scored for the Ducks, and John Gibson made 19 saves. Anaheim has lost two of three after winning its first three games this season.

 

"Those are the kind of nights where the puck kind of finds you," Anaheim defenseman Hampus Lindholm said of Pastrnak. "He had one of those nights."

 

Pastrnak completed his hat trick with an unassisted goal off a faceoff. He stole the puck from defenseman Josh Manson and slipped a wrist shot between John Gibson's pads 2:20 into the third period to make it 3-1, prompting fans to throw hats on the ice.

 

The 23-year-old forward scored 2:14 later off a nice feed from Marchand, who sent a pass from the left circle to Pastrnak. He was at the edge of the far post, where he redirected the puck into the net.

 

Eight seconds into Michael Del Zotto's penalty for slashing, the Bruins made it 1-0 when Bergeron sent a backhand pass from the slot to Pastrnak, who one-timed a shot past Gibson just 4:18 into the game.

 

Boston made it 2-0 less than a minute after Halak made the second of two stellar stops midway through the second period. Marchand stole the puck from Lindholm and fed it to Pastrnak, who had just left the bench. The winger beat Gibson with a wrist shot from the right circle at 11:38.

 

Halak stopped two clean break-ins to keep the Ducks off the scoreboard until late in the period. On the first, Ondrej Kase cut in and the goalie made a blocker save on a backhander. Max Jones skated in alone from the right circle on the second chance, getting off a backhander while being hooked by defenseman Steven Kampfer.

 

Rakell beat Halak with a wrist shot to the glove side, slicing it to 2-1 with 2:08 left in the second.

[Brewin Flames]

Stamkos scores in shootout, Lightning beat Bruins 4-3

Game # 7

 

 3  4 SO

Steven Stamkos sends his shootout attempt to the back of the net, lifting Tampa Bay to a 4-3 win vs. Boston.

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 7 hours ago

BOSTON -- The Tampa Bay Lightning overcame a slow start to win their second straight game and gain some much-needed momentum.

 

Steven Stamkos scored the lone goal in the shootout and Tampa Bay beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 on Thursday night.

 

After the first three shooters for both sides failed, Stamkos put a wrist shot past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask for the eventual winner. Jake DeBrusk's last chance was stopped by Andrei Vasilevskiy.

 

Brayden Point, Mathieu Joseph and Kevin Shattenkirk scored in regulation for Tampa Bay. Vasilevskiy had 33 saves.

 

David Pastrnak had two goals and an assist, and Patrice Bergeron added a goal for Boston, which scored three power-play goals. Rask stopped 34 shots.

 

"It's a great two points and feels real good right now," Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. "That's a pretty top end unit that we played tonight and they made us pay."

 

Tampa Bay has won three of four and back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Lightning also notched their 12th win in 64 tries in Boston, improving to 12-46-6.

 

Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy was on the ice for all three Lightning regulation goals.

 

"We'll take one point and reflect on it," he said.

 

Shattenkirk gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead with 4:47 remaining in regulation. The Bruins' Pastrnak scored 1:42 later, tying the game at 3-3.

 

"Good things happen when you shoot and I had a good screen there," Shattenkirk said. "Their power play is lethal and they won that battle tonight, but we felt we were outplaying them."

 

Pastrnak has 13 points, including eight goals and five assists, in the last five games.

 

"They were fast tonight and were in our face every time we had the puck," Bruins defenseman Torey Krug said. "They are a great team, have the majority of the lineup they had last year and they know how to win."

 

Point tied the game at 1 with 1.6 seconds remaining in the first when he converted a feed from Yanni Gourde and flipped the puck past Rask.

 

"It was a great pass by Gourde," Point said. "We played a complete game tonight and competed the way we needed to."

 

Boston's top line of Pastrnak, Bergeron and Brad Marchand has accounted for 14 of the Bruins' 19 goals this season.

[Brewin Flames]

Marner scores in OT to lift Maple Leafs past Bruins 4-3

 

 

Game # 8

  3  4 OT

---

By

Associated Press

 

 

TORONTO -- Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews have played sparingly together at even strength early in their careers.

 

With injured Toronto captain John Tavares sitting out, the two connected to give the Maple Leafs a big win.

Marner's hard shot after taking a pass from Matthews glanced in off teammate Morgan Rielly at 3:54 of overtime to give Toronto a hard-fought 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins 4-3 on Saturday night.

 

"I saw (Matthews) go around the back of the net and I didn't want to get too close," said Marner, who finished with two assists. "I knew that if there were sticks in the way he couldn't make the pass so I tried to stay higher in the slot."

 

The goal was initially credited to Marner, but changed to Rielly -- his second of the night -- after the game.

"It went in," Matthews said. "That's all that matters."

 

Alexander Kerfoot and Dmytro Timashov also scored for Toronto. Frederik Andersen stopped 42 shots.

 

David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist, and Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen also scored for the Bruins. Jaroslav Halak finished with 25 saves.

