Nothing says playoff hockey like a Sunday matinee game right? Well today the Boston Bruins took on the New York Rangers in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals at the TD Garden. The B’s went into this game holding a one-game edge over the Rangers and looked to pick up another win. Neither team would change their lineup from Game One and it would be Tuukka Rask versus Henrik Lundqvist in net.

Torey Krug had another big game for the Bruins today! (Credit: Flickr/ Steph Vail)

5:28 into the first, the Bruins would get on the board. Torey Krug would score his second playoff goal in his second playoff game for the B’s. Krug is the 4th Bruins to score goals in first two playoffs goals among the ranks of Cooney Weiland, Don Gallinger, and current Bruins Tyler Seguin. At 8:01 Ryan Callahan would tie up the game on a beautiful deke off a Bruins turnover. There’s no one to blame for that goal but that turnover. The Rangers would get two chances on the power play in the first but they weren’t able to use the man advantage. And here I am thinking the Bruins have the worst power play unit.

Within the opening minutes of the second period, Gregory Campbell would get the Merlot line on the board for his first of the playoffs. Krug would get the assist on that goal and I think it’s safe to say this kid is legit. But just 56 seconds after the B’s goal, the Rangers would fire back. Rick Nash would notch his first of the playoffs and we’d have a tied game once again. With 7:52 left on a 4-on-4, Johnny Boychuk would give the Bruins the lead once again with a rocket shot high-glove on Lundqvist. After all the shots on net Boychuk had during Game One, it’s good to see him score. This is Boychuks third goal in postseason and once again is proving how HUGE the B’s defense has been in scoring thus far. As the second period came to an end, the Rangers lead the Bruins with shots on net 27-21. However, it’s the Bruins leading the game 3-2.

In just 26 seconds, the Bruins managed to open the third period with a goal. Brad Marchand would make it a 4-2 off yet another perfect pass from Patrice Bergeron. These two should always be on the same line, ALWAYS! Marchy now has four points this season (2g, 2a). The goal also marks the first time in 32-career games VS Boston that Lundqvist has allowed more than 3 goals in a game. Milan Lucic would make it a 5-2 game with 7:21 off a David Krejci shot. It looked like Krejci would get the rebound off of Looch pass, but number 17 would get the rebound. The Rangers wouldn’t come back from the 5-2 deficit and the Bruins would take Game Two.

The Bruins are now two games away from the Eastern Conference Finals. All three rookies registered points for the Bruins today and Coach Julien will have some decision making to make once the injured veterans come back. But for now we can celebrate another win for the Bruins.

Game Three is Tuesday night in New York.
BELIEVE IN BOSTON!

Tonight the Boston Bruins have the chance to go up three games to one against the Toronto Maple Leafs and from that the chance to clinch the series Friday night back at the TD Garden. On the other hand, tonight the Leafs have the chance to yet again even out the series 2-2 and force a game six.

(Credit; Slidingsideways/Flickr)

Monday night was a big night for the Bruins having them not only take advantage of the series, but do it in front of a Toronto crowd that hadn’t seen a playoff game IN Toronto since 2004. Needless to say the crowd was pumped but unfortunately didn’t get the win they’d been looking for. Tonights game is also in Toronto so you can bet the crowd will be just as wild in pumping up the Leafs.

Bringing the Bruins Hockey
The Bruins were simply the better team on Monday night. They were winning faceoffs (45-of-75) and not giving up the puck as easily as they were for Game two. It helps that Tuukka Rask is in net because he shut the door on the Leafs Monday stopping 45-of-47 shots. The past two games, it was the defense coming in HUGE for the Bruins scoring wise but game three it was all about the offense. And particularly the line of Nathan Horton, David Krejci, and Milan Lucic, who combined for two goals and eight points in the game three victory. The line has now combined for five goals and 17 points in the series. The Bruins are one of the few teams that have stars on all four lines of their offense and Monday was a prime example of that. If the B’s can continue to work their offensive magic and get past James Reimer or any other Leaf backup, then they should be to pick up the win.

Toronto Can Talk but Can They Win?
It’s no secret that the Maple Leafs were the more dominant team in Game two but they seemed to have lost all of that momentum in Game 3. The Bruins lead the NHL in faceoffs all year so it’s no surprise going up against a mediocre faceoff team like Torono that the B’s would have the upper hand. However the Leafs are reasoning the B’s faceoff success with cheating something Claude Julien refers to as “crying wolf”.  When in all actuality the Leafs lost because of all their turnovers and the brick wall that is Rask. The Leafs had a season high 47 shots on net Monday night but only managed two past Rask. If Toronto want’s to win they’ll have to figure out what the spark was on Saturday that gave them the edge and use it. Otherwise the B’s offense will complete to run through their defense.

