Bruins Qualify For Playoffs + Season Wrap

The Bruins and Buffalo Sabres square off at the Boston Garden for the final time this season. Craig Smith gets the Bruins on the board right away at the 1:21 mark with a tip-in shot from Krecji and Hall, 1-0 Bruins. Sabres, even the score on a score after a breakaway chance right out of the box, tied 1-1. With a little more than four minutes left on the first, Sean Kuraly scores his first goal on 31 games on a feed from Nick Ritchie to put the Bruins ahead 2-1. Captain Patrice Bergeron makes it 3-1 on a deflected shot, five and a half minutes into the second, and then Nick Ritchie comes through with a tuck of his own, a tip-in shot from Matt Grezclyk, a little over 3 minutes into the third. About 2 minutes later, Craig Smith adds his second of the game, a wrist shot after a dish from Mike Riley to make the score 5-1 Bruins. Sabers attempt to mount their ill-fated comeback a minute and a half later, finding the back of the net cutting it to 5-2 Bruins. Craig Smith completes his hat trick with six minutes left in regulation, another tip-in shot. Smith's second career hat trick. Bruins win 6-2!

On Monday, May 3rd, the Bruins traveled to New Jersey to take on the Devil's at the Prudential Center. The Bruins dominated the pace of play, outshooting New Jersey 29-8 in the first period and 42-20 overall. The Bruins got offensive contributions from Nick Ritchie, Patrice Bergeron, and Matt Grezclyk, two snapshots, and a slapper resulting, Zorbil, Kuraly, Bergeron, and Marchand (x2), all with apples, in 3-0 shutout for Boston. The game saw its first penalty at the 13:18 mark of the third when A.J. Greer boards Jakub Zorbil and is forced to answer a bell, chucking knucks against Connor Clifton; Zorbil returned soon after, appearing unscathed. Tuukka Rask records his 52nd career shutouts, and with the win, the Bruins qualify for the playoffs for the 5th straight season.

In the second game of the series, The Bruins chose to keep Jaroslav Halak fresh with a look instead of riding the young hot hand of Jeremy Swayman in net. The devil's hit the back of the net first with a powerplay shot right off the face-off at 11:18 of the first period, 1-0 Devils. The Bruins find the equalizer in the second period with a powerplay goal of their own when Pastrnak stick-shattered pass to Bergeron that he finishes to knot it all at 1. Around ten minutes of play pass when Taylor Hall tips in his own pass from Matt Grezclyk as he is upended in a brilliant play, 2-1 Bruins. Five or so later, after a defensive breakdown in front of the net, the Devil's put it home to even the game at 2. A minute and a half later, the puck rolls around the left end board where Nick Ritchie throws it out to the front of the crease where puck battle ensues until Sean Kuraly deposits his second goal in three games and thrust the Bruins ahead 3-2. It would, unfortunately, be the last Bruins goal of the night as the Devils come screaming back, scoring the final two on the answered goals, including the game-winner in overtime at the 2:42 mark of the extra frame. Bruins drop an embarrassing effort 4-3. Quite possibly the last time we see Halak dress in a Bruins uniform.

The Bruins welcome an emotionally spent Rangers team into the Garden, a game after their highly contested series against Washington, which garnered many reactions from across the league. The Bruins turned back to their young, hot stud Jeremy Swayman. The Bruins start their assault about seven minutes into the first period when Marchand dekes out four Rangers defenders to find Bergeron out front, who deposits it in the top corner of the net for the 1-0 Bruins lead. Later on, while on the powerplay in the waning moments of the period, Charlie MacAvoy with a rocket beats Ranger goaltender Georgiev with the man advantage and again Marchand with the apple, 2-0 Bruins. Then about six minutes gone in the second, Jake DeBrusk skates in and, with a wicked wrister, makes it 3-0 Bruins, getting the monkey off his back. His first score in 13 games. Brandon Carlo, who has missed 28 games this season, kicks off the third period with his third goal of the season, skating around the boards and banking a shot of the back of the New York goaltender. Bruins win 4-0, Jeremy Swayman records his second career shutout.