 

"Give their goaltender credit," DeBrusk said. "He gave them a chance."

 

The Maple Leafs played their first game without Tavares, who broke a finger Wednesday and will miss at least two weeks.

 

"It's big," Rielly said of the victory. "A team within the division, not having (Tavares) ... just a point in our year where we want to get going.

 

"We answered the bell."

 

Toronto coach Mike Babcock wouldn't reveal his plan moving forward in Tavares' absence -- namely whether or not Matthews and Marner will continue playing together.

 

"We'll just try to evaluate," he said. "We'll look at it, get it figured out and then go from there."

 

Down 2-1 despite a dominant second period, the Bruins tied the score at 1:36 of the third just as a Maple Leafs penalty was about to expire when Heinen got his first.

 

Toronto replied just 61 seconds later when Kerfoot backhanded a loose puck past Halak for his third.

 

Andersen faced 33 shots through two periods, and the Boston kept coming late in the third, with Pastrnak tying things with 4:26 left in regulation when he blasted a one-timer for his ninth.

 

Pastrnak now has nine goals on the season, including seven in the last three games, which puts him in a tie with Edmonton's James Neal for the NHL lead.

 

The Bruins, meanwhile, were minus veteran center David Krejci (upper-body injury) for a third straight game.

 

Toronto has lost to Boston to open the playoffs each of the last two years -- with both series going to a Game 7 -- but with Tavares, Zach Hyman (knee) and Travis Dermott (shoulder) all out injured, and some major roster restructuring in the off-season, just nine of the 18 skaters who dressed for the Maple Leafs in the deciding game back on April 23 were in Saturday's lineup.

 

The Bruins, who went onto make the Stanley Cup Final before losing on home ice in Game 7 against the St. Louis Blues, dressed 13 skaters from that 5-1 victory against Toronto.

 

The Maple Leafs opened the scoring at 5:55 of a spirited first period when Rielly's point shot with Johnsson battling in front went in off Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo and in for his first of the season.

 

DeBrusk came close to tying the game a few minutes later when he blew past Tyson Barrie, but Andersen made a nice toe save.

 

Timashov made it 2-0 on a good fourth-line shift from Toronto. The rookie forward got the puck from Frederik Gauthier and moved into the slot before roofing his first NHL goal past Halak.

 

"It's a dream come true," Timashov said.

 

The Bruins, who had 18 shots in the first, finally got on the board with 20.6 seconds left in the period when DeBrusk took advantage of some poor defending to beat Andersen from in-close.

 

Coming off Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss at home to Tampa Bay, Boston fed off that goal in the second and had Toronto on its heels for long stretches.

 

The Maple Leafs' best chance of the second came after Sean Kuraly threw the puck in front of his own net, but Barrie was robbed by Halak with the glove.

[Brewin Flames]

Pastrnak scores 10th, Bruins beat Maple Leafs 4-2

Game # 9 

 

 4   2

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 6 hours ago

BOSTON -- After losing a goal to an offside call midway through the first period, David Pastrnak got it right back with a pass to himself between his own legs.

 

This one counted for Pastrnak, who scored his league-leading 10th of the season and added an assist for the Bruins in a 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

 

"I tried it a couple times in practice but it didn't work. It worked today, so I was kind of lucky," said Pastrnak, who reached 300 career points with the goal.

 

Brett Ritchie and Par Lindholm also scored for Boston, which was playing for the first time since a 4-3 loss in overtime at Toronto on Saturday night. Tuukka Rask made 28 saves in his 500th career game.

 

Pastrnak appeared to score on a rebound at 10:48 in the first, but the goal was waved off after Toronto challenged and replay showed the play was offside.

 

Pastrnak scored one that counted with 2:45 left in the first with some nifty stickhandling in front of the Toronto net. After taking a pass from Marchand, Pastrnak slipped the puck between his own legs, then redirected it past Michael Hutchinson to give the a 1-0 lead.

 

"There's times through the year when pucks bounce against you and there's times when they bounce for you. Right now pucks are bouncing his way," Marchand said of Pastrnak. "He has that ability to make those high-end plays. He puts himself in really good positions to capitalize on opportunities."

 

Pastrnak said the Bruins didn't let up despite the disappointment from having their first goal waved off.

 

"I knew we were going to get another one. We were feeling good," he said.

 

Kasperi Kapanen and Alexander Kerfoot had a goal and assist apiece for the Maple Leafs, who were coming off an overtime loss to Columbus at home on Monday night.

 

Coach Mike Babcock said the Leafs improved from the night before, when they led 3-2 after the second but couldn't hold off the Blue Jackets in the third, then the OT.

 

"It was one of those games. It was a grind the whole thing. There wasn't much room for either team," Babcock said. "In the end, the game was right there in the third period. . We were unable to get it done."

 

Michael Hutchinson stopped 35 shots.

