Late game lapse sends Bruins into All-Star weekend on loosing note

(Photo by AP)

by Dakota Antelman

The Bruins lost their final game before the All-Star break, a matchup with the Colorado Avalanche, by virtue of something that has become a regular occurrence in the Bruins recent meetings with the Colorado; the late goal.

The Bruins allowed two goals in the last two minutes of periods Wednesday night. Ultimately, they squandered a 2-1 lead in the third period when they allowed Ryan O’Reilly to score for Colorado with the goalie pulled and 1:45 left on the game clock.

The Avalanche, invigorated by their comeback, dominated overtime and scored the only goal in the ensuing shootout, winning the game.

“We played a good 58 minutes of hockey and killed a lot of good penalties,” said Bruins defensemen, Torey Krug. “(Rask) came up big for us in some key moments. They just out-battled us at the end and they scored the only goal in the shootout that mattered.”

The Bruins out-hit the Avalanche for all three periods of the game. They held onto the puck with ease, recording 0 giveaways and were gritty in the defensive zone with 27 blocked shots.

Their goalie, Tuukka Rask played well and, for the near entirety of the first period, held the Avalanche off the board. It was not until former Bruin, Jarome Iginla, batted in a rebound with 0.4 seconds left in the period that Colorado managed to draw blood.

The Bruins responded 4:47 into the second period when David Pastrnak’s shot ricocheted to Krug who proceeded to score his ninth goal of the season.

The Bruins played “competent” hockey Wednesday night but struggled with discipline. Even as they eventually took a 2-1 lead off of Brad Marchand’s first goal since his suspension, they were called for penalties. By night’s end, seven Bruins went to the penalty box.

“I thought  we played well the first two periods. We were moving the puck well and skating well for a back-to-back games and again, those penalties took their toll on us,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien.

Julien expressed frustration at an apparent discrepancy in penalty calling. Notably, Jarome Iginla, seemed to get away with an overt trip of Brad Marchand early in the game. No penalties were called and in fact, the Avalanche were called for just three minor penalties Wednesday.

“It's too bad. It's such a close game and to have an edge on us in power-plays is unbelievable,” Julien complained. “There were some blatant missed calls out there and its' getting frustrating. Because at the end of the day, guys work hard they kill penalties, they get burnt out and run out of gas at the end. That took its toll."

Still though, the Bruins seemed displeased mainly with the fundamental issues that took place within their own team; especially on O’Reilly’s game tying goal in the third period.

“We have to look at ourselves here,” Julian said. “It's poor management. We had the puck at least three maybe four times with 27 seconds left where we could have done something much better and we didn't. That's our own fault. And at the end of the game, we need to be a little more aware of when they pull their goalie, we have to collapse a little better and we allowed a guy to come into the slot there and score.”

With the NHL’s All-Stars competing in the All-Star game this weekend in Columbus, the Bruins are off for the next week. Though a loss to Colorado stings, they can seek solace in the fact that they enter the break having taken at least a point out of 12 of their last 13 games.

“It's pretty disappointing obviously but we battled hard and we had a lot of good penalty kills there,” said Tuukka Rask. “It's too bad we got scored on in the last two minutes, but we played a good game today.”

Read More

3 takeaways from Bruins 3-1 loss to Columbus Blue Jackets

by Dakota Antelman

The Bruins were dealt a painful loss Saturday night, losing by a score of 3-1. Carl Soderberg scored Boston's only goal while Tuukka Rask was good for much of the game.

Below are some takeaways from the loss...

Winning streak over

The Bruins were riding high going into this game. They had won five straight contests and taken points out of their last 13 games.

Though they played similarly to the way they have been throughout this streak, Saturday's loss ruined the absoluteness of their early 2015 run. The Bruins, having also watched as the Rangers beat the Blue Jackets the night before to reclaim the first wild card spot, now have their record drop to 24-16-6 on the season and will have to wait until Tuesday to get their next chance at leapfrogging New York.

Bruins absorb loss of Marchand

One of the biggest storylines going into Saturday's game was that surrounding the suspension of Brad Marchand for slew-footing Rangers forward Derick Brassard. Marchand was suspended two games by the Department of Player Safety Friday and spoke to media Saturday morning on the topic.

While there was little opposition to the suspension within the Bruins or even Boston as a whole, there was much to be said about how the team would absorb the loss of him vs Columbus.

Very simply, the Bruins seemed to play seamlessly without the grit of Marchand. Fourth line winger Danial Pallie was promoted to Marchand's normal line consisting of Patrice Bergeron and Reilly Smith. He and his line rattled off 10 shots and played normal ice time.

Though the Bruins definitely missed Marchand, Saturday's game seemed to settle some fluttering fears that his absence would devastate the team's momentum.

Milan Lucic dominates finesse game

Milan Lucic, who already had three goals in the new year, played one of his best fundamental games fans have seen out of him in a while.

He and linemates, David Krejci and David Pastrnak, were connecting on passes with showstopping consistency Saturday. Furthermore, Lucic himself put up five shots in the loss, more than he had in any game this season. Though he did not factor into the score sheet in a major way, Lucic was arguably the Bruins best offensive player vs the Blue Jackets; something that has not been true for a long time.

Read More

Bruins, Brad Marchand speak on subject of suspension

by Dakota Antelman

Bruin forward Brad Marchand spoke to media Saturday for the first time since his slew foot on Rangers forward Derick Brassard earned him a two game suspension.

He and his coaches spoke candidly about the play and the suspension that resulted from it. Marchand appeared to accept the suspension as a natural consequence while insisting that the slew foot was not intentional.

“Going into the play, it wasn’t what I was trying to do,” he said. “I was just trying to make a hard hit. I was trying to throw him backwards, but I didn’t intend to kick his feet out. Things happen. It’s a quick game. Plays in hockey are going to happen that are questionable, and you’ve got to live with it.”

After all though, the NHL acted mainly on what they saw in the video they were presented with. That video showed a, textbook definition of a slew foot.

The NHL Department of Player Safety has revamped its approach in dealing with slew footing plays in just this season alone. What used to just earn a player a fine now gets them a suspension; similar in practice to either Marchand’s or Dallas Stars forward Ryan Garbutt who was suspended for an identical play to Marchand’s earlier this season.

Bruins coach Claude Julian touched on the topic of the crack down Saturday.

"The league made its decision. They're certainly trying to cut down on slew-footing, so we have to accept it and move on,” he said.

Beyond the suspension itself, Marchand devoted much of his statement to the topic of his growing reputation as a controversial or even dirty player. This suspension goes down as the third of his career and fourth time he has been penalized by the Department of Player Safety.

"It's a grave I've dug for myself and I've got to live with it," he acknowledged.

The NHL admittedly takes reputation into account when assessing whether or not a suspension is in order. Marchand understood that as his laundry list of infractions lengthens, his reputation might be playing a role in the frequency of these punishments.

“Maybe it played into it a little bit, but I have been trying to play within the rules and change my game,” he said. “Again, I play a hard game and I’m going to do things that are questionable at times. I’ve got to live it. The way that they discipline me, I’ve got to live with that.”

He was gracious in celebrating the fact that he will only miss two games with this suspension while keeping focused on his eventual return to game action next Wednesday vs. the Avalanche.

"They made their decision and I've got to live with that,” he said. “Hopefully the guys do well without me and I can get back in against Colorado."

Read More

Why Brad Marchand's hit on Derick Brassard should start some conversations in Boston

(Photo by Winslow Townson/USA Today Sports)

by Dakota Antelman

When Brad Marchand slew footed Derick Brassard during Thursday night's game between the Bruins and Rangers, there was little opposition to the general assumption that he would be suspended in the coming days. 

So overtly illegal seemed the play, in fact, that the NHL Department of Player Safety went through a near ritualistic process Friday morning before swiftly punishing the Bruin forward with a two game suspension. 