In the second game of the series, the Bruins seemed to come out with good legs under them, but we're trying to do too much, whether it was one pass too many or an errant stick in the play that didn't need to be there. Tuukka Rask is back in net, Bruins with solid, grade-A chances in the first, but it's the Rangers who get on the board first six minutes into the second. Bruins find the equalizer at the 18:12 mark on a Nick Ritchie wrister evening, the score 1-1 heading to the third. Twenty-one seconds into hird, David Pastrnak makes it 2-1 Bruins with a tip-in shot from Marchand, but the Rangers seem up to the task, compiled with a crumbling Bruins defense scoring the next three unanswered goals on four shots, 4-2 Rangers. Brad Marchand comes through with a powerplay goal from Krecji with six minutes left in regulation to pull it close 4-3 Rangers. More defensive miscommunication leads to another Rangers goal. Thirty seconds later, Bergeron adds the last Bruins offensive output they can manage to muster up. Bruins lose 5-4.

Bruins welcomed Ondrej Kase back to the lineup and also welcomed an early-season bane of their existence, but a foe they have fared well against as of late. While the Bruins have gone 10-3 since the trade deadline, the Islanders have only gone 5-6. If there is anything dire to do against the Islanders, it is to score first, and that is precisely what the Bruins managed to do with 39 seconds left in the first period when Taylor Hall buries a 5-3 powerplay goal from Krecji, where on the same play Marchand is slashed, and Pastrnak received the butt end of a stick to the chest from Leo Komarov, 1-0 Bruins. The Islanders answer right back with a powerplay goal of their own with less than 2 minutes gone in the second period. Less than five minutes later, Brad Marchand adds his 29th goal of the season, a tip-in shot from David Krecji, 2-1 Bruins. Before the start of the third period, it is announced that Kase would not be returning to the game. Matt Barzal re-ties the game a little less than 2 minutes later at 2, roofing a wrist shot over Rask's head. The two teams extend the game to the extra frame. Taylor Hall grabs a pass from Krecji at the redline and powers his way into the zone from the left hash marks, skating through the Islanders defense, putting one past stick-side for the game-winning goal! With that win, the Bruins secured the third seed in the Atlantic division and are set to face the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs.

In the final game of the season, a makeshift Bruins lineup squared off against the foe they are set to meet in the first round of the playoffs, the Washington capitals. The Bruins put out a lineup, resting most all of their regular starters, putting a lineup on the ice of fourth-liners, call-ups, and prospects of the future. Both teams played a heavy game with lots of promise of the future. The game remained a scoreless affair until a little past Midway point of the second period, when Jarred Tinordi skates to the back of the net and finds Curtis Lazar for the goal in front, 1-0 Bruins. About 6 minutes later, Washington answers back with the only way they know how to beat Jeremy Swayman, and that's with a dirty, grimy goal. This young inexperienced Bruins squad shows that they can hang with the everyday mainstays of the Caps, all the way down to the last 2 seconds of regulation. Washington's Raffl fires in a terrible angled shot that manages to go in and out high bar. Bruins lose a heartbreaker of a regular-season finale 2-1. The two teams are set to start their playoff series on Saturday, 5/15. The Bruins finish the regular season at 33-16-7 with 73 points, good for 3rd in the Mass Mutual Atlantic Division.

Win Streak Snapped at Six but B's Still Surge

The Bruins go for the trifecta in the final game of the three-game series against the Buffalo Sabres. Boston found themselves without top forward Patrice Bergeron after the Bruins Captain blocked a shot with his foot last game. Another Buffalo goaltender, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, makes his NHL debut in net. Bruins get on the board two minutes into the game when Taylor Hall leads the breaks out after a pass from Rask, who dishes over to Steven Kampfer, who puts it home for the 1-0 Bruins lead. The Bruins soon find out the young Sabres have the better jump and legs under them in the game, scoring the next four unanswered goals, before Rask is ultimately relieved in favor of Halak, freshly returned off the Covid-list. The Bruins are just not there tonight in their mental execution and look visibly spent. The Bruins managed to score three unanswered of their own by Ritchie, Miller, and Hall in the waning minutes of regulation before an untimely Pastrnak turnover seals it for the 6-4 Sabres victory.