Who’s Hot?
For the Bruins, it’s David Krecji. Krecji right now is easily playing the best postseason of his career with two goals and seven points in just three games. Those stats lead all players in the postseason. Krecji’s liney Milan Lucic is also having a stellar performance thus far with a five-point scoring streak and six assists in the three playoff games. On Toronto’s end is Boston’s fave Phil Kessel who has registered a goal in each of the past two games.

The puck drops tonight at 7pm tonight and you can check it out on NESN!

BELIEVE IN BOSTON!

Emotions were high in Toronto as the Boston Bruins took on the Toronto Maple Leafs for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Once again it would be Tuukka Rask in net against James Reimer. This is the first playoff game played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto so needless to say Toronto fans brought their A-Game with cheers and emotion. At the end of this game, one team would hold a one-game lead over the other.

Adam McQuaid scored his first playoff goal EVER tonight! (Credit:Flickr/Slidingsideways)

Right from the start both teams came out of the gate looking refresh and ready to win. Both Goalies were making the stops and both teams were getting shots on net. It was a pretty back and fourth start to the game. With 6:18 remaining in the first, the B’s would win the face off and with a quick release Adam McQuaid would get the Bruins on the board first. This is Quaider’s first career playoff goal through 35 playoff games. Thus far the Bruins have scored 7 goals in this series and four of them have come from defensemen. Milan Lucic would get his fourth assist of the postseason and David Krejci would get his second. Toronto would get the first power play of the game off of a Jaromir Jagr tripping penalty with just over two minutes left in the game. B’s would kill the penalty and the first period would come to an end. The Bruins would end the first with 17 shots on net, while the Maple Leafs had 12.

Early into the second period, the Bruins would get their first power play of the game after Ryan O’Byrne gets two for an interference call. The B’s PP I would say is a “work in progress” as in it’s been working on getting better for as long as I can remember so needless to say they couldn’t take advantage of the extra man. At 14:03 Jagr with the takeaway feeds it to Rich Peverley who would make it 2-0 for the Bruins. Its the first points for both Pevs and Jagr of the postseason. The Maple Leafs would go on the power play but it would be short lived since they would soon get a penalty of their own. We had ourselves a little four-on-four action and then the B’s would have an extra man for 40 seconds. Neither team would get anything from the PP and at this point Toronto was looking a little desperate. This wouldn’t be the last of the Toronto man advantage in the period and with 6:15 left in the second they would finally use it. Jake Gardner would get the Leafs on the board and make it a 2-1 game. 50 seconds later Nathan Horton would score another goal for the Bruins making it 3-1 B’s. The Bruins would give Toronto ANOTHER PP but this time it would be the B’s who would utilize it with Daniel Paille scoring a shorthanded goal off a pass from Phil Kessel with 3:23 left in the period. THANK YOU KESSEL (it never gets old).

The third period would start with four seconds of 4-on-4 followed by yet another Toronto power play for 1:27 seconds. 47 seconds into that power play, Kessel would get a goal. For the record, I’m not taking back that TY Kessel from above. Now the game is 4-2 and the B’s have a little less breathing room. Four of the seven Toronto goals this series have been on the man-advantage. With the two minute warning, Toronto pulls Reimer hoping to make a comeback but it’s short lived with a Krejci empty netter. Jack Edwards said it best by referring to that goal as a “dagger in the heart” of Toronto.

Bruins would win 5-2 and now lead the series 2-1. They face off again in Toronto for Game 4 Wednesday night.

BELIEVE IN BOSTON!

(Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Tonight the Boston Bruins kept their win streak alive as they earned themselves their fourth-straight victory against the Senators this season and second consecutive victory since March 14-16.  While it is easy to jump to conclusions and say the worst is behind us, the fact of the matter remains that despite having two consecutive wins, there are still errors that need to be improved on.

For instance, the Bruins once again gave up the first goal of the game. However, they managed to get the goal back less than a minute later with a slapshot coming from the point from Zdeno Chara that David Krejci would get his hip on to direct it just enough to go past Robin Lehner. The bounce back was and is definitely an improvement and skate in the right direction.  If that wasn’t enough to convince you that the Bruins were serious and commited to righting their previous months wrongs, the next goal would. Exactly 61 seconds after David Krejci hip-checked the puck past Lehner, Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand teamed up for a beautiful set up that left Seguin with a wide open net to shoot into for a one-goal lead half way into the first period.