This suspension will have Marchand sitting out both Saturday's meeting with Columbus and next Tuesday's clash with the Dallas Stars. More so, it will cost him $48,387.10 in forfeited salary money which will be funneled into the Players Emergency Assistance Fund.  

Such a punishment is almost benign. Marchand skates away from this incident largely unscathed as given the perceived severity of his hit on Brassard combined with his lengthy laundry list of supplementary discipline, it could have been understandable how and why a suspension of five or more games could have been in order. 

As described in the Department of Player Safety's video Marchand initiated the contact with Brassard by apparently kicking out Brassard's legs. As Brassard fell to the ice, Marchand came down hard with a forearm thrust to Brassard's shoulder and chest. As Marchand stood upright in the corner, Brassard landed dangerously, with the entire weight of the check on his shoulders and neck and his body pinned almost vertically up against the corner-boards. 

The possibility for severe injury was evident from the first replay of the hit. Brassard himself, understood that possibility best.

"The way I fell on the ice, I maybe could've missed the rest of the season if I hurt my knee there . . ." he said. "Marchand's a pretty good player, he's feisty, competes hard, but those kind of things, we don't want that in our game."

As much as Bruins fans love to celebrate the three time 20 goal scorer in Marchand, they have long sense come to terms with the near Matt Cooke circa 2010 hitman within him as well. 

This suspension marks the third of his career and the fourth instance of supplementary discipline for Marchand after just five seasons in the league. Notably, he was booked back in 2010 for what was deemed a "clip" or dangerously low hit to the knees of Vancouver Chanuk, Sami Salo. Before that, Marchand was ordered to sit for five games after an elbow to the head penalty. 

But perhaps the most glaring of these punishments is the one that was not actually a suspension. Before the Brassard hit on Thursday night, Marchand delivered a near identical slew foot against Pittsburgh Penguins pest Matt Cooke in 2011. He was fined $2,500 largely out of principle. That fine was a $2,500 slap on the wrist from the league that said "hey don't do that again." 

But he did. 

This time there was no coddling Marchand; from the Department of Player Safety or any of the other executives or even fans involved with the NHL. Two games is what he got, two games or even more were what he deserved. 

And now, as Marchand spends the next two games watching from the press box, Bruins fans will have time to cast him a glance, in all his sedentary observational glory, and rethink their judgment of him. 

Very simply, as hockey fans, we hate to see plays like the one that took place Thursday night. As Derick Brassard said, there is simply no place for that in our game. As Bruins fans, we especially like to call other teams out when they encroach upon that sacred no-mans-land of possible body contact into which none shall enter.

We still remember the rightful slandering of Matt Cooke's name after Mark Savard's career ended on his elbow. But what would we say if Marchand blew out Brassard's knee and ended his career like Cooke did Savard? Marchand would deserve the same kind of ridicule.

Which begs the question: is Marchand a dirty, cheap shooting player like Matt Cooke? Sadly, the answer could be yes.

Now this is not to undermine the great things that Marchand has done as a Bruin. He is an immensely talented scorer with arguably much more talent than any of the thugs mentioned above. But much like the kid in high school with "all that potential", Marchand keeps making immature decisions on the ice and as a result is well on his way towards having an assigned seat in the principal’s office.

Read More

Thoughts on Bruins farm players: Anthony Camara, Zach Trotman, Jeremy Smith highlighted

(Photo by Rosina Vacchiano)

by Dakota Antelman

Recently, the Bruins AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, faced off against the Worcester Sharks, the San Jose Sharks affiliate, in a regular season meeting at the DCU Center in Worcester.

Go Titletown was there to observe. Below are a few thoughts on three Bruins prospects that fans might not have been given the opportunity to observe yet...

Anthony Camara 

- Most like...Brad Marchand

Overview...

Anthony Camara, a 21 year old Bruins prospect out of Toronto, is playing his second season in Providence after being drafted in the third round of the 2013 draft. In 92 starts with the team, Camara has scored 12 goals and has brought an intense style of play to the neutral and offensive zone game of the Providence Bruins.

At first look, Camara plays a very similar game to current Bruin, Brad Marchand. He is a sneaky, almost pest-like player who seems to get away with the kinds of arrant elbows and malicious forearm jabs that some of the best do with ease and satisfaction. Beyond that Camara, like Marchand, utilizes a high hockey IQ combined with his incendiary sped to help move the puck through the neutral zone swiftly and without effective resistance from an opponent.

The latter of those traits could benefit the Boston Bruins greatly in the future. Throughout this season a sore point for these Bruins has been their ability to gain and sustain pressure offensively. The fluidity with which Camara moves could remedy that.

Zach Trotman

 - Most like...former Bruin Andrew Ference

Overview...

Bruins fans got a look at Zach Trotman earlier in the year when he came up to the Bruins in the wake of Zdeno Chara's PCL tear. He returned to Providence after just 17 games though meaning fans did not get to see him settle into a lineup on a big stage.

As reflected by his performance in the AHL, a place where he has settled in, Trotman is a shutdown defenseman. He is a positional player who can make plays without putting his stick on the puck. Nevertheless, when he does step up on a forward, Trotman unleashes a devastating body check as well as pinpoint stickwork.

 Perhaps  the one shortcoming in his game however is his shot. Trotman lacks the power behind his slapshot that most Bruins fans are accustom to after watching the likes of Dennis Sidenberg, Zdeno Chara and even Torey Krug on a nightly basis.

Regardless though, Trotman adds immense depth to an already well stocked Bruins defensive core while also giving Peter Chiarelli a superior bargaining chip in the trade market.

Jeremy Smith

 - Most like...former Bruin Tim Thomas


Overview...

The name of Jeremy Smith is one Bruins fans have not heard much since he signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Bruins this offseason.

However, playing backup for the Providence Bruins behind Malcom Subban, Smith has amassed a GAA of 2.15 and a save percentage of .929. He has won 10 of the 20 games he has played in and has a pair of shutouts in those games.

But perhaps the most interesting thing about Jeremy Smith is the stark similarity his style has with that of former Bruin great and current Dallas Stars goalie, Tim Thomas. Technically, Smith is a "butterfly" goalie meaning he drops to his knees to play shots. But even so, he often loses that form as rebounds are given up or shots are taken from close range. He becomes the kind of unorthodox goalie that Thomas is as, in such cases, Smith can be seen frantically diving across the crease to cover pucks and glove rebounds.

While the Bruins currently have little need for such a goaltender within their system (goalie depth chart currently has 3 capable starters on it in Subban, Tuukka Rask and Niklas Svedberg), like Trotman, Smith serves as an uncontested bargaining chip on the trade market as the Bruins seek the kind of goal scoring forward that could elevate their play.

Read More

Bruins in a free-fall as shots are taken from within

(Photo by Jared Wilkerman/Getty Images)

by Dakota Antelman

The Bruins sit outside the playoff picture. Their season has been marred with miscues and the alarm has long since been sounded. After a tumultuous sequence of days, following their most recent OT loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, though, the Bruins have begun taking shots at themselves.

The statement is both literal and in part a sports metaphor. The two days between Sunday’s 2-1 loss in Carolina and Tuesday’s meeting with the Penguins featured some pointed comments by GM Peter Chiarelli and CEO Charlie Jacobs as well as a literal fight between teammates Torey Krug and Brad Marchand.   

Ticket sales are stalling, fans have begun raining “boos” down not upon the opponent but the lackadaisical Bruin struggling in the neutral zone. Calls of “Tuuuuukk” uttered for Tuukka Rask have at times been drowned out by satirical cheers while the media has begun to intermix their highlight reels with statements like “this was the best spin we could put on this.”

Frustration is commonplace within the Bruins system today as it has been for much of the season. As the team continues to stumble, even at the halfway mark of the season, the frustration within the team has permeated into the stands.