Bruins traveled to Pittsburgh for a flexed matinee affair Sunday afternoon, April 25th. Where we saw Captain Patrice Bergeron reinserted into the lineup, a sigh of relief to Bruins Nation, Jeremy Swayman was once again spectacular, surrendering only one goal in the game that came 4 minutes into the third period but unfortunately, that would be the only goal surrendered by either side. The Bruins suffered in aggravating 1-0 shutout. A game near flawlessly executed from an officiating standpoint with only one penalty being called late in the third on the Bruins on a high stick call. Bruins need to reach back and resurge what made them so effective during their six-game winning streak.

The Bruins vowed revenge on the heels of a 1-0 shutout at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Maybe revenge is too strong of a word, but fine-tuning their game is what they were looking for when Trent Frederic saw the ice for the first time in 21 days. A goaltenders clinic and defensive prowess engulfed much of the first two periods of the back and forth effort until David Krecji makes it 1-0 Bruins on a backhand shot from Charlie McAvoy. Marchand adds to Boston's lead a little more than halfway through the third when he brings the puck in and deflects it off the net. A scramble ensues; he reacquires the puck, putting it home for the 2-0 lead. Three minutes later, Taylor Hall scores his fourth in a Bruins uniform for a commanding 3-0 lead. There was a mere 3:39 that separated Tuukka Rask from his 51st career shutout when Jeff Carter gets a soft one past, but Bruins still cruise to the 3-1 win!

As the season winds down and Bruins' strong playoff push with games in hand doesn't go unnoticed, I think the Bruins must remember when the Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils of the world come into the garden not to play down to the level of competition. With eight games remaining, half of them against opponents mentioned above, and the two or three division seeds within reach, eight games are remaining but more importantly, 16 points still up for grabs. The Sabres came into Boston for their last series of the year against the Bruins. David Pastrnak gets the Bruins on the score sheet right away, 1:16 after puck drop on a one-timer from Bergeron and Marchand, the three most beautiful words in the English language to Bruins fans. Later in the period, Buffalo ties the game on a point-blank Bruins turnover in front of the net that the Sabres make them pay for. As Time expires in the first period, David Krecji beats the clock on a powerplay bomb from the point to put the Bruins up 2-1 going into the second period. The second period is marred by turnovers and undisciplined play that we see throughout the game. Still, it comes to a head in the third period, when Sam Reinhardt is left uncontested out in front of Tuukka Rask, tying the contest at 2. Which left me to question this team's compete level at times against opponents such as these. That was soon put to bed, though, when Charlie Coyle snaps the longest goalless streak of his career when he unassisted snaps the puck top shelf past Buffalo goalie, Luukkonen, to put the Bruins up 3-2. The Bruins put a dagger in them with a highlight reel assist by Krecji to Hall, then Marchand later with an empty-netter for the decisive 5-2 victory!

Tuukka Returns and Winners of Season Best, Six-In-A-Row

The Bruins aimed to continue their winning ways against the New York Islanders in the second game of the two-game series Friday night, March 16th. Jeremy Swayman gets the start, making it his fifth of the season. The first period seems to be a bit of a seesaw affair as both teams strive for the aggressive play that we saw in the first game of the series, but we are reminded that both these teams played the previous night, with chances on either end of the ice. Pastrnak stuns the Islanders with 2.4 seconds left in the first period when he buries it down low on a chance from Mike Reilly for the 1-0 Bruins lead. In the first minute of the second period, after being denied moments before, Taylor Hall, on a tape-to-tape pass from David Krecji, makes it 2-0, matching his output total in 38 games with Buffalo in just three with the Bruins. Just over a minute remained in regulation with the goalie pulled when Chris Wagner forces a puck out of the Bruins' zone, which finds Curtis Lazar for the empty net tuck to seal Jeremy Swayman's first career NHL shutout, who was the real story of the game. Bruins win 3-0!

