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[Boston Bruins]

Bruins @ Canadiens PREVIEW: Comédie Noire

Natalie Reid-Imagn Images

While very much out of a playoff spot, The Boston Bruins have the chance to do something VERY funny.

Just the Facts​

• The Time: 6pm ET
• The Place: Centre Bell, Montreal, QC
• Place to Watch: NESN, SportsNet, RDS
• Place to Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub
• An Opposing Viewpoint: Eyes on the Prize

Know Your Enemy​

• The Montreal Canadiens have a record of 35-30-9 through 74 games, and 79 points in the standings. That’s good for the 2nd wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference, and a very tenuous 8th in the Eastern Conference.
• Nick Suzuki was drafted by the Golden Knights and for that I will never forgive them for effectively gifting our rival a #1 Center. And for what...a Stanley Cup eventually? What a pittance. Anyway Suzuki has 79 points in 74 games and leads the Habs in points.
• Cole Caufield is a stark reminder that it really does not matter how big you are if you’re just good at hockey; he’s got a team-leading 34 goals in 74 games.
• Patrik Laine is still here; and he’s a weapon on the power play...and almost nowhere else. He leads the Habs in power play goals scored, with 15 of his 19 tallies coming on the man-advantage.
• Lane Hutson has been a revelation for the Habs; being a major force multiplier for their offense in the form of 57 assists in 74 games.
• The Goaltending of Montreal is not what it used to be whatsoever; with Sam Montembeault, newcomer Jakub Dobeš, and man forever in waiting Cayden Primeau all being sub-.900 in SV%. Montembeault has the most starts with 54, Dobeš has 13, Primeau has 7.

Game Preview​

Okay. So.

The Bruins are playing some real bad hockey, to the point that they have at long last fallen through the hell-basement the Sabres have set up permanent residence in and have become the worst team in the Eastern Conference. This is the goal. If they cannot catch the Blackhawks, Sharks, and Preds...then maybe they can permanently overtake Seattle. As of right now, if the odds held, Boston would have a 9.5% chance at the first overall pick. The Habs meanwhile, have been in that four team dogfight for the final Eastern Conference wildcard spots, and as of right now currently hold the 2nd position. Their many many years of gathering young players and letting them play has at long last found something resembling a step forward.

By all accounts, this should be a major emotional win for the Habs, and give Boston Sports Radio that only engages with the Red Sox/Patriots something to talk about for the next couple of days. You ought to do yourself the favor now and just hurl your radio out of your car as hard and as fast as you can.

However, there is an alternative; the Boston Bruins could win this game.

I know! I know! This team is absolutely awful and plays down to the very bleak standard it sets for itself! It would even be good for the Bruins to the lose this game, as it gives them valuable ability to stay with some of the very worst in the league as they wander the desert looking for hope in the Draft. It should be the right thing to do.

My counterpoint is a very simple one.

It would be funny, though.

The Canadiens are clinging quite precariously to their spot in the Eastern Wildcard; having traded places with the Rangers and Blue Jackets multiple times over the last two weeks. While they’ve put together two very solid wins over the Florida Panthers in the last week or so, they needed those wins badly; they had come off of a gruesome five game losing streak against a number of decent teams...but a lot more that they probably should’ve beaten; namely Philly and the Islanders.

Further, if there is an unambiguous weakpoint of the Habs these days; it’s in net. Both Sam Montembeault and Jakub Dobeš are not great, and in any given game; they can make that abundantly clear with the issues in defensive depth that Montreal has otherwise continued to fail to address. Further, while Boston is not a great possession team by any stretch of the imagination; Montreal is quite a bit worse and has been so throughout the season. If there is any team that the Bruins could find a way to break this miserably necessary losing streak against for one night and then go right back to being as bad as they’d ever want to be, not only could it be Montreal, it should be Montreal.

I know that other, better things await us once the playoffs begin and the draft lottery balls are selected. I know that Michael Misa or Jimmy Hagen or Matthew Schaefer or Porter Martone are twinkling in our eyes, but that can wait for one day.

Even with this rivalry as cold as the playing surface, I still see a magnificent chance to make a bunch of Habs’ fans very miserable for a few hours. I think there’s a chance they could win this and scare the living daylights out of Quebecois hockey fandom. If they can’t even beat the Bruins...what does that mean when the games matter?

I think the Bruins should do everything in their power to make that happen for no other reason than it would be hilarious.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...hl-hockey-tv-radio-times-game-suzuki-pastrnak

 

[Boston Bruins]

Bruins @ Canadiens GAMETHREAD

Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images

Welcome back to the battle of all time.