Fans who are still watching this team are doing so not for goals or playoff victories but for trades, firings and gritty overhauls that will help revert the organization to the state that delivered such things.

As they do so though, the byproducts of this systematic frustration are scrutinized and elevated to a platform of media focus as talk of division titles was in years past.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, January fifth, sixth and seventh, were days on which that scrutiny was revealed.

Tuesday morning in Boston, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli addressed the Boston Globe saying that players should “absolutely be uncomfortable about their job security.”

“It impacts the rest of the game,” Chiarelli said specifically of the Bruins flat first period vs Carolina. “We’ve seen a few those of periods in this three-game stretch. It’s disappointing. We’re still treading water, and that’s not acceptable. That’s the common denominator in those three games.”

He went on to say “It’s never fun to be in this situation — to try and improve your roster when you’re not in a real position of strength, there’s not a lot of activity going around. But you try and peck away and try to improve your team. At the same time, you hope these guys can string a couple games together. We have to watch this closely.”

Chiarelli certainly had faith in his team when he spoke. But saying that his players should absolutely be uncomfortable does not bode well for team confidence and or trust in one another. It blatantly tells players they could be on the move soon. “So don’t get to comfortable!”

Though some may argue it is a motivational tactic, the statement seemed more like an honest assessment that need not be vocalized.

Mere hours later, newly appointed Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs came out with much stronger words.

Describing a scenario in which the Bruins miss the playoffs as an “utter failure”, Jacobs said “I’d say without question this has been a very disappointing year. It’s unacceptable the way that this team has performed given the amount of time, money and effort that’s been spent on this team,” said Jacobs. 

“To see it delivered the way it has is unacceptable. I can tell you that at the moment it’s a very fluid situation that’s being monitored closely. I don’t have any answers for why we’re underperforming because if I did I would have tried them long ago.”

It is as if the Bruins are a distracted private school student whose parents are frustrated with his or her plummeting grades.

Needless to say, when your supreme boss says he is disgusted with your performance the result is a DIRECT shot to your confidence.

But the Bruins are professionals right? They would not be shaken by a little tough love. More so, they surely have their priorities straight.

They made it harder to believe those statements in turn mere hours after Jacobs’ chastisement.

During “battle drills” at Bruins practice, a fight broke out between teammates Torey Krug and Brad Marchand. The scuffle apparently arose after Marchand made a joke about Krug’s height to a friend.

Krug gave a behind the scenes look minutes later at media availability time.

“He told one of my buddies that he was taller than me, and it pissed me off,” he said. “It’s just competing in practice, you don’t like something and tempers flare a little bit. It’s nothing crazy, and you saw afterwards that we’re fine with each other. Who knows? Maybe that is what this team needed a little bit.”

He then soured.

“I think it’s no secret that guys aren’t happy with where we’re at. It’s got to start somewhere, so why not in practice. I thought after that you noticed the guys were a little more intense, and having some fun. We’ll see. Maybe we can use that.”

Intensity is a good thing but a rare fight in practice does not seem so positive. There is a line between the good teams and the bad teams in the NHL and in recent years these types of practice fights have always occurred within teams on the wrong side of that line.

While it would be unfair to judge the entire roster on the occurrence of a hot tempered shoving match during a rough patch in the season, the trend is there and it definitely adds to this general perception that the Bruins are taking shots at themselves.

They face the Penguins Wednesday night Pittsburgh eager for a win against one of the NHL’s best teams. They do so motivated and positive; but perhaps they are not quite motivated enough.

The team has the players to win. The team has the coaches to win; yet they fail to.

Is it motivation? Possibly. But more, so these recent losses could be the product of incorrect priorities. The specter beseeching these priorities stands as the Bruins taking shots at one another.

Read More

Bruins needing to change their shootout approach following loss to Maple Leafs

(Photo by Gregory Fisher/USA Today Sports)

by Dakota Antelman

As much as the NHL knows how much fans and players alike seem to hate the convention of the shootout, the absolute way of determining a winner in EVERY hockey game has it going nowhere.

As a result, the Bruins, who were most recently hurt by the shootout in New Year’s Eve game with the Toronto Maple Leafs, are in desperate need of an internal overhaul to their approach to the shootout. With it likely being a part of hockey for many years to come, the Bruins need to find out how to win shootouts. This is simply because right now, that is not happening.

Their December 31^st game that ultimately ended in the shootout loss began uneventfully. The Bruins fell behind 1-0 but kept pace when Tuukka Rask stopped a key penalty shot in the first period. The Bruins came back firing following the first intermission, tying the game and eventually trading goals with the Maple Leafs in the second period. They finished regulation tied with the Leafs at three goals a-piece.

After bouncing through overtime without a game winning goal, the game went to the shootout.

The TD Garden rang with boos of the shootout convention while its few supporters tried to explain its rules to still others who did not understand it.

As the Zamboni drove off the ice and the administrators of the dry scrape walked down the maintenance tunnel, the Bruins and Maple Leafs conferred with officials.   

The home Bruins elected to have Toronto shoot first as they finalized their own shooters.

Needless to say even that was not enough to stave off the shifty shootout goals and five round win enjoyed by the Leafs.

But it was not their talent that doomed Boston, it was the Bruins’ own mismanagement of their shooters that prevented them from closing out 2014 on a winning note.

Accounting for the sudden death rounds of the shootout, the Bruins sent five shooters to center ice. They started with Reilly Smith, then they sent Tory Krug, Brad Marchand, Seth Griffith and finally David Krejci who missed on a must-make shot that ended the game.

The lineup was bizarre to say the least with a defensemen taking the second shot and a 50% career penalty shot shooter in Patrice Bergeron never taking the ice. Of a fundamentally talented Bruins attack, Claude Julian selected a group of five players with a career penalty shot conversion percentage of 19%. Furthermore, he did so against a Toronto shootout attack that came in with some of the best numbers in the league.

Boston was swiftly embarrassed by Maple Leaf shooters who entered with a shootout conversion percentage of 39% and nailed two of five shots on Rask.

So what is the problem? How can this be fixed?

Well, not too long ago mind you, the Bruins were, hands down, the best team in hockey in terms of winning shootouts.

Two seasons ago, in the season of their dominant run to their second Stanley Cup in three seasons, the Bruins reaped the benefits of a near immaculate winning percentage in shootout games. That sterling reputation was the direct byproduct of their lights out shooting lineup.

Each time the shootout was needed, in almost painful repetition, the Bruins would send Tyler Seguin, Patrice Bergeron and Davis Krejci to the puck.

Those players would constantly score on 40-50% of shots. They legitimately capped off hours of play with three minutes bearing three darting goals from the top of the opponents crease.

Things changed though after Seguin left Boston following the season. The Bruins started sending Marchand out in the top three and testing Loui Eriksson in the number two slot. They dropped Krejci out of the traditional shooting lineup and over time even let Bergeron fade.

And what for; so that they could let Seth Griffith shoot, so they could let a lucky Tory Krug pound a shot off Johnathan Bernier’s pad?

The Bruins need to rework their shootout approach. Bergeron needs to get back into the mix and we need to see somebody come through as a prime shooter for the team. 

Read More

Tuukka Rask bails out slow Bruins offense: Bruins beat Jets 2-1 on Hamilton OT winner

November 29, 2014

by Dakota Antelman

The Boston Bruins and Winnipeg Jets engaged in a gritty, up and down game Friday night that ultimately culminated in an overtime decision in favor of the Bruins.

The Bruins, fresh off back to back losses to Montreal and Pittsburgh entered the game rested and revamped after a week of tough practice.

But after all their preparation, things did not get off on the right foot for Boston. An early penalty kill situation in the first period was not executed adequately by the Bruins and resulted in Jets forward, Dustin Byfuglien scoring with just four minutes left in the opening frame.