 

The Maple Leafs tied after falling behind 1-0 and 2-1, but couldn't get anything past Rask in the third period.

 

"I just don't think we spent enough times in the offense zone and weren't heavy enough on pucks. They kept on breaking out and applying pressure on our D," Kapanen said. "We spent a lot of time in our own zone and eventually they're going to score when the flow of the game goes like that."

 

Ritchie's unassisted goal 6:35 into the third put Boston back up 3-2 and Lindholm got his first of the season when he poked in a rebound with 2:03 left in the game.

 

Kapanen tied it on a one-timer off a crossing pass from Kerfoot with just under 4 1/2 minutes into the middle period.

Marchand's goal put Boston up 2-1 at 6:09, as Pastrnak got another point with an assist.

Kerfoot tied it 2-2 on a power-play goal with 7:06 to go in the period.

[Brewin Flames]

Bruins blank Blues 3-0 in 1st meeting since losing Cup final

Game # 10

 

 3  0

Bruins edge Blues in Stanley Cup Final rematch

The Bruins get the best of the Stanley Cup Champions as they beat the Blues, 3-0.

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 17 hours ago

BOSTON -- The stakes were drastically different for Boston's first meeting with St. Louis this season. Regardless, the Bruins made sure the Blues left town with a loss this time.

 

David Pastrnak scored his team-leading 11th goal, Tuukka Rask stopped 26 shots for his second shutout and the Bruins beat the defending NHL champions 3-0 Saturday night in a rematch of the Stanley Cup Final.

 

"I was just saying: `Unless they brought the Cup here, I don't think it had anything to do with it," Rask said. "Different year, different teams."

 

It was the first meeting between the clubs since St. Louis won its first Cup last season, skating with the trophy around the TD Garden ice in Boston on June 12 after a 4-1 victory in Game 7.

 

But on Saturday night, Bruins captain Zdeno Chara set the tone on the opening shift.

 

Like last spring's Cup final, the matchup featured plenty of hard hits, beginning when Chara leveled winger Oskar Sundqvist in front of the Blues bench.

 

Linemate Brayden Schenn skated in to defend Sundqvist and was sent to the penalty box -- along with Chara -- for matching roughing penalties.

 

"I think it does when it's Z," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said when asked if the play had an impact on the game. "Against a physical opponent, we knew they're going to come out and bang -- and they did. I think it's important for us to initiate and not retaliate. I think we did that."

 

Anders Bjork also scored for Boston (7-1-2). Brandon Carlo added an empty-net goal with 49 seconds left.

Rask, who played his 500th game with the Bruins in a win over Toronto on Tuesday, recorded his 47th career shutout. He is 5-0-1 in six starts this season, picking up his solid play that carried Boston to the final.

 

Jordan Binnington made 21 saves for the Blues (5-3-3), who won their previous two games. In his rookie season, the 6-foot-2 goalie sparked St. Louis to its run from last place in the Western Conference in early January to a title.

 

"Bad puck play for us tonight," Sundqvist said. "It's just one of those games we have to forget."

 

With David Perron off for holding, Pastrnak one-timed a pass from Torey Krug at the top of the left circle for a power-play goal 14:59 into the opening period. The puck deflected off Binnington and trickled into the net, just as he looked over his shoulder.

 

Rask's best save came when he made a blocker stop on Sundqvist's clean breakaway with seven minutes left in the first.

 

"We had looks and didn't capitalize on them," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "There weren't many looks either way. It was tight hockey all around."

 

Boston capitalized on a 3-on-2 break when defenseman Matt Grzelcyk sent a pass to Bjork at the right circle, where he one-timed a shot over Binnington's left shoulder to make it 2-0 at 9:31 of the second.

 

Clinging to the two-goal edge, Rask made a pair of splendid stops when the Blues were on a power play shortly after Bjork's score. The toughest was on Tyler Bozak's wrister from the slot.

[Brewin Flames]

Marchand, Bergeron lead Bruins to 7-4 win over Rangers

Game # 11

 

 7   4

The Bruins handle the Rangers as Patrice Bergeron scores three goals in Boston's 7-4 victory.

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 14 hours ago

NEW YORK -- Even though they trailed after one period, the Boston Bruins weren't too worried. They knew they were playing well and the scoring would come.

 

And it sure did.

 

Brad Marchand had two goals and three assists, the Boston Bruins scored four times in the second period and went on to beat the New York Rangers 7-4 on Sunday night.

 

"We did dominate that period," Marchand said of the first period that ended with the Rangers leading 1-0 despite Boston holding a 10-7 edge on shots.

 

"They had some shots on the power play but other than that, they didn't have much. ... We knew if we continued to play the same way we were going to break out, and we did."

 

Patrice Bergeron scored three goals for his fifth regular-season hat trick, and Charlie Coyle and Zdeno Chara each had a goal and an assist to help the Bruins win for the eighth time in 11 games (8-1-2) this season.