Here we are, 420 minutes left in regulation for the season. By the end of it, we will only have 360 minutes left. I make no guarantees about overtime, but the home stretch is still very much in effect.

Also, just wanna reiterate here Bruins; there are plenty of teams left on your schedule where it’s no real issue if you lose to them. Carolina’s good, so is New Jersey. Plenty of “no shame” losses to get.

So let’s say this is your cheat game. Go on ahead. Gorge upon a victory tonight.

It’ll be so funny.

Anyway, what’s on tap?

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/2025/4/3/24400181/bruins-canadiens-gamethread

 

[Boston Bruins]

Bruins @ Canadiens RECAP: Boston’s losing streak reaches 10 in 4-1 LOSS

Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Boston drops yet another lifeless game. So it goes.

No funny “ha ha”s for us. Only suffering.

1st Period​

No real scoring happened in this period, which is largely due to the work of Jeremy Swayman. Onto the next period.

2nd Period​

The Habs got on the board first early on in the period after a Christian Dvorak missile that was the third chance in about ten seconds that the Bruins couldn’t pick up in the confusion of defending their goaltender. 1-0 Habs.

The rest of the period would effectively be Jeremy Swayman under siege, as he made save after save after save with little help from his skaters, including one of the most ridiculous saves I’ve seen in a hot minute.

Heck of a save from Jeremy Swayman

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero.bsky.social) 2025-04-04T00:17:17.962Z

Then, Cole Koepke fought Kaiden Guhle.

Unfortunately, the Bruins could not even things up, and off of a Geekie mishandling of the puck, the Habs sprung off in a two on one to set up Cole Caufield for his 35th of the year. 2-0 Habs.

Not exactly a winning formula.

On to the final period.

3rd Period​

The Habs continued their unabated deathmarch with another goal; this time from an enormously unlucky bounce putting Brendan Gallagher in a perfect position to hammer the puck home. 3-0 Habs.

Then, it was time for the pre-requisite David Pastrnak/Morgan Geekie points, and the recipient of their hard work this time was Elias Lindholm, who now has his 14th goal of the season. 3-1 Habs.

Man, it is crazy that Pasta and Geekie seem to be the only guys who seem to be able to go hard to the net with any frequency.

Anyway, do the Habs have an answer for this?

Yeah, that’s what I figured.

Bruins lose 4-1.

Game Notes​

• Your TOI Leader was Nikita Zadorov, who played 21:27 tonight.
• The Bruins in this exciting time of being godawful find new and exciting ways to break your heart entirely. After a pretty solid 1st period where they showed plenty of effort, it was like the 2nd period was an extended release of air from a balloon. Just another blunt reminder that contending is now a very distant memory of an idea, and the Bruins seem perfectly willing to smash their own worst losing streak if it means a quality player falling into their laps.
• It’s getting pretty painfully obvious the only way Boston is ever going to win a game right now is if David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie both trade hat tricks with one another, because the rest of this squad just is not helping. The honeymoon period is over, and while I like individual aspects of certain players, it’s clear they need an actual top six to keep them honest with themselves. They got out-chanced by the Habs, man. There is just no juice for this team right now. Even when they fight they can’t generate it.
• Don’t believe the save-% at this end of this point; Jeremy Swayman did what he could to keep the Bruins in this game, and made one of the wildest saves I have gone and ever seen in a good long while. This would’ve been an otherwise perfectly noteworthy performance had he had any help whatsoever in front of him. His .903 SV% was well-earned in a game that the Bruins didn’t feel like participating much on defense.
• Elias Lindholm didn’t mince words whatsoever about how he felt these games have gone; stating to the media that the Bruins “always find a way to beat ourselves” over this stretch, which I feel like is a fair criticism. He seems to get it at least; I don’t know if he’s going to avoid the slings and arrows of fans, but he’s definitely aware that things have gone pear-shaped and that a lot of it can be self-inflicted.
• At this point, if the Bruins are gonna fight, pretty much the whole team is gonna have to pick a partner and start swinging. They don’t need momentary injections of adrenaline, they need an IV to even start to make it worth it. You’re just embarrassing yourselves at this point.
• The Bruins only need to lose two more games to tie their very worst stretch of games ever, and given how they’re playing lately I really think they could do it. The lack of anything at either end of the ice is just mesmerizing.
• If everything held and the Draft Lottery changed nothing, the Bruins are projected to make the 4th overall pick in the NHL draft. Here’s who Elite Prospects believes would be a good pick at 4th overall: Brampton’s Porter Martone from the OHL.