Patrice Bergeron found a way to beat Robin Lehner as well in the opening frame, but unfortunately the Senators defenseman was in the way and prohibited the netminder from being able to make an accurate save thus cancelling out the goal. While it was a slight buzz kill, the Bruins couldn’t complain about teir first period domination and went into the locker rooms with over 20 shots on net (more than they had in their previous two games after 60 minutes of play) and a one-goal advantage.

The second period provided each team with golden opportunities and a combined 65 shots on net through forty minutes of play, the Bruins pacing themselves for most shots on goal in a game since March 2010 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.  While both teams battled through the middle frame the score remained the same heading into the final period, the Bruins needing to find their way without top center-man Patrice bergeron who took an elbow to the head in a battle by the net and did not return.

As the puck dropped to commence the third and final period, the Senators put Anton Khudobin to work. At 1:55 Khudobin sprawled from one end of the net to the other in a Tim Thomas-like fashion and made what looked to the naked eye, a spectacular save. Upon review however after play had since been stopped, it was deemed that the puck had crossed the goal line and hit the back of the net then bounced out, giving the Senators the game-tying goal very early on.

Through the remaining eighteen minutes the Bruins paced the Senators, tallying shot after shot against Robin Lehner, the defense taking away almost every opportunity the Sens attempted. Shortly after a resounding open-ice hit from Dougie Hamilton, Milan Lucic was able to get the puck up to Nathan Horton who heard a loud Woo! from the audience as he lit the lamp and reinstated the Bruins one-goal lead with under ten minutes remaining in regulation. Despite Johnny Boychuk heading to the box in the final 32 seconds of the period for interference and the Senators pulling Lehner for the extra attacker, providing a 6-on-4 opportunity, the Bruins held on. In the first game in a long time the Bruins provided a solidified sixty minute effort and battled their way to victory.

Their next game is scheduled for Thursday where ‘newcomer’ Jaromir Jagr is expected to make his debut in the Black and Gold. The Bruins face off against the New Jersey Devils in hopes of earning another much needed two points in the standings and their third straight victory.

This is the fourth meeting of five between the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators and thus far the B’s are 3-for-3. Tonight they look to make it four and continue their perfect record against the Senators.  They have won in regulation, over time, and a shoot out against the Ottawa team. With two points on the line, and the Bruins currently riding the Montreal Canadiens coat tails for first place, this game is important. While Boston is fighting for first, Ottawa isn’t too far behind as they trail the B’s by four points in standings. So let me repeat again: this game is IMPORTANT!

(Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

B’s back on track?
After dropping two games, the Bruins picked up a much needed win Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres. Not only was it was win, but it was a shut out for goalie Anton Khudobin. Their recent set back is what has put them in second place in the division so hopefully Sunday’s win was a step forward. If they Bruin want to win, all four lines need to show up to play. Sunday’s win was about the first line of David Krejci, Milan Lucic, and Nathan Horton. And while that’s all fine and dandy, there are many players on this team that need to step up especially considering the trade deadline is fast approaching.

Senators first stop: Boston
Ottawa is about to enter a seven game roadie and what better way than to begin at the TD Garden. The Senators are coming off of a 4-0 shutout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs after previously winning three straight games. Now obviously Ottawa hasn’t exactly done well when facing the Bruins this season but they are looking to change that tonight. Goalie Robin Lehner will most likely get the start as he has the previous three times against the Bruins.H e allowed two goals in each of the three previous games, and one of those includes 44-save effort in his season debut back in February.

Who’s Hot:
Since the Senators did get shut out anyone that was hot has cooled off. However before that game forward Mike Zibanejad had a four-game point streak. For the Bruins like I said before it’s all about the Krejci line. Krejci scored his first goal in seven games, and Horton also scored in Sunday’s win.

Injury Report:
The B’s are still without Adam McQuaid (shoulder) and Chris Kelly (tibia) though it was reported that both skated yesterday so hopefully this is a good sign. Meanwhile Ottawa will be missing enter Jason Spezza (back), defenseman Erik Karlsson (Achilles), Milan Michalek (knee), Craig Anderson (ankle) and Jared Cowen (hip).

Puck drops at 7pm and you can check out the game on NESN!

It took until the final ten minutes of regulation for one team to show up and make goals happen,  and fortunately it was the Boston Bruins that decided to be that team. The Bruins took to the ice tonight against the Buffalo Sabres looking to bounce back from back-to-back loses this past week. And while it took a LONG time for the B’s to get any sort of momentum, they eventually did.