 

David Pastrnak, who leads Boston with 11 goals, had five assists -- marking just the second time in the last

nine games he didn't score a goal.

 

"(He's) always talking, communicating, wants to create plays, change it and come up with different faceoff plays," Bergeron said. "He's obviously a very smart player. He's got that instinct. ... He wants results, and when he works like that, he's getting it."

 

Jaroslav Halak stopped 25 shots as Boston earned a point for the seventh straight game (5-0-2).

 

Michael Haley, Pavel Buchnevich, Chris Kreider and Brady Skjei scored for the Rangers, who lost for the sixth time in seven games (1-5-1). Henrik Lundqvist had 27 saves before being pulled after two periods. Alexandar Georgiev finished with nine saves in the third.

 

"It's hard to figure out right now," Lundqvist said of the Rangers' struggles. "We had a 1-0 lead after the first. ... We came out in the second and we weren't even close."

 

The Bruins took control of the game in the second period. Pastrnak charged the net with the puck from the left side, and made contact with Lundqvist. Bergeron followed and put the puck in for his third of the season 11 seconds into the period. The goal was confirmed after a video review.

 

Marchand put Boston ahead 57 seconds later. He got the puck in front of the net, made a backhand-forehand move before putting a backhander past Lundqvist.

 

"Getting the quick two goals at the start of the second kind of got us going after that," Bergeron said.

 

Coyle made it 3-1 as he got a pass across the front of the net from Charlie McAvoy and put the puck top shelf for his first at 9:27.

 

Marchand got his second of the night with 7:51 left in the middle period, taking a pass from Coyle and whipping it past Lundqvist from the right side for his seventh.

 

Boston finished with a 21-5 advantage on shots in the second period, and 31-12 over 40 minutes.

 

"A lot happened in second period we need to clean up and learn from," New York defenseman Marc Staal said.

Chara made it 5-1 as he beat Georgiev with a slap shot from the blue line just 43 seconds into the third on the first shot the Rangers' backup goalie faced.

 

Buchnevich pulled the Rangers back within three at 8:15 with his second of the season, but Bergeron's second of the night and fourth of the season restored Boston's four-goal lead with 8:21 left.

 

Kreider scored on a rebound with 1:59 left, and Skjei pulled the Rangers within two just 21 seconds later, but Bergeron's empty-netter with 45 second left capped the scoring.

 

The Bruins controlled play for the opening half of the first period, outshooting the Rangers 6-0. Each team had a power play during that stretch.

 

The Rangers got on the board on their first scoring chance. Halak stopped Brendan Smith's shot from the left side -- New York's first shot on goal -- but Haley charged in and knocked in the rebound with 9:41 left in the first. It was Haley's first goal since signing with the Rangers on Oct. 1.

[Brewin Flames]

Krejci returns with goal, assist as Bruins beat Sharks 5-1

 

Game # 12

 

  5  1

 

By

Associated Press

Updated: 6 hours ago

BOSTON -- David Krejci returned from a five-game absence looking like he hadn't missed much time at all.

 

Krejci had a goal and an assist as Boston routed the San Jose Sharks 5-1 on Tuesday night.

 

"We need him going. We know that. It was good to get off on the right foot tonight," coach Bruce Cassidy said of Krejci. "He can drive a line when he's going. We didn't expect him to do that necessarily tonight. He's missed time, but that's what we want out of David."

 

Krejci scored one of two power-play goals for Boston in the first period and added an assist in the second period in his first game since Oct. 14.

 

Krejci was one of five different players to score for the Bruins, who won their fourth straight and improved to 6-0-2 in their last eight.

 

"I watched lots of games the last couple of weeks. I like a lot from this team. Guys have been playing really well. They're sticking up for each other as well, so that's always nice to see," Krejci said. "It was just great to be out there with the guys."

 

Krejci assisted on Charlie Coyle's goal early in the second after Brent Burns had pulled San Jose within 2-1 on what would be the only goal of the night for the Sharks.

 

David Pastrnak also scored for the Bruins, getting his league-leading 12th on a power-play in the first period, and Chris Wagner finished with a goal and an assist for Boston.

 

The Bruins kept the road-weary Sharks from generating any offensive push, holding San Jose to just six shots in each of the first two periods.

 

Martin Jones had a busy night, stopping 36 shots and keeping the rout from getting worse than it was.

San Jose captain Logan Couture delivered a harsh assessment of the Sharks, who lost their third straight and went 1-3-1 on a five-game Eastern Conference road trip.

 

"We didn't execute. We didn't make plays. We didn't spend any time in the offensive zone. It may have looked like effort, but that was just us getting caught out on long shifts and guys were tired," Couture said.

 

"We had some shifts when they were in our zone for two minutes. Obviously not good enough -- not close to good enough. We're definitely going through a tough time right now."

 

Coyle redirected a shot from Krejci to put the Bruins up 3-1 at 5:21 of the second, then Wagner slipped a backhand between Jones' pads on a breakaway to make it 4-1 at 8:31 of the second.