---

The Bruins take a day off, and then return to TD Garden to play the Carolina Hurricanes at 7pm EST.

We’ll see you there.

360 minutes left, everybody. You can do this.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...p-nhl-hockey-dvorak-lindholm-zadorov-caufield

 

[Boston Bruins]

Preview: Bruins look to stave off losing streak record against Hurricanes

James Guillory-Imagn Images

One more loss and the Bruins will tie a franchise record for longest losing streak.

Just the facts​

When: Tonight, 7 PM

Where: TD Garden — Boston, Mass.

How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Opposing SB Nation: Canes’ Country

Know your enemy​

• 46-25-4, 96PTS, 2nd in Metropolitan Division
• Sebastian Aho: 28G-42A-70PTS; Seth Jarvis: 30G-31A-61PTS; Andrei Svechnikov: 19G-26A-45PTS

Pyotr Kochetkov: 26-14-3, 2.57 GAA, .899 save percentage; Frederik Andersen: 13-5-0, 1.95 GAA, .920 save percentage

Game notes​

• Well, the Boston Bruins went across the border on Thursday and came back without two points and have yet another challenge ahead of them tonight as they face off against the Carolina Hurricanes.
• The Bruins are just looking for some way out of this now 10-game losing streak and it could very well be another rough one against a very good Carolina team.
• To make things worse, a loss tonight would tie the franchise record for longest losing streak. The last time the Bruins lost 11 consecutives was from Dec. 1924 to Jan. 1925. Could they do it again just over 100 years later??
• “There were a lot of things that went wrong,” Elia Lindholm said after Thursday’ 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. While the comment was directed to the loss, the statement definitely lends itself to the way this last stretch has gone since the trade deadline. There’s not much else to say about a team on a double-digit losing streak that can’t seem to find a way out of it.
• But maybe the Bruins will catch them starting late as the Hurricane are coming off playing last night against the Detroit Red Wings…The Hurricanes lost to the Red Wings yesterday, 5-3. Justin Robidas registered his first NHL point on an assist in his NHL debut last night.
• The Bruins haven’t been able to figure out the Hurricanes this season. In the previous two match-ups, the Bruins are 0-2-0 against them.
• For the B’s, Morgan Geekie has seven points in his last five games on three goals and four assists.
• Jeremy Swayman is 0-7-0 since March 13, giving up 29 goals in that time. While this has been a collective team downward spiral, at this point in the season, Bruins coaching staff should give Joonas Korpisalo some time in net.
• Head-to-head, the Hurricanes have the 2nd best penalty kill in the league at 84.6% while the Bruins’ PK is at 76.4%.
• The Bruins were off yesterday so there are no updates on lineup changes or injuries.
• See ya tonight!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...e-off-losing-streak-record-against-hurricanes

 

[Boston Bruins]

Public Skate: Bruins vs. Hurricanes

James Guillory-Imagn Images

Another one.

The Boston Bruins are set to face the Carolina Hurricanes tonight and will try anything to end this losing streak.

The Bruins have made some lineup changes. Elias Lindholm will center Morgan Geekie and David Pastrnak while Pavel Zacha moves down with Fabian Lysell and Casey Mittlestadt, per the Bruins this afternoon.

Discuss!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...-vs-carolina-hurricanes-gamethread-discussion

 

[Boston Bruins]

Bruins @ Sabres PREVIEW: Back-to-back-to-back-to-back

Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Hot off a supernova performance by Pasta, Boston heads to Buffalo to take on the Sabres!

Just the Facts​

• The Time: 7pm EST
• The Place: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY
• Place to Watch: NESN, MSGN-Buffalo
• Place to Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub
• An Opposing Viewpoint: Die By The Blade

Know Your Enemy​

• The Sabres are 33-36-6, and are right down here with Boston in the “not competing for a playoff spot” category of NHL Team.
• Leading the Sabres in points is Tage Thompson, who has 67 points in 69 points. He also happens to lead the Sabres in goals, with an even 40.
• The Sabres have three players with 60 points; Alex Tuch, Rasmus Dahlin, and JJ Peterka.
• The Sabres have been riding Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and I do not believe he’s necessarily getting his act together. He’s currently got an .885 SV%

Game Preview​

Well, this is going to be fun!