Reading high on the waves of their first three game-winning Street since early February, the Boston Bruins welcome in the divisional leading Washington Capitals with last weeks 8-1 thumping still fresh in the backs of their minds; the Bruins expect much different results with a retooled and much healthier team taking the ice. Bruins jump out to an early 2-0 lead in the first with scores by Bergeron, a short-handed effort, and then Krecji about two minutes later with a tip-in. TJ Oshie of the Washington Capitals makes it 2-1 on a backhand shot with less than ten seconds left in the period. Lack of mental awareness and execution proves costly in the second period when Connor Clifton commits two 4 minutes high-sticking major penalties that lead to the next two Capital goals, a 3-2 Washington lead. Play continues, and about 2 minutes pass, Charlie McAvoy chips his own pass into the corner where along the boards, he feeds it out front to Pastrnak, who finds Marchand, who buries it in close to tie the game three aside. The Bruins scorers each tack on an additional goal each, including the 700th point of Marchand's career, an empty-netter to seal the 6-3 victory.

The Western New York basement-dwelling Buffalo sabers welcome the Bruins to KeyBank Center to start a three-game set on Tuesday, April 20th. Matt Grezclyk returns to the lineup after missing five games with an upper-body injury. With just less than twelve minutes remaining in the first and after a fury of relentless play in the attacking zone, Marchand backhands in, his team-leading 24th goal on the season. Sometime later, with 6:36 left in the first period, Tukkaa Rask absolutely robs Dylan Couzens on a wide-open net chance, a spectacular save! Three minutes into the second period, there's a pile-up in the crease with a turbulence of activity, Clifton puts a puck on net that slowly squeaks and dribbles through Buffalo goaltender Dustin Tokarski's five holes that he ultimately pushes into the net with his own skate blade, 2-0 Bruins. After a plethora of penalties, rain down on Boston, including a 5-on-3 Buffalo advantage in the waning minutes of the game, the Bruins maintain composure and pull this one out. The Bruins did not bring their A-game, but they did bring their good enough to win against Buffalo game. The Bruins are capable of beating the wheels off this club, and I hate seeing them playing down to competition. Bruins win 2-0

The Bruins continued their trudge through Western New York and the second game of the series against the sabers in the second game of the series. Brad Marchand breaks the scoreless tie eight and a half minutes into the first when Bergeron finds him out front and promptly potts the rebound for the 1-0 Bruins score. Buffalo makes it a game with a little more than 5 minutes gone in the second when former bruin Andrews Bjork finds Rasmus Ristolinen, who beats Swayman to tie the game at 1. Fresh off the faceoff and in only his second game back, Matt Grezclyk scores a bomb from the blueline for the 2-1 Bruins lead. And the Bruins just put it on cruise control for the remainder of the game, scoring the next three unanswered goals with tallies by Pastrnak, Ritchie, and Krecji. The Bruins deliver a 5-1 knockout punch to Buffalo!

Bruins Return from Covid, Vladar Shines Again but Mediocre Play Continues

If there has been anything that has been a constant thorn in the Boston Bruins' side this season, it has been the New York Islanders. Thursday, March 25th, their first game in a week, fresh off their league-mandated covid-quarantine. The Bruins welcomed those very Islanders to the TD Bank Garden with Tuukka Rask back in net for the Black & Gold. The Bruins found themselves quickly up 2-0 with strikes by Kuhlman and Kampfer but soon found themselves looking at a tie game with 2 goals by the Islanders, one in the second and again another in the third after Halak Replaces Rask on goal after the first. The Islanders go ahead late in the third only to give up the game-tying goal to Bjork to give the game into overtime. The Islanders make quick work of the Bruins in the extra period by a score of 4-3, a frustrating loss, to say the least.