 

It was the first goal of the season for Wagner, who picked up an assist at 16:50 when Brandon Carlo scored on a high shot from the point.

 

It could have been worse for San Jose without some big saves by Jones. Jones made back-to-back saves on Coyle and Sean Kuraly from just outside the crease with about eight minutes left in the period and stopped Wagner on another breakaway just before the buzzer.

 

There was no scoring in the third period, when the linesmen got a workout keeping several fights from happening with the game already out of hand.

 

The officials stepped in twice early in the third to keep Zdeno Chara and San Jose's Evander Kane from fighting. 

 

Brett Ritchie and San Jose's Barclay Goodrow did square off with 7:21 in a bout that ended after Ritchie landed a string of solid punches. Both got fighting majors and 10-minute misconducts.

 

The Sharks ended up with 16 penalties for a total of 57 minutes. Boston had 10 penalties for 47 minutes.

[Brewin Flames]

Pastrnak sparks Bruins 5-2 win over Senators

Game # 13

 

 5  2

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 17 hours ago

BOSTON -- It took a while for players from the Boston Bruins and Ottawa to regain their focus after a scary injury to Senators' forward Scott Sabourin.

 

When they did, the Bruins took over late in posting yet another win in their torrid start this season.

 

David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists as the Bruins beat Ottawa 5-2 Saturday night, in a game in which Sabourin was taken to a hospital for evaluation after being taken off on a stretcher.

 

Sabourin was taken from the ice with his head immobilized following a collision with David Backes in which the players' helmets hit at nearly full speed early in the first period. Sabourin gave the crowd a "thumbs up" as he was taken from the arena.

 

"You've got to try to stay focused, but it's obviously not easy," Boston center Patrice Bergeron said. "In that moment, your thoughts and prayers are with Scott. You hope he's got a speedy recovery and our side the same thing with Backs."

 

Backes went to the dressing after Sabourin was taken from the ice and didn't return.

 

The Bruins announced that Backes had an upper-body injury. He was visibly upset, fighting back tears, as medical personnel attended to Sabourin.

 

Brad Marchand, Danton Heinen, Jake DeBrusk and Bergeron also scored for Boston (10-1-2), which has lost just once in regulation. The Bruins have won five straight.

 

Tuukka Rask made 30 saves for the Bruins, including eight when Boston was short-handed for six straight minutes.

 

Anthony Duclair and Connor Brown scored for Ottawa. The Senators (3-8-1) have the NHL's worst record with just seven points. Craig Anderson stopped 27 shots.

 

After colliding with Backes, Sabourin fell to the ice and appeared to be unconscious. There was a large blood spot on the ice under his face.

 

"There's hatred and all that, but at the end of the day we're all brothers in this game," Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki said.

"That could have just as easily been one of us. You just can't help but think about Sabby and his parents and his finacee watching that. It hits you."

 

The Senators sent an update on their Twitter saying Sabourin was conscious and speaking with the attending doctors while leaving the arena.

 

"You don't want to see anyone, anyone on either team lying motionless like that on the ice," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "Our players were emotional and so were their guys."

 

Smith said they'd know more about the injury Sunday and he was being kept at the hospital overnight.

Heinen scored 5:43 into the third period, hustling in for a loose puck, to make it 3-2.

 

While on a power play, Pastrnak skated with the puck and looked as if he was going around the net before sending a pass in front to Marchand, who scored 1:07 later.

 

"Those are nice," Pastrnak said. "I like those. I'm probably more a goal-scorer than a playmaker. Every time I can set up one of my teammates, I'll do that."

 

He has 13 goals and 14 assists this season.

 

Pastrnak's power-play goal made it 1-0 just 1:17 into the opening period when he outskated defenseman Ron Hainsey to the puck after Boston defenseman Torey Krug sent a long pass that caromed off the backboards.

 

Pastrnak shifted and tucked the puck behind Anderson.

 

Duclair tied it on a one-timer from the right circle 12:04 into the period.

 

Pastrnak set up Bergeron's goal, making a soft pass across the crease, to make it 2-1 at 1:51 of the second, but the Senators tied it on Brown's goal that caromed in off the heel of Rask's stick at 3:04.

 

Marchand was given two minutes for hooking and a double-minor for spearing at the same time early into the second and Rask was splendid.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Hate to say it as a Lightning fan, but the Bruins really are looking quite strong this season.
Looking every bit the part of an Eastern Conference champion.

Without looking at numbers, I am willing to bet their goaltending tandem is the best in the league and more than cover up for any defensive miscues by the skaters.

Lots of hockey to be played and I am still waiting for the Bolts to fully wake up, but man, right now, the Bruins are really looking like the team to beat in the Atlantic.

Doing pretty nicely against the Penguins as I type this.

[JagerMeister]

Was able to catch the 3rd period.