Both the Sabres and Bruins are gunning for that sweet, sweet Draft Lottery position, and have largely been deeply inconsistent if not outright awful in-between impressive games. Both have goaltenders on deeply disappointing runs, and a handful of players who are the single biggest drivers of anything going on when it comes to ice-time.

Even better, both teams are riding high on hard-fought wins the day before against eastern conference leaders!

So yes, fatigue will be a concern for both sides, but principally for Boston in the fact that unlike the Sabres, they really are just tied to two skaters entirely. David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie went balls to the wall in order to beat the Canes, and they’re going to need to be just as good as they have been to even have a prayer of beating them.

Of course, if there’s any consolation for those concerned about draft position; the Bruins’ do not have the horses that the Sabres do to keep up with their offense, and the Sabres have decided to screw around and begin a 3-game winning streak, and have looked pretty good throughout.

This is a coin-flip of a game, at least...to me, anyway. There’s very little telling how two teams that are tired are going to play, but this is especially true of bad teams. This might be a boat race, or a slog.

I’m up for whatever, really!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...view-boston-buffalo-nhl-hockey-preview-hockey

 

[Boston Bruins]

Bruins @ Sabres GAMETHREAD

Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Two teams playing back to backs, what could go wrong?

Get on in here, kids. We're going somewhere wild.

What's on tap?

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/2025/4/6/24402623/bruins-sabres-gamethread

 

[Boston Bruins]

Bruins @ Sabres RECAP: The Tank lives on as Bruins lose 6-3

Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

David Pastrnak had another 3 point night in a rip-roaring game where the Sabres made their offensive depth known.

Turns out it doesn’t really matter if you have bad goaltending if you can just keep the pace.

First Period​

The Bruins started pretty well, in all honesty! They got Elias Lindholm on the board within 4 minutes of the game, with Lindholm putting back a backhander with Luukkonen selling his house expecting a shot from Pasta. Whoops! 1-0 Bruins!

Then, the Bruins looked at their watches, and said “ah, it’s time for the Morgan Geekie/David Pastrnak combo to get points!”, and then it was made real; Pasta stole a puck at the blueline and then dumped it off to Geekie, who put another shot straight past UPL with the Sabres scrambling to get back. 2-0 Bruins!

This was fun! Anyway, that ended the period.

2nd Period​

It was around the 2nd period that the Sabres woke up and said “alright, that’s enough of that.”

An extended zone time sequence saw the defense completely lose Tage Thompson in the confusion, and he was given effectively all the net in the world to shoot at. 2-1 Bruins.

The second goal was just...kind of unlucky like many deflections often are. Rasmus Dahlin got the puck off of Alex Tuch who was battling in front, and it popped straight past Korpisalo. 2-2 Everybody.

Thankfully, Boston got a power play, and in a shocking twist to how that usually goes, they actually scored on it! Pasta threw a puck right out in front, and Casey Mittelstadt made the read to put it straight past UPL. 3-2 Bruins!

The Sabres would not take this lying down, and would get the puck from mugging Parker Wotherspoon in the corner, and Rasmus Dahlin casually reminded everyone that he’s going to be a menace when he finally gets the hell out of that uniform. 3-3 Everybody.

Third Period​

Anyway the Sabres took full control of this game in the third period. Suckers.

The first sign things weren’t going to go according to plan was in fact the goal that Korpi let up to begin the period which is just...transcendent. You gotta see it to believe it.

What the hell do you even say to that? 4-3 Sabres.

Then, the puck was stolen from Elias Lindholm in the offensive zone, and the Sabres were able to stretch the ice to Tage Thompson, who happily used this opportunity to make poor Korpi look silly. 5-3 Sabres.

So hey uh, Tage? You wanna top all that off?

I bet you there were some people who didn’t pick Thompson in fantasy who almost put their fist through a wall over games like these.

Bruins lose 6-3.