The late goal served as a bit of a slap in the face for the Bruins. They had spent most of the week addressing their scoring problems and stressing the need to work harder defensively in the middle portions of the ice. Of course, none of that happened.

“Everything we talked about (yesterday) morning didn’t happen in the first period,” said Julien.

The Bruins did manage to turn things around following the Byfuglien goal however. Bruins goalie, Tuukka Rask stopped a seemingly endless quartet of breakaways while stuffing countless shots on any number of the ensuing power plays that the Jets got.

“Tuukka’s one of the best goalies, if not the best goalie, in the league,” said forward Reilly Smith. “Sometimes we rely on him too much, but he does a good job handling the pressure that’s put on him.”

Rask ended the game with 35 saves, several of which came in some key moments during a four minute penalty kill at the end of regulation and the beginning of overtime. 

As for the goal that got the Bruins to overtime; that came from big bodied left winger, Milan Lucic.

After Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said earlier this week that the Bruins needed more size and physicality in front of the net, Lucic demolished Jets forward Mark Scheifele by skating hard to tip teammate Carl Soderberg’s pass into the net.

Finally, something they had worked on in practice paid off for Boston.

“We worked on that this week – going D-to-D and up, and that’s what we did,” Soderberg said. 

“Looch skated to the middle and left the puck for me, and I drove the net. So that’s how we scored.”

With the game tied, the onus was put back on Rask to at the very least keep it that way. Things were complicated in the final three minutes of the game though when Bruins pest, Brad Marchand, took a double minor penalty for high sticking.

Even then though, Rask stood tall once even gloving the puck down to his stick and clearing it out of the zone on his own.

“You’re just in survival mode there,” laughed Rask after the game. “You’re trying to secure that point.”

His work was finally rewarded by the rest of the team roughly four minutes later when defensemen Dougie Hamilton smacked a wrist shot from the hash marks into the net to win the game for Boston.

The goal was yet another product of a Bruins odd man rush that seemed to get better and better as the game went on. Carl Soderberg took the puck in the neutral zone and skated with it into the Jets end as Lucic and rookie David Pastrnak curled in towards the net. Rather than passing it to them though, Soderberg turned towards a trailing Hamilton and slid the puck to his stick.

Hamilton, using the screen of Pastrnak and Lucic let rip a screaming shot that decisively ended the game for Boston.

“Obviously, it felt pretty good. I don't know if I ever scored an overtime goal before, so a pretty — pretty good feeling, and a pretty good feeling to get the win after the start that we had.”

Read More

No rest for Bruins during Thanksgiving layoff: David Pastrnak skates with first line, Chara, Kelly making progress after injuries

November 28, 2014

by Dakota Antelman

During a time while many were out digging out from this week’s snowstorm or relaxing ahead of their holiday feasts, the Boston Bruins were hard at work at their Wilmington practice facility, the Ristuccia Arena.

This three day period without any games has given the Bruins a chance to step away from the drama and competition of the NHL season and address some of the internal issues that have plagued them for much of the year.

Among the biggest and most publicized of those issues has been the injury bug that has bitten the Bruins badly this season. Going into the break they had five players on the injury report with at least three out long term.  Names like Zdeno Chara, Adam McQuaid, Chris Kelly and David Krejci were all among those listed.

During the break however, considerable progress was made with milestones reached by several of those players.

Chara and fellow defender David Warsofsky were both skating for the first time since their injuries Tuesday morning. The next day, Kelly returned to practice and was seen running drills with the Bruins fourth line.

Kelly suffered an undisclosed injury last Friday vs Columbus and had been out of the spotlight since. When speaking to reporters on Wednesday however, he detailed the plan that the team training staff had set out for him. He spoke on the subject of how caution was an important quality in his rehab plan.

"I think we thought [it was] better to be on the cautious side of things," Kelly said. "It was exactly kind of how we thought it would be. And it felt good today [Wednesday], and we'll see how it feels again [on Thursday]."

Bruins fans and coaches alike were excited to see the returns of so many big names this week. But at the same time, Krejci, whose injury has still not been announced, was not present at any practices. Krejci, who might very well miss Friday’s game, has currently sat out three straight games. This recent absence comes during a stretch where Krejci has missed 9 of 11 games.

Bruins coach Claude Julian was non-descript in his discussing the terms of Krejci’s injury or his recovery plan.

“[we have to] Get the situation fixed so he's not in and out, in and out [of the lineup]," Julian said.

Beyond injuries, a myriad of transactions with AHL Providence saw rookie sensation Seth Griffith return to the team while Alex Kohoklachv and Jordan Caron were both sent back down. Among those who stayed with the Bruins, was first round draft pick David Pastrnak.

Pastrnak was promoted to the first line for Wednesday morning’s practice. He was seen skating alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.

Pastrnak made his NHL debut Monday vs. Pittsburgh skating 10 shifts for a total of 7 minutes and 53 seconds of ice time. He provided a presence in front of the net but did not manage to get a shot on goal.

The Bruins, who currently rank 20^th in the NHL in goals per game (2.5), are searching for a spark offensively and understand the need to put a flashy Pastrnak in a scenario where he can score. The first line, with Bergeron dishing out passes from the center position might very well be that perfect scenario.

"You try not to put him in a situation that may be too much, but at the same time, he's a good player, we know he's a good player - he showed that the other night, too," said Julien. "Offensively, he's a real good player, explosive, makes plays and he's pretty dynamic, and he'll only get better, so we need to continue to give him that opportunity to grow in the right environment."

Though experimenting with various positions in the lineup are definitely a positive for Pastrnak, with each new position comes a sort of acclamation period. The team is hoping Pastrnak can get into a grove on the first line as quickly as possible. 

The team's lack of scoring has definitely been noticed just as it has troubled team management.

“…The goal scoring, the offensive chances, the nature of the chances — getting better, but still has to get better,” GM Peter Chiarelli said. “I’m talking about heaviness on the puck, about competing, about not being stripped,” he said. “It’s a collective team thing.”

The Bruins understand that it takes goals to win hockey games. The Pastrnak move, as well as the Griffith call up, are both examples of the Bruins taking strides to give their team the best chance to get those goals.

Boston does currently hold a playoff spot; but with stalling goal scoring and nagging injuries, any number of teams currently breathing down their necks could very well come up and knock them out of that spot.

That is why nobody was resting within the Bruins organization this week. With the exception of a three hour Thanksgiving Day Dinner at Milan Lucic’s house, it was all work – top to bottom.

“I think what’s important with this group is that even with all of the injuries and everything, it can be easy to say we’re in a good spot right now,” said defensemen Torey Krug. “We’re happy with where we’re at, but we’re not a satisfied group, so I think that’s really important — especially when guys start to return. We’re a hungry group looking to move up in the standings, and that’s where that sits.”

Read More

The Broad Nosed Killah has changed his ways: How Brad Marchand has evolved as a fighter and a goal scorer

November 15th, 2014

by Dakota Antelman

With about 13 seconds left in Game 3 of the 2013 Stanly Cup Finals, Bruins captain Zdeno Chara tackled Blackhawks’ Brian Bickall about 15 feet in front of the Bruins net. The referee blew the play dead with about 9 seconds left in the game allowing the entirety of the two teams to gather around the messy scuffle.

As everyone grabbed a dance partner, hard-nosed Bruin forward Brad Marchand spun out of the pile with a firm hold on the powerful Andrew Shaw.

Marchand threw two punches then wrestled Shaw to the ice. As referees quickly jumped in, Shaw dropped a hard right hand shot onto Marchand’s face as Marchand waved blindly in an attempt to tag Shaw from the ice.

As the referee wrestled the two combatants apart, they sent both them to the penalty box to serve the traditional five minute fighting major.

In over 100 games since then, such a scenario has not been repeated. Marchand has not fought anyone since that game.