 

Watching Pastrnak and Marchand is enough reason to tune into a Boston Bruins game.

 

Their numbers are definitely unsustainable, but Pastrnak has been trending upwards ever since 2016-17, and had the 7th best ppg in the league last year.

 

As for Brad Marchand, at this rate he'll be carving himself a HHOF career. He's been top 5 in points the last 2 seasons and not lower than 6th best ppg in the past 3.

 

 

 

 

[Brewin Flames]

Marchand's 2 goals, 3 assists carry Bruins to 6-4 win

Game # 14

 

 6  4

 

BOSTON -- Brad Marchand batted one out of the air and into the net, and his game-winner deflected off the goaltender's back.

 

Certainly not your average two goals, but things are far from normal about the Boston Bruins' start this season.

Marchand scored his second of the game with 1:57 left in the third period, and the Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-4 on Monday night after blowing a 3-0 lead.

 

"They're fun to be part of. You don't expect them to come often, but they're nice when they happen," Marchand said of his big night, which included three assists and extended his point streak to 13 games.

 

David Pastrnak, Jake DeBrusk and Torey Krug also scored for Boston (11-1-2), which has won six straight. The Bruins are 7-0-1 at home this season.

 

Marchand skated in on the left wing and fired a wrister that hit the far post and went into the net off Tristan Jarry's back. Krug's one-timer from the right circle had tied it 4-4 midway into the third.

 

In the first, Marchand used a baseball-style swing to bat a loose puck out of the air and into the net, making it 2-0.

 

Patrice Bergeron added an empty-net goal and Jaroslav Halak made 40 saves.

 

"We won the game because of Jaroslav," DeBrusk said. "We didn't like the way we came off the ice in the second period."

 

Dominik Kahun, Nick Bjugstad, Bryan Rust and John Marino scored for Pittsburgh. Marino's was his first career NHL goal.

 

The Bruins had opened a 3-0 lead on Pastrnak's team-leading 14th goal 4:22 into the second when Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan decided to pull starting goalie Matt Murray.

 

"I think we got a little comfortable when we got up 3-nothing and their goalie got pulled," Marchand said. "We got it done. At the end of the day, it's the regular season.

 

It doesn't matter how you win, and we got the win."

 

The Penguins then outshot Boston 15-4 over the remainder of the period, scoring four times to take the lead.

"This is one of the best games we've played all year," Sullivan said. "We're playing one of the top teams in the league. ... I thought it was a really good game by our team. We just didn't win."

 

Kahun started the comeback when he fired a tough-angle shot into the net from near the bottom of the right circle at 5:35. Bjugstad then sliced the deficit to one 4:21 later when he broke in alone off a pass from Kris Letang and fired a wrister that caromed into the net off the right post.

 

Evgeni Malkin backhanded a pass from along the boards, finding Rust alone in the slot. He beat Halak with a wrister to the glove side, tying it at 15:59.

 

Marino, who was off for tripping, stepped onto the ice as his penalty expired, collected a loose puck near center ice, skated in on a clean breakaway and shifted to the backhand before tucking it behind Halak and pushing the Penguins in front with 2.4 seconds left in the period.

 

Players on Pittsburgh's bench were jumping up and down when Marino scored to cap the huge comeback, and a frustrated Halak smashed his stick off the crossbar into a couple of pieces, tossing the handle off the backboards when he was done.

 

Marino grew up about 45 minutes away in Easton, Massachusetts, and attended Harvard.

 

"You just get the first shift under your belt and after that you're just playing hockey after the first couple shifts," he said. "You settle down and start to settle in."

[Brewin Flames]

19 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Hate to say it as a Lightning fan, but the Bruins really are looking quite strong this season.
Looking every bit the part of an Eastern Conference champion.

Without looking at numbers, I am willing to bet their goaltending tandem is the best in the league and more than cover up for any defensive miscues by the skaters.

Lots of hockey to be played and I am still waiting for the Bolts to fully wake up, but man, right now, the Bruins are really looking like the team to beat in the Atlantic.

Doing pretty nicely against the Penguins as I type this.

 

Vs the Penguins they gave up a ton of break away chances, and that led to goals, gotta tighten that up fast...

 

But as of now the rask/halak combo is doing very well.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

43 minutes ago, Brewin Flames said:

 

Vs the Penguins they gave up a ton of break away chances, and that led to goals, gotta tighten that up fast...

 

But as of now the rask/halak combo is doing very well.

 

Funny thing is, after I posted, which was after the 1st period when the Bruins were in full control, the Penguins came alive and gave Boston all they could handle...and even had a shot at winning this thing.

Nothing like a lil rival fan compliment to put the jinx on eh? 

 

Anyways, bottom line...Bruins took the win.
Halak saw a CRAP-TON of shots, let 4 by, but still ended up with a SV% over .900 due to the sheer amount of shots stopped!

Still though, the Boston goaltending duo is second to none in the NHL right now.
Rask will get his chance to prove that once again tonight against the Habs.