Game Notes​

• Your TOI Leader was Mason Lohrei, but only by a bit; 20:47 logged. Morgan Geekie and Nikita Zadorov were right behind him with 20:38 and 20:35.
• This game was actually going pretty well, even with the back and forth 2nd period, right up until the third, and it was like fate itself grabbed the handbrake and made absolutely certain that the hockey gods conjured ways for the Bruins to lose this game. Korpisalo’s rebound directly into his own net, an empty netter, the entire defense being stretch passed into hell AGAIN...It was just hilarious, you could even see it in their Natural Stat Trick charts.
• So hey David Pastrnak has 12 points in his last 5 games and is probably going to finish this season with 100+ points on this roster. Isn’t that wild? If this team was still struggling for a playoff spot, I’d be the single biggest “Pasta for Hart” guy you’d ever meet. Hell, I still might do it; barring McDavid, there’s a very small selection of players who are actively imperative for their team to do anything. It’s just ridiculous.
• Casey Mittelstadt probably needed a goal like the one he got today; not just for all the disasters Buffalo inflicted on him, but also because he’s been going through a pretty grim dry spell. Very happy for him!
• The kids did not have a good game whatsoever; Lysell, Beecher, Lauko (who’s here on a technicality), Khusnutdinov, and Mason Lohrei all finished at or well below even 20% in xGF% and CF%. Rough, rough, rough game for these guys, gonna need to see some improvement from somebody here. Anybody here.
• Korpi finished his night with an .861 SV%. Gonna be real, given his last five starts have been pretty grim, I think we’ve finally found the limit of Goalie Bob’s magic. Or maybe Goalie Bob’s magic only works if the defense in front of said goalie can identify where the puck is going.
• Man, Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin are pretty damn good players. They’re gonna make great [WESTERN CONFERENCE TEAM] in [FIVE YEAR SPAN]
• 240 minutes of Bruins hockey left. You’re so close.
• I don’t really trust Sam Cosentino’s draft discussions because a lot of the other draft people are kind of suspicious of how many games he actually watches away from the NHL, but anyway SportsNet’s Cosentino makes BC’s James Hagens his #4th overall. Here’s what his highlights look like.

---

Boston plays their next game against the New Jersey Devils, who will host them at the Prudential Center. That game is at 7pm EST.

We’ll see you there!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...es-recap-the-tank-lives-on-as-bruins-lose-6-3

 

[Boston Bruins]

Recap: Pastrnak’s hat trick, five-point game, propels Bruins, 5-1, past Hurricanes

Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

The Bruins have ended their 10-game losing streak as Pastrnak’s line dominates in win.

David Pastrnak notched five-points with a natural hat trick to boost the Boston Bruins, 5-1, past the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night at the TD Garden.

The win ended a 10-game losing streak for the Bruins.

Pastrnak and linemates Morgan Geekie and Elias Lindholm accounted for all of the Bruins’ goals, driving the offense on even strength play. Geekie also had a five-goal night, racking up one goal and four assists. Jeremy Swayman made 39 saves to pick up his 100th win which ended a streak of seven losses for the netminder.

“It’s been fun, today’s game, obviously it’s been a tough couple of weeks so good on us,” Pastrnak said. “(I’m) proud of the group, the effort and the blocked shots and the commitment to win today was there.”

The Bruins netted two late, first-period goals from Geekie and Lindholm to go up 2-0 over the Hurricanes after the first. Then Pastrnak extended the Bruins’ lead with a goal in the third period and two in the third.

Justin Robidas scored his first NHL goal to steal the shutout from the Bruins in the game’s final minute of play.

Despite picking up the two points, the Bruins can’t mathematically catch any team in the wild card race and were eliminated from postseason contention.

Interim head coach Joe Sacco said the win was important for the locker room’s mindset and to hear the support from the fans in the crowd again.

“I think with the stretch that we’ve been on here, it’s nice to have the guys feel good about themselves here tonight,” Sacco said.

Here are the game’s highlights:

First period:

David Pastrnak backhanded a pass from the neutral zone to Morgan Geekie where he skated into the offensive zone and threw a snap shot at Frederik Andersen that beat him five-hole at 18:49 of the first period. 1-0 Bruins.

Pastrnak threw a pass out front where Elias Lindholm, in the paint, collected it and put it past Andersen with 12.8 seconds left in the first period. 2-0 Bruins.

Second period:

From low along the goal line, Pastrnak spun around and sent a wrist shot on net from a hard angle that snuck past Andersen at 10:14 of the second period. 3-0 Bruins.

Third period:

Pastrnak knocked down a backhanded pass by Geekie to get the puck top shelf past Andersen’s blocker at 1:28 of the third period. 4-0 Bruins.

Off the rush, Geekie slid a pass to Pastrnak heading into the left-wing circle where he skated in the slot, faked out Andersen and slid in a low shot at 15:18 of the third period. 5-0 Bruins.

Justin Robidas controlled a rebound to quickly release a shot past Jeremy Swayman’ blocker for his first NHL goal at 19:05 of the third period. Final score: 5-1 Bruins.