The now 26 year old left winger is in his 5^thseason in the NHL. He was drafted in the 3^rd round of the 2006 NHL draft and has been starting games for the Bruins since 2009-2010 in which he bounced between the AHL and the NHL.

He played 20 games in that 2009-2010 season. He averaged just over 11 minutes of ice time per game and did manage an assist in his NHL debut. After the Bruins lost in the second round of that year’s playoffs, Marchand was bumped up to full time NHL’er. He played 77 games in the 2010-2011 season and slapped home 21 goals.

In those first few years in the NHL and even before that in the AHL, the Bruins front office did a marvelous job of identifying Marchand’s skills and even his personality. Thus they were able to put him in the hockey niche that fit him best.  That niche, simply put, is that of the “pest”, the player designated to annoy players.

That was a role that Marchand was quite good at. He was always the player that could be seen chirping at an opponent from the bench, barking at referees or yelling across glass dividers at the other teams’ bench during his time off the ice.

He was assessed 144 penalty minutes in 129 games with the Providence Bruins and logged 22 penalty minutes in his first 20 games with the NHL Bruins. Those were not dirty player penalties either. No, Marchand ticked players and referees off so much that he was given unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for simple profanity and after the play pushes and shoves.

But as the Bruins rapidly morphed into an absolute powerhouse team following their 2011 Stanly Cup victory, so did Marchand.

After netting 21 goals in 2011, he scored 28 in 2012. One year later, in the lockout shortened 2012-2013 season, he led the team with 18 goals scored. He was becoming a skillful player as well as a pest. The evolution was noted and celebrated by fans.

As he scored, Marchand continued to rack up penalty minutes. His career high came in 2012 when he spent 87 minutes in the box.

But especially in the last two years though, the last aspect of the game that Marchand first showcased with the team has slowly died away. In Bruins hockey, dropping the gloves or fighting is commonplace and each and every good Bruins team has always had a wide array of guys who are always more than willing to trade roundhouse shots.

Marchand fought only twice in the AHL but seemed to perpetually get up in the faces of opponents around the net. He would take on guys who were twice his size, shoving helmets and facemasks up into opponents’ noses and knocking players to the ground with football like tackles.

In the NHL, where the players were only bigger and stronger, Marchand did not cower in fear. Instead he went even harder. Midway through the 2011 season, he got into a tussle with Edmonton Oilers’ forward Andrew Cogliano. He spent the first half of the fight getting clobbered with punches but kept his wits about him and came back strong to knock down Cogliano in the end. Later that season, Marchand actually initiated the now famous Bruins vs Canadians line brawl that spawned the even more famous Tim Thomas vs Carey Price goalie fight.

The man Marchand hit to start that fight would, one season later become his partner in one of the most iconic fights of the Claude Jullian era in Boston.

After chirping at Subban for the entirety of a 2013 Bruins vs Canadians game, the pair finally tried to square up but were given penalties. A similar situation happened mere minutes after getting out of the box when the two jumped each other at center ice but were separated again and given delay of game penalties. That time, when they were allowed out of the penalty box they skated about eight feet away from the boards and were throwing punches before referees noticed them.

The fight was iconic for Marchand and the team simply because it symbolized the grit that he brings to every game. Subban had four inches on Marchand and outweighed him by almost 40 pounds and yet Marchand went at him like a seasoned enforcer.

Marchand was annoying and almost unsportsmanlike in a totally legal way when he literally spit in Subban’s face during that fight.

And when they were separated, with Marchand’s face bruised and his knuckled bleeding, he arrogantly raised his arms in celebration drawing delirious cheers from the crowd.

He was a player people loved to watch make himself hated. He was a player that was so annoying and pesky that he started to define the Bruins relationship with the rest of the NHL. They were once again, big and bad, annoying and genuinely unpleasant to play.

In a bizarre way is that not what we associate with good hockey?

But one cannot keep up such a mantra of play for very long. Such is especially true when one has actual all-star talent.

After his 18 goal 2012-2013 season, Marchand seemed to ditch some of the after the play activity. He seemed to start leaving the demolition of stragglers in front of the net to the team’s defenders and fought only once that year.

His penalty minute totals went down as well as he was assessed only 27 minutes of time in the box in 45 games.

The trend continued into last season in which Marchand did not fight for the first time in his career and was given just 64 PIM in 82 total games. On the flip side though, he scored 25 goals and assisted on 28 for his second highest points total (55) of his career.

This season, he has already scored five goals and assisted on five others. Saturday in Carolina, he shot a pass over to Patrice Bergeron who eventually scored. The assist was Marchand’s 100^th as an NHL player. Looking deeper into that statistic, one sees that 68 of those 100 assists have come since the PK Subban fight.

Very simply speaking, as Marchand has stopped fighting he has gotten better; or, as he has gotten better he has stopped fighting. That much depends on how one looks at it. What does not is the fact that lack of fights has occurred in direct correlation with goal scouring excellence.

Read More

Life without and life with collide: A look at Shawn Thornton's return to Boston

November 5th, 2014

by Dakota Antelman

Standing amidst a crowd of reporters Tuesday afternoon was a familiar Boston face.

Former Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton played seven seasons of hockey in the Hub and attracted city-wide respect as well as league wide fear during that time. He was a brute force on the ice, knocking bodies around like bowling pins and tossing off gloves like they were vile creatures. With his physical presence, will to stand up for his teammates, and still present goal scoring skill set, Thornton drew comparisons with some of the most legendary Bruins of all time.  

Just like the Terry O’Reily and Mike Milbury like players scattered throughout Bruins history, Thornton laid down a legacy of broken teeth, frequently uttered profanity and knuckle bruising helmet shots. Just like those players, he was loved by fans of the team dearly and deliriously. But above all and as has been commanded by the legal changes to the NHL rule book since O’Reily and MIlbury played, Thornton walked a line that he very rarely crossed. 

He lived by the code of hockey, rarely even attracting a second look from the department of player safety’s discipline committee and never falling onto the blacklist of hatred that many of the NHL’s top enforcers eventually land on.  

It was hard to hate Shawn Thornton and so, when Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli announced this summer that salary cap contains would force the team to part ways with Thornton, there was almost universal sadness.

In a statement released that day, even Chiarelli acknowledged that.

 “I told him [Thornton] that he was one of the most significant acquisitions that we made — one, for the role that he played, and two, for the person that he is,” Chiarelli said. “It was nice to rehash his time. It was sad to tell him he wasn’t coming back.”

Soon after that though, Thornton was gone from Boston with his locker cleaned out and his legacy no longer an ongoing one. Further completing the detachment from his seven year home, he then signed a two year, $2.4 million deal with Florida.

Since then the Bruins have managed. Boston recognized the need to bring in somebody to play the role of a gritty fourth line thug and tried out quite a few such players during a rather chippy preseason.

Due to his performance and expansive body of experience, longtime AHL fighter Bobby Robins was promoted to the NHL squad. Robins was thrown into the lineup in the place of Thonrton and quickly gave fans a bit of consolation when he and Luke Schen threw down on opening night.  

Robins has actually done pretty well in the sheer fighting aspect of what the team is asking him to do. But needless to say he lacks the kind of unrivaled, leave-it-all-on-the-ice kind of leadership attitude that Thornton blessed his teammates with.   

Though he was never even considered to be a captain, Thornton was the recognized catalyst to many of the Bruins greatest moments while he was on the roster. He was the player that behind the scenes shows revealed to come into the locker-room barking encouragement and insisting that no game’s score was final until the final buzzer sounded. Beyond that, he was the kind of player and the kind of person who could, after applying generous helpings of roundhouse punches to opponents, completely change personas and become a soft spoken well-mannered member of the community.

The love for Thornton was omnipresent. The love for Thornton, solicited by any one of his actions on or off the ice, was shown when he finally returned to Boston albeit in a different sweater.