[Brewin Flames]

Mete scores twice as Canadiens beat Bruins 5-4

Game # 15

 

 4  5

 

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 6 hours ago

MONTREAL -- A video review left Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy seeing red.

 

An overturned goal on a coach's challenge for offside in the third period gave Montreal momentum, and the Canadiens went on to beat Boston 5-4 on Tuesday -- a rare regulation loss for the division-leading Bruins.

 

It looked as if Cassidy's team went up 5-4 when Charlie Coyle beat Carey Price. But the officials held a lengthy video review on Claude Julien's challenge and determined Coyle was offside on the zone entry during the play.

"The rule was put in place specifically for egregious (calls)," Cassidy said.

 

"They're over there for three minutes. What is the purpose for this rule? You either find something or you don't. Now you're looking for something for it to be offside. You know it's going to go the other way and it did.

"It was a big part of the game and it didn't go our way."

 

Down 4-3 in the third, the Bruins tied the score when Sean Kuraly surprised Price on a wraparound at 3:03. It looked as if Boston was taking over -- until Coyle's goal was overturned.

 

Ben Chariot scored and gave Montreal (8-5-2) the win with a wrist shot from the face-off circle just a few minutes later. The Canadiens have won four of their last five.

 

"Our video guys saw the puck on the line and the skates across it," said Julien, who coached his 1,200th NHL game. "If we don't win that challenge, they have a one-goal lead and a two-minute power play. It could have gone their way.

 

"We were right and we stopped Boston's momentum. From there, we got better."

 

The Bruins (11-2-2) saw their six-game win streak come to an end as they lost in regulation for the first time since Oct. 10, in Colorado against the Avalanche.

 

Boston was playing the second game of a back-to-back and it showed, going down 3-1 in the first period.

The Canadiens scored just 1:13 into the game when Victor Mete scored off a rebound of a shot by Jeff Petry under Tuukka Rask's glove for his first of two goals in the game.

 

David Pastrnak netted the equalizer six seconds into a Boston power play, a one-timer at 14:55. Pastrnak, the NHL scoring leader, extended his career-high point streak to 13 games.

 

Montreal was back in it two minutes later. A breakout pass by Brendan Gallagher led to a 2-on-1, with Tomas Tatar shooting off the post and in.

 

After Artturi Lehkonen forced a turnover, Paul Byron went between Rask's pads to make it 3-1 Canadiens at 17:16 with his first goal of the year.

 

It was hardly a goaltending battle, with Price stopping 21 of 25 shots, while Rask gave up five goals on 31 shots.

"It's one of those nights where instead of a hockey puck, it feels like a golf ball out there," said Rask, who suffered his first regulation defeat. "I was just not tracking it well. Tough night for me. Couldn't really make a save."

 

The Bruins clawed their way back in the second period with the help of Connor Clifton and Anders Bjork.

The Canadiens failed to clear their zone and Clifton made them pay with his first NHL goal at 7:17 to make it 3-2.

 

Boston evened the score at 18:13 when Bjork was first to a loose puck in the crease. Mete gave Montreal the 4-3 lead 42 seconds later with a shot from the point.

 

Bruins captain Zdeno Chara played his 1,500th game. Bell Centre fans gave Chara, who is usually booed in Montreal, a rare ovation for the accomplishment. The 42-year-old is the 21st player to reach that mark.

 

"I really appreciated it and it was very classy," Chara said of the fan reaction. "It's something I will definitely remember. That just shows they are very passionate fans. We had some battles, it's a good rivalry. Lots of history with both teams. Always fun to play these games."

[Brewin Flames]

14 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

 

Funny thing is, after I posted, which was after the 1st period when the Bruins were in full control, the Penguins came alive and gave Boston all they could handle...and even had a shot at winning this thing.

Nothing like a lil rival fan compliment to put the jinx on eh? 

 

Anyways, bottom line...Bruins took the win.
Halak saw a CRAP-TON of shots, let 4 by, but still ended up with a SV% over .900 due to the sheer amount of shots stopped!

Still though, the Boston goaltending duo is second to none in the NHL right now.
Rask will get his chance to prove that once again tonight against the Habs.

 

And Boom....rask's first stinker of the season, fought the puck all night long.

[Brewin Flames]

Fabbri scores twice in 1st game, Red Wings beat Bruins 4-2

Game # 16

 

 2  4

---

By

Associated Press

Updated: 17 hours ago

DETROIT -- Robby Fabbri made a promising debut for the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night.

 

He scored twice -- both on the power play -- in his first game since a trade this week and the Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 to snap a four-game skid.

 

Fabbri was acquired from St. Louis on Wednesday night and quickly got his second and third goals of the season.

 

"It definitely helps with the confidence there," Fabbri said. "Overall, just to see the way the boys played, that really helps coming in. So it was a great win for the boys."

 

Detroit had been stuck in a 1-11-1 rut, their worst skid since 2017-18 when it went 1-12-1.