Anton Khudobin would earn his second shut out as a Bruins stopping 26 shots on net, while Ryan Miller would take the loss for Buffalo. Boston is now one point away from first place in the Northeast division, falling behind the Montreal Canadiens.

Krejci’s line once again proved they were valuable! (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

The two goals that the Bruins would score would come less than three minutes apart and were brought to you by the B’s top line. David Krecji would be the first to put the Bruins on the board with 7:06 remaining in the game. Matt Barkowski would get his first NHL point off an assist to that goal, and Nathan Horton would pick up his 9th assist of the season. With 4:16 left Krejci would return the favor to Horty setting him up for a tap-in goal. Milan Lucic would also get an assist for that goal.

This is the third win for Boston in eight games which isn’t exactly something to praise. Fortunately it is the end of March now so ideally that would be the end of the brutal March slump.

The boys have the day off tomorrow but return home Tuesday night to take on the Ottawa Senators.

After two straight losses (the first of the season) for the Boston Bruins, the only way to improve would be to pick up a win. To do so the B’s looked for their third win of the season against the Ottawa Senators. It would be Anton Khudobin in net against Robin Lehner.

Seidenberg got the game winner tonight! (Credit:Slidingsideways)

David Krejci would return to the lineup after missing the last game due to a lower body injury. Hometown boy Ryan Spooner would make his second start as a Bruin and Rich Peverley would in turn be the healthy scratch. If this wasn’t a clear line that Coach Claude Julien was looking for something drastic to change with the team, I don’t know what is.

Well it took the game being halfway over for someone to get on the board and unfortunately it was the Senators. Kaspars Daugavins would get his first of the season and Ottawa would get a lead and the momentum for the moment. With 1:22 left in the second, Daniel Paille would tie up the game for his sixth goal of the season. That would end the second and once again the Bruins would have to be a third period team in order to get the win.

So the third period was kind of uneventful. The tension was high, the fists were a flying, but the goals weren’t there. That is until 18:56 when Dennis Seidenberg scored his long overdue first goal of the season. The Bruins would hold that 2-1 lead for a well needed two points.

The B’s are back in action against the Toronto Maple Leaves Saturday night!

With the shortened seasons winding down, it was expected that teams would face injury and or exhaustion due to the grueling schedule. The Boston Bruins are one of many teams dealing with this. They are currently without Chris Kelly and David Krejci due to injury and will be without them tonight against the Winnipeg Jets. All things considered the first half of the season was mostly injury free for the team and their record shows it. So the question is can the Bruins battle on with these injuries and with the lack of days off?

Patrice Bergeron leads the team in points (Credit: Flickr/Slidingsideways)

Busy B’s:
The Bruins are hoping to avoid a  third consecutive road loss, and pick up a third consecutive win against Winnipeg. The B’s have won 16 of their last 20 games and are one point out of first place in the Northeast division behind the Montreal Canadiens. This is the third game the team will play in 4 days but with some well needed R&R  Monday hopefully the team will be in fighting shape tonight. Boston recalled Providence player Ryan Spooner yesterday to help fill in the void due to injury. I expect to see him in the lineup as the Bruins roadie carries on. The boys have two more road games this week but will return back to Boston next Monday.

Cooling the Jets:
Winnipeg like Boston is playing their third game in 4 days and also like Boston capped off their Sunday game with a loss. The Jets will be looking for a win tonight just as badly as the Bruins as they are looking to maintain the lead in the Souteast division (they are currently tied for first with the Carolina Hurricanes). Tonight Winnipeg will start another three game, four day journey so there’s no doubt that this time is preparing to endure these games.

Who’s Hot:
Sunday’s loss gave Tyler Seguin his 10th goal of the season. After a slow start to the season, it would appear Seguin has found his momentum. He also has 12 assists and a +19 rating. His lineys aren’t doing too shabby either with Patrice Bergeron leading the team with points (8 goals, 27 assists). Brad Marchand leads the team in goals with 12.

On Winnipegs end, they have Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler are the two point leaders this season.  Ladd has 14goals and 15 assists for 29 points, while Wheeler has 12Goals and 12 assists for 24 points. Wheeler if you remember was once a Bruins and it always bothers me to see former B’s players doing well without the Black and Gold.