In a Saturday matinee affair, the Bruins welcomed Jeremy Lauzon back into the lineup for the first time since Lake Tahoe. The Bruins also welcomed the lowly Buffalo Sabres to the garden, where rookie netminder Dan Vladar made his second start of the season. Early on, we learn that Brad Marchand would not be available for the contest, for he had joined Jake Debrusk and Sean Kuraly, who have remained on the covid protocol list. Buffalo takes advantage of a powerplay late in the first before Matt Gryzclyk ties it in the second, his 2nd goal of the season. Shortly after that, Buffalo makes it 2-1 on a backhand shot by Kyle Okposo. That's before, in the third, a beautiful feed from McAvoy's stick finds the tape of Nick Ritchie's, who puts it home for his 9th goal of the season. Craig Smith adds his 6th goal of the season to seal the win, 3-2 Bruins!

Sometimes the inexplicable is exactly just that, inexplicable. Which sums up my feelings about the Bruins' season-long struggles with the New Jersey Devils, and no disrespect to them but a team Boston should handle every single time. Sunday afternoon, March 28th, Jersey rolls into town for a 2-game affair. A goaltender's duel and defensive effort with neither side giving up many chances besides a Kyle Palmieri tip in the first. That was until 1:10 left in regulation with the goalie pulled; David Krecji jars a puck lose from under goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood's glove, which Patrice Bergeron promptly puts home for the game-tying goal. Upon further review, it was determined Krecji's stick pushed blackwood's glove to free the puck, no goal for goaltender interference, a tough break Boston Bruins. Blackwood then solidifies the 1-0 Devils win and shuts the door with an unreal kick save as time expired.

Those pesky Devils returned to the garden for the second game of the series, with Brad Marchand and Brandon Carlo making their much-needed returns to the team. Devils get on the board not even 1:30 into the match by Devils public nuisance #1 Miles Wood, with the Bruins soon thereafter scoring their first 5-on-5 goal of the season against New Jersey by Nick Ritchie tying the game. Devils go ahead on a breakaway halfway through the period to put the score 2-1 going into the second. The second kicks off with a Bruins no-goal call by Matt Gryzclyk, and then New Jersey adds to their lead not 4 minutes later, 3-1 Devils. Brad Marchand delivers a crushing hit behind the New Jersey net, which Jesper Bratty takes exception with. The two drop the gloves before Marchand judo-flips Bratty to the ice, jumping on top of him with some finishing blows. The scrum really seems to change the trajectory of the game. A minute out of the box, Marchand sets up Bergeron, who beats Blackwood for the 3-2 score. Just over a minute later, Kyle Palmieri adds to New Jerseys' lead 4-2. In the 3rd period, Charlie MacAvoy inches the Bruins closer 4-3 with a score off a Craig Smith rebound, who also provides the assist on Matt Gryzclyk's game-tying goal with 4 minutes left in regulation to force the overtime. Neither team is able to breakthrough in the extra period; David Pastrnak ends the game in the second round of the shootouts for a hard-fought 5-4 Bruins win!

Covid-19 Strikes the Bruins for the First Significant Time this Season

For the first time all season, the Bruins found themselves traveling to Western New York to take on the Buffalo Sabers at KeyBank Arena. Prior to the game, it had been announced that a Bruins player later identified as Sean Kuraly entered the NHL covid protocol program, so the Bruins were to play shorthanded. The Bruins were quick to get on the board with Greg McKegg's tip in front of the net. 1-0 Bruins. Shortly after the start of the 2nd, the Bruins found themselves on the power play to give Buffalo the game-tying shorthanded goal, a recent annoyance for the team. As the 2nd trudged on, the Bruins saw strikes by Debrusk and Smith, with Pastarnak adding his 13th of the season in the 3rd for the 4-1 victory. Bruins win two games in the row for the first time in 5 weeks. Notable milestones include David Krecji recording his 700th career point and defense prospect Jack Achan made his NHL debut.

Come the wee hours of the night after the Bruins win over the Sabres, news broke that an additional four Bruins players had joined Kuraly in the NHL's covid protocol program, which leads to the speculation if the game the night before should have been played, to begin with, if responsible parties knew the severities of the potential exposure.

Subsequently, the second game of the series, a Saturday matinee matchup, had been canceled as well as the Bruins' upcoming game against the Islanders on Tuesday night. They were also informed that their training facilities were to remain closed until at least Wednesday morning, pending any more positive tests. The team is expected to quarantine until thus point.