 

Anthony Mantha had a goal and an assist and Dylan Larkin also scored for Detroit, while Tyler Bertuzzi had two assists. Jonathan Bernier stopped 26 shots and also had two assists.

 

It is the first time a Red Wings goaltender has had two assists in a game since the NHL-World Hockey Association merger in 1979-80, according to Hockey Reference.

 

"I thought it was a team effort tonight," Bernier said. "Obviously our special teams won us the game tonight and that's where wanted to come in today. Everyone was on the same page. Everyone worked hard."

 

David Krejci had a goal and an assist and Torey Krug also scored for Boston, which lost its second straight. Tuukka Rask made 28 saves.

 

David Pastrnak got an assist to stretch his career-best point streak to 14 games (15-16-31) for the Bruins.

 

"They haven't won a lot of hockey games, but this is still the National Hockey League and it is tough to chase the game," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. "They played the right way and didn't turn the puck over in the third. Even when we did force something, we didn't take advantage."

 

Krug's power-play goal with 2:08 left in the second period pulled the Bruins to 3-2. He beat Bernier on a screened wrist shot from the point for Krug's third goal.

 

Mantha's empty-net goal with 1:28 clinched it. It was his 10th goal.

 

Krejci opened the scoring just 1:09 into the game when his innocent-looking shot from the left dot -- the Bruins' first shot of the game -- beat Bernier. It was Krejci's second goal.

 

Larkin tied it just 1:32 later when his attempted pass from the side of the net went in off the skate of defenseman Zdeno Chara. It was Larkin's fifth goal.

 

Fabbri's power-play goal with 8:11 left in the first period gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead. He scored on a one-timer from the inside edge of the left circle.

 

Fabbri's second goal, also a power-play effort, provided a two-goal edge 1:30 into the second period. He scored on a one-timer from the inside edge of the left circle.

[Brewin Flames]

Farabee scores in shootout, Flyers beat Bruins 3-2

 

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Game # 17

 

 2  3 SO

 

By

Associated Press

Updated: 13 hours ago

BOSTON -- Joel Farabee and Carter Hart came through to help the Philadelphia Flyers pull out another late win.

Farabee scored the lone shootout goal and Hart made some timely saves down the stretch to fend off a Boston Bruins comeback in Philadelphia's 3-2 win.

 

The Flyers won their season-high fourth straight game while going beyond regulation for the fifth time in six games, capping a perfect stretch of four games in six days.

 

"We've had a lot of hockey in a short amount of time, and we're extending that time of play by going into extra time," said Hart, who made 26 saves. "But you know what, we're just finding ways to get the job done."

 

Travis Konecny had a goal and an assist, and Phillipe Myers also scored in regulation for the Flyers.

 

Farabee, who played at nearby Boston University, beat Jaroslav Halak high glove-side on the Flyers' first shootout attempt. Hart stopped all three tries by the Bruins, poke-checking away David Pastrnak's attempt to seal the win.

 

"Carter made some good saves at the beginning, but he wasn't really tested," Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. "In the third (and after) he was. We needed some saves. We got some huge saves, and we were able to get in done in the shootout."

 

Danton Heinen and Brad Marchand each had a goal and Halak stopped 27 shots for the Bruins, who lost their season-high third straight (0-2-1) after a six-game win streak.

 

Pastrnak, the NHL's leading scorer with 15 goals and 30 points, was held scoreless for a second straight game.

"We are a great team and we want to show it every night, but at the same time the other team is preparing (for) us and they want to come up big," Pastrnak said.

 

"We (need to) find a way to prove it every night."

 

Konecny helped give the Flyers a 2-0 lead after one period. Sean Couturier's initial right-circle offering was stopped by Halak, but the puck bounced off Oskar Lindblom's skate near the crease right to a charging Konecny for the goal with 6:10 remaining.

 

Konecny's cross-ice pass just over four minute later set up Myers' right-circle wrist shot to make it 2-0.

Philadelphia outshot Boston 14-5 in the opening period on the second night of a back-to-back after Saturday's win over the Maple Leafs.

 

"As a road team that's come in, played a little bit lately, they all of a sudden find energy because of that. That's my explanation of the start," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said.

 

"We need to correct it in a hurry, but the good news is we did find our game eventually, and we can build off that."

 

Boston's Par Lindholm appeared to poke in a rebound after a scramble in front of the Flyers' net early in the second, but play had already been whistled dead. An official review upheld the call on the ice.

 

Following a scoreless second, Heinen's spinning forehand shot in front of the net cut the Bruins' deficit to 2-1 at 5:59 of the third.

 

Marchand beat Hart glove-side on a wrister from the left circle to tie it with 7:38 left.

 

Pastrnak drew a penalty shot after Ivan Provorov's slash with 4:56 left. Hart stymied Pastrnak with a stick save to his left after Pastrnak's slow approach and wrist shot.