Game notes​

• Pastrnak and Sacco talked postgame about the team’s effort to compete tonight. While there were mistakes, it was closer to a full, 60-minute effort that the team is looking to close out the remainder of the regular season.
• “Obviously we would like to help Sway get the shutout. I’m not sure what happened but obviously I’m super proud of the group.” He emphasized there were guys making big blocks and guys were doing a lot of little things right that didn’t show up on the scoresheet. Pastrnak also thought the Bruins held onto the puck better int he offensive zone tonight.
• Pastrnak’s hat trick night led him to his fifth career, 40-goal season and fourth time he’s reached more than 90 points in a season. Per the Bruins, it was his third career five-point game and first ever natural hat trick. Pastrnak now has 19 hat tricks.
• Soundbite of Sacco on Pastrnak: “He’s one of those guys, the great players they just want to keep going and going and that’s what he’s been able to do. tonight was a big night...he sees himself as a guy who just wants to rive offense and keep pushing.”
• The victory snapped a seven-game losing streak for Swayman. Sacco said it felt like it was a matter of time that Swayman would see a win. He felt Swayman had played well in the last few starts and to get in that rhythm was only a matter of time. Swayman made some big, timely saves tonight and was really standing on his head.
• Postgame, Swayman said it was a huge relief to get a win, “gratifying,” he said, and get the losing streak off his back. He then talked about the locker room’s reaction to the win. “It’s so great to see the guy happy again,” Swayman said. “It’s a feeling that we missed.”
• Fraser Minten played in his first game as a Bruin after being called up. said report of him held true. He felt he had a steady game and won key faceoffs on his off side. acco said he could tell that Minten had good hockey sense. “He was on the right side of the puck quite a bit tonight so I thought it was a good first game.
• The Bruins will be back in action on Sunday to play the Buffalo Sabres at 6 p.m. on the road.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...ls-boston-bruins-5-1-past-carolina-hurricanes

 

[Boston Bruins]

Preview: Bruins head to Jersey to face the Devils

Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Let the tank continue...

Just the facts​

When: Tonight, 7 PM

Where: Prudential Center — Newark, NJ

How to follow: NESN+, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Opposing perspective: All About the Jersey

Know your enemy​

• 41-29-7, 89PTS, 3rd in the Metropolitan Division
• Jesper Bratt: 21G-67A-88PTS; Jack Hughes: 27G-43A-70PTS; Nico Hischier: 35G-31A-66PTS
• Jacob Markstrom: 26-14-6, 2.43 GAA, .903 save percentage

Game notes​

• Fresh off of a tank-reviving loss in Buffalo on Sunday night, the Bruins bring their road show to Newark to face a New Jersey team that is essentially playing out the string hoping to avoid injuries. The Devils are comfortably in the third spot in the Metro and too far out to get to second, so...they’re in “don’t get hurt” mode.
• Unfortunately for the Devils, they’ve already experienced a big “hurt” this spring, with Jack Hughes suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in early March. He was having an excellent season, with 70 points in 62 games.
• These two teams will play twice in the span of a week, with the Devils visiting TD Garden on April 15 for the season finale. Last time they played each other was back on January 22 in New Jersey, a 5-1 win for the Devils.
• After some ups, downs, and injuries, the folks at All About the Jersey are trying to bring positive vibes into play as the playoffs approach. Manifesting, etc.
• The Devils are strong special teams squad, boasting the league’s third-best power play (28%) and fourth-best penalty kill (82.4%).
• New Jersey has won three in a row and four of its last five, the latest being a 4-0 drubbing of the rival Rangers on Saturday.
• David Pastrnak continues to do whatever he can to drag the Bruins to respectability, as he has registered 5G-7A-12PTS totals in his last five games.
• On the other side, Nico Hischier is on a decent heater himself, with 4G-5A-9PTS in his last five games.
• This is the Bruins’ second-last road game of the season. They’ll close out their road slate on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh.
• A reminder for those watching locally: I’m 99% sure this game will air on NESN+, with the Red Sox taking regular NESN. NHL.com lists the channel as “NESN,” but there’s no way they’re bumping the Red Sox for garbage time hockey.

Four games to go, folks!

Look for positives heading into next year, find joy in watching Pastrnak play, or take solace in the fact that it’ll end soon. The choice is yours, and yours alone.

See ya tonight!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...s-bruins-devils-preview-bruins-news-road-trip

 

[Boston Bruins]

Recap: Bruins put tank on pause, pummel New Jersey, 7-2

Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Well, can’t lose ‘em all.

A loss is kind of a win for the Bruins at this point in the season, so it’s easy to forget that this is still a group of professional athletes who are playing for pride, a spot next season, personal accolades, and career milestones.