In Net:
Tuukka Rask is expected to be in net tonight for Boston against Ondrej Pavelec most likely.  Rask is (14-3-3)with two shutouts on the season and  a (1.92GA and a .928SV%), while Pavalec is 12-12-2 and  has a (.904SV%  and a 2.80GA).

Puck drops at 8pm and you can check out the action on NESN!

Ryan Spooner has been called up to the NHL to join the Boston Bruins in Winnipeg, where he is expected to replace the injured David Krejci tomorrow night. The AHL rookie leads Providence in scoring, and ranks 3rd in rookie scoring in the entire AHL and 1st in assists by a rookie.

According to some reporters on twitter, the Boston Bruins have called up Ryan Spooner. This is the second call up for Spooner this season. His previous call up involved only 1 game on February 26 at Montreal. He recorded one shot, but also saw time on the power play. He played a total of 5:26 in his 1 career NHL game.

Spooner has been hot in the AHL lately, leading the Providence Bruins in scoring and one of the top rookie scorers in the league. He has played in 50 of the P-Bruins 62 games this season, missing some due to injury and some due to Boston training camp and call up. In those 50 games, Spooner has 12 goals (including 7 PPG), 33 assists, and 45 points. He has a +/- of +8 and a total of 10 penalty minutes.

Spooner has 4 points in the last 2 games (a goal and an assist in each – both wins for Providence). He has a total of 7 points in the P-Bruins 7 games in the month of March. He also has 17 shots in those 7 games, including 10 shots in the last 2 games alone.

He ranks among the top rookie scorers in the AHL. He is currently 3rd in overall points by a rookie and 1st in assists. He is tied for 3rd for rookie power play assists (14) and tied for 2nd in rookie power play points (21). He has 4 shootout goals this season as well.

Spooner is on call up to replace the injured David Krejci, who took a Johnny Boychuk slapshot to the leg in Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Boston Bruins team is currently in Winnipeg, where they will play the Jets tomorrow night.

Spooner was drafted 45th overall in the 2nd round by the Bruins in the 2010 entry draft. He is listed at 5’10 and 180 lbs. The 21-year-old is from Kanata, Ontario.

An official release from the club is expected soon.

Update: Read the Bruins official release on Spooner’s emergency call-up here.

Before heading on a four-game road trip, the Boston Bruins would have one last game at home. They would face off against the Washington Capitals hoping for retribution for an OT loss last Tuesday. And they certainly got that revenge and so much more in today’s matinee game. Being St.Patrick’s day weekend, the Bruins practiced in their green jerseys and it would seem that luck was on their side during the game.

In net for the Bruins would be Anton Khubdobin, opposite the Capitals Michal Neuvirth. This would be Khudobins 7th start of the season and he certainly did not disappoint. He would make 32 of 33 saves in the game.

Congrats Horton on your Gordie Howe hatty! (Credit: Flickr/Slidingsideways)

This game to me was what the Bruins have been working to accomplish the past few games. It was a 60-minute effort. I know in the past few games they boys have lost steam in the third but not today.

It all started in the first with the first line. Nathan Horton would get a slapshot in off an assist from Milan Lucic  and Zdeno Chara .Not more than three minutes later David Krecji would score thanks to Looch once again. The first line has been pretty MIA in recent games so seeing their presence right away in the first period made me think this would be a good game.

Second period would start with the Bruins on a penalty kill and they would kill it once again because being first in PK’s means it’s hard to score on them. But right after said PK, Washington would strike with an unassisted goal from Marcus Johansson. At 8:02, Andrew Ference would score a LONG overdue first goal of the season. The assists would go to Horty and Krejci. It was good to see Ference get that first goal. At the end of the second the score would be 3-1 Boston.

Now let me take a brief intermission from scoring to talk about ALL the fighting. Brad Marchand would square off against Mike Ribeiro and just 8 seconds later Horton and Matt Hendricks would fight. And yes that would mean Horton got a Gordie Howe hattrick today, basically proving Horty was having a great game! Hendricks would fight again against Adam McQuaid in the third thanks to a little instigation from Shawn Thornton. 

Onto the third period! Bruins would get on the power play early on thanks to a slashing call. And all it took was 8 seconds of said power play for the B’s to strike with a PP goal from Rich Peverley. Looch and Krecji would get the assist on that. Like I said later on in that period there was another bout. It was pretty apparent at this point (at least to me) that the Bruins had the clear momentum at this point in the game.

The Bruins would go on to win bringing their record to 19-4-3, while the Caps would fall to 11-15-1.

B’s are back in action tomorrow for another matinee game this time in Pittsburgh against the Penguins.