In a ceremonious gesture, Panthers head coach Gerard Gallant included Thornton in the starting lineup. That meant that he was able to have his name announced at the start of the game the act of which drew fourth the first loud cheer from Bruins fans of the night.

“It’s pretty touching, you know,” Thornton said. “To get a standing ovation in a visiting arena is pretty special and I appreciate it. The fans have always been great to me here and again tonight. It’s pretty nice.”

Among a Bruins team that has already seen several player homecomings this season, the general consensus was that this one was by far the loudest.

“Every time someone’s come back to town that’s been on our team they get one, and it was great,” Bruin winger Brad Marchand said. “He was here for a long time and the city loves him. He was a good teammate, so it was good to see and it was fun to play against him.”

Bruins coach Claude Julian agreed with his players.

“It’s nice they paid tribute to him,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “We’ve always liked Thorty, he’s an honest player and a hard-nosed player who understands his role and has always been very positive in everything he’s done. To me, he’s been a good asset to that Florida team.”

The game proceeded and Thornton went on to play a career high 16 minutes and 3 seconds. He took one shot on goal and, despite ending the night with a plus/minus rating of -1, played relatively well.

The Bruins would go on to win the game on Brad Marchand’s second overtime goal of the season. 

An honest team player, Thornton acknowledged his dissatisfaction with that result.

“I just wish we would have won but as far as getting it over with, I enjoyed it. I was looking forward to it and it was everything and more.”

For a moment, it seemed like those seven years of the Shawn Thornton fight club had never ended. He stood speaking to reporters in front of a TD Garden logo with humility in his voice and a faint bruise glistening on his cheek. But when one looked none too much further they saw the all red Florida Panthers cap atop his head and the nylon jacket with the pouncing cat upon his shoulders and chest.

As a result Bruins fans simply cheered for the one game, not the 82, that they got to see him play.

Read More

Bruins extend head coach Claude Jullian

November 3rd, 2014
by Dakota Antelman

Late Sunday night the Bruins came to a contractual agreement with their head coach, Claude Julian. The deal will keep the long tenured Boston boss with the team for at least the next three seasons.

In eight seasons with the team, Julian has gone 310 and 163. He has led Boston to seven straight playoff berths and two Stanley Cup Final appearances. Furthermore, his leading the team to their 2011 Stanley Cup victory was the first time such a thing had happened in Boston for 39 years.

As a result of the success his team has had under his rule, Julian has earned team wide respect and loyalty.

"We have worked at this for a few months, but there was never any doubt in my mind that this would get done," Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said in a statement today. "Claude is one of the top coaches in the NHL and has consistently shown a passion for winning through his coaching.”

Julian has developed a “pass-first” mantra that he has in turn passed onto his players. Under him, the Bruins have consistently been one of the NHL’s top 10 teams in terms of goal scoring. Furthermore, the team has balanced their offensive abilities with defensive prowess. The latter is reflected by two the Norris trophy nominations for Bruins captain Zdeno Chara as well as the pair of Selke Trophy wins for defensive forward Patrice Bergeron.

“Coaching is a difficult profession at the best of times and what Claude does in implementing structure in his systems, and having a solid defensive foundation while allowing freedom in offensive play is no easy task,” Chiarelli said later in his statement.

This extension is Julian’s third in the Bruins organization. As with the other two extensions, Jullian’s actual salary has not and will not be disclosed.

Needless to say, the Bruins are willing to keep their coach at any cost. Up and down the lineup and beyond, his work is recognized.

"He's a great coach, obviously," said Bruins forward Brad Marchand. "His record shows it, and he really makes it easy out there.”

Marchand has improved statistically in each new season under Julian and is now among the Bruins top goal scorers. He is one of the biggest stories of Julian managed player development.

“He's always working with guys and trying to improve players' game,” Marchand said. “I get along with him really well, and we have a good working and personal relationship, so it's been great."

The Bruins are appreciative of how Julian has managed their team’s day to day proceedings. They understand what good things he has brought to Boston, both material and conceptual, and are a big reason why Julian has since climbed close to the likes of Mike Babcock for the title of longest tenured coach in hockey.

“We've had success, and it didn't take too long to get his system going, and it's paid off over the years,” said Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask. “If that's the case, that's he's going to be here longer, it's good for the Bruins."

Read More

Up and down Bruins top Sabers in OT thriller, Brad Marchand gets back on track

October 31st, 2014

by Dakota Antelman

The Bruins moved back to 500 on the season with a 3-2 win over the Sabers in Buffalo.  The victory was their first sealed in the overtime period this season and, like so many other games, it seemed to reassure fans of the team’s integrity. 

After a painful late game collapse earlier this week in Minnesota, the Bruins entered this game suddenly lacking the services of not only Zdeno Chara but also Tory Krug. Furthermore, great worries were spawned during a Wednesday practice when reports began circulating that Brad Marchand had left practice with an apparent injury.

But when the team travelled to Buffalo, they filled the void left by Krug with AHL’er Joe Morrow and Marchand was revealed to be healthy enough to start the game.

In fact by night’s end, Marchand had, by virtue of his sheer actions, proved his health.

He scored two goals in the contest. The first came midway through the third period and ultimately tied the game while the second ended it in overtime. 

"Brad has been having a slow start to the season and, again, in the third period he just showed his true colors and what he can do when he decides to play the way he can," coach Claude Julien said. "He's got good speed and he can be pretty slippery, but he's been playing a lot on the outside with the puck and without it and it doesn't bode well for him. So it's nice to see him get rewarded with the things that he needs to do, so hopefully that encourages him to do a little bit more."

Marchand’s goals were just his second and third of the season. The winning goal, a cross bar down wrist shot from the hash marks was hailed by many of his teammates as one of the best of the year.

Marchand however digressed and heaped some of the praise on his teammates.

"It was a great play by Dougie [Hamilton] to get it over to [Reilly]," Marchand said. "[I] saw him coming off the bench and I just tried to pop open for [Smith] and he made a great pass and I was just lucky it went in."

Beyond Marchand, defender Adam McQuaid scored his first goal in over a calendar year while Niklas Svedberg stopped 13 of 15 shots and made several clutch saves late in regulation.

“This was a game that we really wanted to win,” Marchand said. “We didn’t want to go down two games below .500, especially with the way we finished last game. We wanted to make sure we had a big effort tonight, and we came out with a win.”

Read More

Retaliation dooms Bruins: In violent game against Montreal, Bruins see their 12 game win streak snapped in the shootout

It was the most violent, nasty, old fashioned hockey game the Bruins had played in a long time. With 40 penalty minutes, and 4 either roughing of cross checking penalties assessed the statistics it produced confirmed that. And lastly, the feel in Boston Monday night also reflected the fact that we had just been treated to something special. A world class beat down between bitter rivals as well their thirst to live both in the magic of their history and the promise of their respective futures. Even in loss, Mondays game between the Bruins and Canadians was something that we only rarely see and so, from start to finish, the atmosphere inside the garden was one of excitement and bitter hatred for the guys in red and white.

Things were nasty right from the get-go.

Just 1 minute and 19 seconds into the game, the Canadians version of Brad Marchand - Alexi Emilin - caught 228 pound Bruin monster - Milan Lucic - in his sights. But as Lucic came across the Spoked B at center ice and Emilin went to deliver the hit, instead of going straight up on the man who was bigger than him in every quality, Emilin dropped down and delivered a crushing center ice hip check right to Lucic's lower thigh. The Bruin forwards was literally flipped 360 degrees and after he slid for a few feet, he crashed violently into the boards. The hit was without a doubt clean but nevertheless, it was delivered in a situation where a straight up shoulder check is more commonly delivered. Also, the speed and ferocity at which the hit flipped the big body of Milan Lucic at first glance pointed strongly towards the hit being delivered more to the knee of Lucic than he front of his thigh or even his lower abdomen which would have been a clipping penalty and would have earned Emelin an automatic 5 minute major. The combination of all of these apparent factors led Bruins captain Zdeno Chara to make a bee line for Emilin who he proceeded to mash into the ice with a check, slash with his stick and then punch in the head earning him a 2 minute roughing penalty.