There were a number of milestones and plenty of energy, effort, and pride on display in Newark on Tuesday night, with the lottery-bound Bruins pummeling the playoff-bound Devils, 7-2.

David Pastrnak (who else?) led the way for the Bruins, putting up 1G-2A-3PTS totals and recording his third consecutive 100-point season in the process.

Morgan Geekie recorded his 30th goal of the season, Michael Callahan scored his first NHL goal, and Fraser Minten scored his first with the Bruins as well.

Jeremy Swayman made 19 saves in the win.

Jakub Lauko, Casey Mittelstadt, and Cole Koepke were the other goalscorers for the Bruins.

Pastrnak got things started for the Bruins midway through the first, playing free safety and intercepting a pass at the New Jersey blue line before beating Jacob Markstrom to make it 1-0 Bruins.

Pastrnak would be involved again later in the first, getting the secondary assist on Callahan’s first NHL goal to make it 2-0 Bruins.

Lauko toasted Markstrom with a wrist shot to make it 3-0 Bruins early in the second.

New Jersey climbed back in it late in the second, scoring twice in less than 30 seconds. First, Stefan Noesen made it 3-1 Bruins...

...then Timo Meier got a bounce 20 seconds later to make it 3-2 Bruins.

At that point, you could be forgiven for thinking that the wheels were going to fall off, but a well placed timeout helped the Bruins settle down, and they ran roughshod over the Devils the rest of the way.

Mittelstadt scored on a random toss on goal late in the second to put momentum back on the Bruins’ side, making it 4-2 Bruins.

Geekie got his 30th five minutes into the third period off of an incredible Pastrnak pass, making it 5-2 Bruins.

Minten would get in on the fun a few minutes later, making it 6-2 Bruins.

And finally, Koepke would put the cherry on top with a great hustle goal, making it 7-2 Bruins.

And that was it!

Yes, it hurts the draft lottery odds, but it’s also nice to see a game like this and think there might be some hope for next season after all.

Game notes​

• Pastrnak’s assist on Geekie’s goal was his 100th point of the season, giving him three consecutive 100-points seasons. Per NHL PR, he’s the first Czech player in NHL history to accomplish that feat. Per Kevin Paul Dupont, Pastrnak is only the third Bruin to ever record back-to-back-to-back 100-point seasons, joining Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr.
• Fabian Lysell assisted on Mittelstadt’s goal, the first point of his NHL career. While he didn’t score tonight, he had some juice in his skates and brought some energy to the ice with each shift. He had a good game.
• Scott McLaughlin of WEEI has a full list of tonight’s milestones — a remarkably long list, given the nature of this season.
• At some point, I’ll put together a longer piece on Pastrnak (the next Bruins captain), but it’s worth noting that per Dmitri Filipovic, Pastrnak is the first player in the NHL to record 60 5v5 points this season. Pretty remarkable feat, given...you know...everything.
• For the tank-conscious, it’s OK to enjoy a win — especially when you note that Buffalo and Pittsburgh also won tonight. All is not lost!

The Bruins are back in action on Thursday night, hosting the Blackhawks at TD Garden.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...avid-pastrnak-morgan-geekie-casey-mittelstadt

 

[Boston Bruins]

Public Skate: Bruins vs. Devils

Lou Capozzola-Imagn Images

Laugh, cry, or both!

Look, it’s Sergei Samsonov with Patrik Elias in the background!

With this game being Bruins vs. Devils, I can recycle a Bruins-Devils anecdote I’ve told before: back in December 2007, the Bruins hosted the Devils at TD Garden.

That day, there was a fast-moving snowstorm that dumped ~10 inches of snow on Boston from mid-morning through the afternoon.

The Bruins, knowing no one would go to the game, sent out an email offering deeply discounted tickets.

I was living in the Suffolk dorms at the time, so some friends and I bought cheap tickets (like $15 for loge seats) and walked down.

While that game is mostly memorable for Milan Lucic fighting David Clarkson, my friend spent much of the game yelling at Martin Brodeur; given that there were probably a few thousand people in attendance, any heckling carried pretty well.

(I checked the official figure for the game, and there’s no way there were 12,000 people there.)

Anyways, late in what would end up being a 3-1 Devils win, Brodeur took of his mask to get some water during a TV timeout, and my friend (to this day) swears Brodeur stared him down in the loge.

Good times.

Hey, given the team’s performance this year, we may not be that far away from the return of $15 tickets!

Bruins! Devils! No Martin Brodeur and no snow, but plenty to complain about!