After the game, Lucic was enraged by the cowardliness of Emilin's hit.

"Whether it's fair, legal or whatever you want to call it, if he wasn't scared, he would stand up and hit me and not go after my knees," Lucic said of Emelin. "It just shows how big of a chicken he is that he needs to go down like that to take me down. It shows what kind of player he is, and on my end, you know you've got to keep your guard up at all times."

By the way, that comment did not help to extinguish the feeling of excitement about the game after it ended.

Within minutes of the Emilin incident, Kevin Miller shoved Montreal forward Dale Weis from behind as the two skated in towards the boards. While Weis did have a little time to protect his head from a direct collision with the boards he was visibly injured as he skated off the ice. Seeing this, 31 year old Montreal tough guy - Travis Moen - went after Miller ready to drop the gloves. Miller obliged but gave Moen a little more than he thought he was getting. Miller tagged Moen once on the shoulder and then slammed a huge right hook into Moen's ear. But Miller was not done. He dragged Moen back to his feet and proceeded to wreck Moen's face. He landed 2 more knocks to the head of Moen before his arm was tied up. As the two spun towards the boards however, he finally got his fits loose and slammed the punch of the year into Moen's temple. 

Travis Moen would have to be helped off the ice. 

In just seconds, Montreal had lost two of its best players. But none of that stopped the physicality of this game. During the Miller penalty assessed as a result of the cross check of Weis, Emilin scored a power play goal to give the Canadians the lead. 

But the game was not over and while the Bruins knew they needed to tie the game as soon as possible, they were still caught up in that hatred for the Habs that would only be fulfilled when a player was knocked on his backside every time he touched the puck. 3 minutes into the 2nd period, Brad Marchand and the hated PK Subban got tangled in a fight for the puck that resulted in Marchand's clipping Subban up high with his stick. 

Towards the end of the period, the Bruins were penilised again when Carl Soderberg basically body slammed goaltender, Peter Budaj as Zdeno Chara took a point shot. But even that was not the end of things. 

In the final 2 minutes of the period, with the Bruins already killing a penalty, PK Subban delivered a hip check to Johnny Boychuck along the boards and then shoved him while he was down. Once Boychuck got up, he proceeded to throw two punches at Subban and then violently slam him into the ice. He was penilised for roughing but was lucky he was not kicked out of the game. Finally however, the Bruins got things under control and in the 3rd period it was Montreal who was undisciplined. They took 4 penalties in the period and allowed the Bruins to drag the game back via a Patrice Bergeron tip in of a Zdeno Chara slapshot. 

But for Boston it was too little to late. 

Montreal won the game in the shootout. 

But even though they lost their historic 12 game win streak, the Bruins were positive as they remain a team who has had just 1 game without a point in the month of March. 

"Obviously, you don't want to lose the way that you do in shootouts, especially getting all the chances that we did during the third period, but with 10 games left, now you've got to expect every game to be like that," Bruins forward Milan Lucic said. "Look at our last stretch of eight games in 13 days. We were able to get 15 out of 16 points, so that's pretty good. Unfortunately, the winning streak comes to an end tonight, but we've got to look forward to the next one."

But a win like this for Montreal could be troubling for Bruins fans not because they could knock Boston out of any positioning whatsoever in the regular season but more so because as it stands a playoff meeting between the Bruins and Canadians is not an unlikely possibility and a win like this could give Montreal momentum going into such a meeting. 

"It's a big win for us, for sure," the Canadiens' Brian Gionta said. "By no means was it a perfect game, but it showed a lot of character sticking with it and battling through. That first period, we were just kind of hanging on, but we pushed back in the second, got in some penalty trouble in the third but showed a lot of character on that penalty kill. Unfortunately, they scored on one, but I thought we did a good job with them."

But regardless of that, the Bruins lost a game Monday that they could have won if it were not for their inability to stay out of the penalty box. 

"At times, absolutely," said Julien, when asked if 'undisciplined' is a way he would describe the game. "The Marchand penalty was frustration because he got tripped on the faceoff before — it wasn’t called. Those are things that are going to happen in a game and you can’t retaliate by taking a bad penalty."

"[Johnny] Boychuk’s penalty was a bad one too, so you know, there’s discipline, but they didn’t score on those, so that’s not why we lost. But I think we have to be better disciplined against them."

Read More

Bruins stunned in Buffalo: Late game collapse renews questions regarding goalie Chad Johnson

When we look back on this game come the end of the year, it will be remembered not only because of the stunning Bruins collapse at its end but also because of the team that did the stunning. Fact is, the Bruins lost to the Buffalo Sabers Wednesday and though they were spectacular at times, a game tying goal with 43 seconds left in the 3rd period and then an OT winner by Buffalo 42 seconds into the sudden death period left a taste beyond sour in the mouths of Bruins fans.

As good as milestones like Brad Marchand's 20th goal, Chris Kelly's 5th goal and the solidification of the Bruins' ability to erase leads by opposing teams made the better part of this game fun, the end wiped away that all. This was not the way the Bruins wanted to resume NHL play and though the team could be blamed for the first 3 goals scored against them, it was their goalie that was at fault for the two goals that ultimately lost the game.  

Fact is this is at the very least the 3rd game that Chad Johnson has blew for the Bruins this season and though statistically, he is not that bad, Johnson has been a man who, all season long has simply botched saves that he really should have grabbed. The fact that he is so consistently inconsistent ought to be troubling to some Bruins fans and the team itself. One second he is absolutely robbing guys like he did in 4 straight games at the end of January and the beginning of February and another he is allowing goals like the infamous wrap around goal back in December vs. Buffalo or the two at the end at this game. 

Earlier this month, when Johnson was still flying high from his stellar month of January, Tuukka Rask eluded to the importance of having a good two man tandem in net. 

"It's huge for us," Rask said "You need two good goalies throughout the season, because the season is so long. With March coming up, it's going to be a crazy, crazy month, so you're going to need two goalies. It's been good to see him get into this groove and helping us get the wins." 

"His record speaks for itself," Julien said. "The way he played tonight, even though people are going to say he didn't get tested, we know that's as big of a challenge for a goaltender as any, especially when you're playing a team that has a lot of skill. He's been playing well. It's been great." 

But now, this game, goals like these remind us of how quickly things can change. 

After Boston drew even with the Sabers late in the 1st period, they were once again out played at the beginning of the second meaning that after a roughing call that was marginal at best, this Bruins penalty kill was put to the test by a very desperate Sabers team. Roughly 55 seconds into the man advantage, a hard slap shot in from the blue-line seemed to catch Johnson by surprise bouncing off his pad, around the net and onto the stick of Tyler Myers. Still lost in the crease and unsure of where the puck was, Johnson was easily beaten by the off balance wrist shot that put the Sabers ahead 2-1. 3 minutes later, he was beaten again, this time by yet another wrist shot lacking power or any redirections. 

Luckily for Boston, Johnson locked things down from then on holding off any further damage while the Bruins offence managed to chip away and eventually tie the game in the 3rd period. When Milan Lucic scored the Bruins' 3rd unanswered goal, the game seemed to have been won. But then the Sabers pulled their goalie and once again, Johnson let up. With the puck stuck back in the corner, Brad Marchand missed a check and allowed Matt Moulsen to swing around to the front of the net. When Chad Johnson fell into the butterfly, he failed to plant his legs and slid awkwardly away from the puck. Moulsen scored into the empty net and so, yet another mistake had cost the Bruins a chance at a sure 2 points. 22 seconds into overtime, the game would be over. 

That goal beat Johnson five whole upping his number of mistakes to 4. 4 shots that he should have turned aside and 4 shots that if he did so would have reversed the outcome of this game.

Bruins fans, Chad Johnson was never a long term fix for the Bruins situation in the backup goal tending slot and as games like these continue to pile up, they only further the possibility and meaby even likelihood that come next year, there will be a new man backing up Tuukka Rask. 

Read More

2013 in 8 days: Top Game of 2013

Christmas has come and gone and New Years Day is just around the corner. During the 8 days spanning from Christmas morning to New Years morning Go, Titletown will add daily updates to an 8 part series remembering the highs lows and all around heartwarming moments of 2013 in Boston Sports as well as a look ahead to what we might see in 2014. This is not a statistical analysis of these 298 professional sporting events that took place in Boston in 2013, this is a written rehashing and a reminder that we are the greatest sports town on the planet. 

Complete Schedule 

December 25th- A Year of Leaders

December 26th - Best Patriots Moments 

December 27th - Best Red Sox Moments

December 28th - Best Bruins Moments

December 29th - Top Plays 

December 30th - Top Games

December 31st - [To be determined] Is the Boston Athlete of 2013

January 1st - The Promise of 2014

The top sporting events of 2013...

1) Game Seven ECQF: Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs

 The intensity of having your season on the line can in many cases spell disaster in regards to the amount of nerves and inability to execute that a young player suffers in such a situation. However, at the same time, moments and situations like these can at the same time bring out the best in players with the mental makeup that allows for that to happen. That was exactly what happened on May 13th 2013 when, with their backs against the wall a host of age old veterans and relentless skill players stormed the Boston ice and reversed the storyline of a night that up until that point was one of failure, imperfect performance and the possibility of a looming firing for Claude Jullian. With the goalie pulled, the Bruins made history scoring twice in a span of 20 seconds to tie the game and send it to overtime.

6 minutes and 5 seconds into the first-goal-wins-overtime period it was all over as Patrice Bergeron did it again and the Bruins emerged victorious.

Throughout a 90 year history where last second comebacks a thrilling finishes have been far from rare from now on when Bruins fans say the words "Game Seven" that alone will be enough to remind Bostonians of THE Game Seven. The game that rescued the Bruins season or more simply, "The Comeback."

2) Game Two ALCS: Red Sox vs Tigers



No matter what the masses say, without the existence of what transpired during Game Two of the ALCS, the Boston Red Sox would not have won the AL and by extension the World Series. David Ortiz saved the Boston Red Sox that day and yet his 8th inning grand slam was not the only piece of saving majesty exhibited in the final innings of that historic game.

Before Boston even weathered an out in the bottom of the 9th inning, Jarrod Saltilamaccia came to the plate an slammed a near golf shot of a hit past Tigers shortstop Jose Iglacias to win the game and tie the ALCS at 1 game a piece.

3) Game Three ECF: Bruins vs Penguins



When you think about the Boston Bruins season, you remember two things. The 6 minutes of overtime it took for Patrice Bergeron to save the season and the 17 seconds it took for the Blackhawks to end it. However what is forgotten in this season of miracles and improbable happenings is Game Three of the Eastern Conference Finals that better than any other proved once and for all the dominance the Bruins had over a Penguins team heavily favored to win the Eastern Conference Finals. Even after taking a 2-0 lead in the series, the Bruins were still the underdog as Evgeni Malken and Sidney Crosby were still playing and so long as they had the puck on their stick, anything could happen. Game 3 quashed those roomers.

After jumping out to an early 1-0 lead in the game, Chris Kunitz of the Penguins mashed a booming slap shot past Tuukka Rask to tie the match-up midway through the 2nd period. After scoreless 3rd and 1st OT periods however this one once again came down to "Mr. Clutch", Patrice Bergeron. After a giveaway in the neutral zone, Brad Marchand grabbed the puck and immediately broke up ice almost parallel to Bergeron who took off directly towards the net. With 4:42 left in the 2nd OT of this one, Marchand threw the puck to the net and Bergeron did his best to make it count. After seeing the puck deflect insanely off of Bergeron's stick the Penguins were forced to watch as an improbable Bruins team celebrated the win that effectively sealed the series for Boston.

Read More

A tale of human error: How referees cost Bruins game against Senators

8 penalties were called Saturday night and yet they were not called as a result of a dirty game. Goal were scored, passes were made and yet an inability of Saturday's referees to simply let the players play ultimately made it so that the Bruins were unable to salvage a win in the back half of their home and home series vs the Ottawa Senators.

Now I do not mean to complain about every call, or simply whine about the loss and blame the referees but as you examine this game in even the slightest detail it becomes clear that while very few calls were missed, on several occasions they were made when such a reaction was not warranted. For example Bruin forward, Brad Marchand was whistled for a slash early in the 1st period and yet the play occurred just 11 seconds into the game and Marchand had taken just 2 strides away from his prior position near the center dot. This play was one that must have been allowed to proceed penalized not only because of its lack of severity and force but also because of the timing. Very rarely do you already feel any sort of anger directed at an opponent so early in a game meaning that even if Marchad intended to slash downward with his stick it was a completely defensive movement and I point out barely hindered it's Senators recipient in his move to break into the Boston zone.

Marchand would be whistled later in the game as well although that call, a hook against Kyle Turris, was acceptable.

"I think we deserved a win today," Coach Claude Jullian said to a gaggle of reporters after the game possibly hinting at 2 missed calls in particular that if reversed would have given the Bruins the win.

After falling behind 3-1 going into the 3rd period the Bruins battled back admirably tying the game at 3 off of goals by Jarome Iginla and then David Warsofski. For a brief time they even believed they had taken the lead when Jarome Iginla banked a puck off his skate and into the net. The play was overturned but not before the team in stripes held a long meeting with the Toronto review department via the penalty box video monitors. Jarome Iginla seemed a little disheartened by the call.

"I didn't really expect it to be a goal," Iginla said. "I knew (the puck) was coming to my foot, but I was hoping it wasn't a kicking motion. At the same time I understand the call, but you're always hoping for the best for sure."

While he did move his skate prior to the puck hitting it, it was in a motion to prevent himself from sliding straight into Craig Anderson rather than kick the it past him. 

What was even more atrocious however was the play that was allowed to stand despite it being a blatant offside. Mere minutes after the overturned Iginla goal, Bobby Ryan made a forceful steal of the puck from Torey Krug and sped unchecked towards the Boston goal. However, as Krug charged back, Ryan seemed to lose control of the puck as he crossed the Boston zone. Amidst that bobble at the line there was confusion as to whether or not it was offside as lead linesmen Michel Corbille almost immediately waved the goal off while his fellow officiating partners immediately came rushing together to re-award the goal to Ryan.

As shown on replay, it is no secret that Ryan did not have the puck firmly positioned on his stick as he entered the zone and furthermore there is a case to be made that both his heels were forward of the blue line while the puck was still on it. According to the NHL definition of offside, this would be a discounted goal and yet the officiating team did not even seek the help of Toronto to get this one right.

"The position of the player’s skates and not that of his stick shall be the determining factor in all instances in deciding an off-side. A player is off-side when both skates are completely over the leadingedge of the blue line involved in the play.

A player is on-side when either of his skates are in contact with, or on his own side of the line, at the instant the puck completely crosses the leadingedge of the blueline regardless of the position of his stick."

The latter part of that definition was not firmly proven on this play and so the original call of no goal must have been counted by terms of the NHL regulation saying that without conclusive evidence, the on ice call is the one that will be upheld.

Saturday night in the Canadian capital, we saw a refereeing team plagued by inconsistency as while penalties like Marchands were called plays involving David Krjeci getting decked to the ice away from the play were not. Marginal kicking motion calls were made on plays like the Iginla no goal while they were not on the would be Ryan offside.

If you were going to let them play you needed to do just that from the first horn to the final horn and such was not the case vs the Senators. 

Read More