Discuss.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...uins-vs-devils-bruins-talk-online-bruins-news

 

[Boston Bruins]

Public Skate: Bruins vs. Blackhawks

Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Another one.

The Boston Bruins are down to their last three games of the season as the Chicago Blackhawks come to town.

David Pastrnak has recorded his third best season in his career so far, 13 points behind this best in 2022-23. With three games left, it’s unlikely he could tie or pass that, but never say never!

Discuss!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...s-vs-chicago-blackhawks-gamethread-discussion

 

[Boston Bruins]

Recap: Bruins fall, 5-2, to rallying Blackhawks with three goals in 93 seconds

Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images

The Bruins fall short without a full 60-minute effort.

The Boston Bruins fell, 5-2, to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night at the TD Garden, following a 93-second collapse in the beginning of the final frame to break the tie of an even game and see the Blackhawks surge ahead.

It was a close, 1-1 game through 40 minutes, but the Bruins slowly saw the Blackhawks begin to take momentum away as they took their foot off the gas pedal in the third.

David Pastrnak had given the Bruins the lead in the first period before Nick Foligno tied things up in the second.

The game took a turn before hitting five minutes into the third period as Ryan Donato, Tyler Bertuzzi and Philipp Korchinski scored three quick goals. Foligno added the fourth goal of the period for Chicago on a shorthanded, empty-netter for his second tally of the night.

Pastrnak set up Morgan Geekie to make it 4-2, but Foligno added the fourth goal of the period for Chicago on a shorthanded, empty-netter to hand the Bruins’ another loss.

“The same thing that’s plagued us all year, plagued us again tonight,” Geekie added. “It seems like we are too stubborn to figure it out. Especially at this time of the year, as late as it may be, we’ve got to learn to play a full 60 minutes and that’s something we’ve struggled with all year.”

Here are the game’s highlights:

First period:

Elias Lindholm threw a wrist shot at net that deflected off David Pastrnak before traveling past Arvid Soderblom at 10:39 of the first period. 1-0 Bruins.

Second period:

Nick Foligno skated up the right-side boards and into the offensive zone to let a wrist shot off from the top of the left-wing circle fly past Jeremy Swayman’s blocker at 7:55 of the second period. 1-1 game.

Third period:

Sam Rinzel threw a shot on net which Philipp Kurashev first tried to get out front. Then the loose puck found Ryan Donato at the back door for Chicago’s first rallying goal at 3:14 of the third period. 2-1 Blackhawks.

Then Tyler Bertuzzi picked the puck up from Chicago’s blue line, skated through to the offensive zone where he attempted to make a pass, but the puck bounced back to his stick to let a shot fly past Swayman’s blocker from the high slot at 4:23 of the third period. 3-1 Blackhawks.

Twenty-four seconds later, and 93 seconds after the first, third-period goal, Connor Bedard set up Philipp Korchinski for a quick snap shot past Swayman’s glove at 4:47 of the third period. 4-1 Blackhawks.

Pastrnak fed a pass to Morgan Geekie in the slot for a quick wrist shot past Soderblom at 11:08 of the third period. 4-2 game.

Foligno added his second of the night with a shorthanded, empty-net goal at 19:33 of the third period. Final score: 5-2 Blackhawks.

Game notes​

• “It happens too often to be something that isn’t a problem,” Geekie said postgame about playing 40 minutes of good hockey, but then the team getting away from playing to their advantage. “It had control of it for a little bit...we can’t let games get away like that.”
• Swayman had a saveless third period, facing only three shots against the Blackhawks before he was pulled in the game’s final minutes. Chicago only had four shots on net in the third period — all of which went in the back of the net.
• Woburn, Massachusetts, native Riley Duran made his NHL debut. Pastrnak felt Duran and his linemates gave the Bruins the most opportunities during the game. Postgame, interim head coach Joe Sacco said he thought Duran progressed better as the game went on and had a really good chance in the second period. He said Duran was on the forecheck and moving his feet. “And I thought his line was one of our better lines offensively,” Sacco said. “Pasta’s line does the scoring, but that other line with him and Fraser (Minten) and (Marat) Khusnutdinov they generated some good quality chances in the second period.
• The games, and Bruins’ playoff elimination, are presenting the younger guys a unique opportunity to see where they are at at their development. With only two games remaining, Sacco said they will continue to evaluate players in these games.
• The Bruins will be back in action again on Sunday when they face the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road at 3:30 p.m.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...ago-blackhawks-with-three-goals-in-93-seconds