Part I –> Top Six Forwards

Part II –> Bottom Six Forwards

Part III –> Defense Group

Part IV –> Extra Skaters/Call-Ups

Part V –> Goalies

Part VI –> Coaching/Management

Each day over the next week, I will update this blog with the addition of one player (in numerical order). For the bottom six, I will start with Gregory Campbell.

#11 Gregory Campbell

Age: 28

Contract Status: $1.100 MIL Cap Hit/ Unrestricted Free Agent On July 1, 2012

Regular Season Stats: 78 GP, 8 Goals, 8 Assists, 16 Points, -3 Rating

Playoff Stats: 7 GP, 0 Goals, 2 Assists, 2 Points, -2 Rating

– Duplicating a career season is a tremendously difficult task and one that players throughout the sports world often fall short of achieving. After falling just a goal or an assist shy of reaching the thirty-point mark (13G/16A) for the second time in his career during the 2010-’11 season, Campbell saw his offensive production sliced nearly in half this year (8G/8A). However, as anyone who has watched even a minute of Bruins’ hockey over the past few seasons would tell you, the true value of the 28-year-old London, Ontario native comes in the form of his unmatched grit and intangibles. Surpassing the century mark in the hit column and blocking over fifty shots whilst eating up valuable minutes on the penalty kill, the second-year Bruin’s contributions can not be overlooked. Slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, along with fellow bottom-six forwards Daniel Paille, Benoit Pouliot and Chris Kelly, Campbell will likely seek a slight raise from his last contract, which paid him $1.1 million dollars each year. In all likelihood, the Bruins will bring back just one of the two centermen with expiring deals (Campbell and Kelly). If that is the case, General Manager Peter Chiarelli will face a tough decision in determining whether Kelly’s ability to produce offense on a more consistent basis is worth the presumably hefty difference in the price tags of the two Canadian pivots.

Final Grade: B

#20 Daniel Paille

Age: 28

Contract Status: $1.075 MIL Cap Hit/ Unrestricted Free Agent On July 1, 2012

Regular Season Stats: 69 GP, 9 Goals, 6 Assists, 15 Points, -5 Rating

Playoff Stats: 7 GP, 1 Goal, 0 Assists, 1 Point, -1 Rating

– After struggling to find a spot in the Boston lineup for much of the 2010-’11 regular season — seeing action in only 43 of 82 games –, Paille looked to be the odd man out once again as the 2011-’12 campaign began. With former first round draft choice Jordan Caron — who plays a similar style to Paille — waiting in the wings, it seemed as though the former-Buffalo Sabre would once again become a press box regular. However, the 28-year-old left wing began the season with a strong training camp and earned his spot alongside Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton on the Boston fourth line. The Welland, Ontario native went on to enjoy another solid season for the Black and Gold, picking up nine goals and six assists, while seeing time on the B’s top penalty-killing unit. With his contract set to expire on July 1, and a pair of youngsters in Anthony Camara (3rd Round (81st Overall)/2011 Entry Draft) and Lane MacDermid (4th Round (112th Overall)/2008 Entry Draft) ready to take on a bottom-six role with the big club, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Paille pulling on a different sweater come October of 2012.

Final Grade: B-

#22 Shawn Thornton

Age: 34

Contract Status: $1.100 MIL Cap Hit/ Unrestricted Free Agent On July 1, 2014

Regular Season Stats: 81 GP, 5 Goals, 8 Assists, 13 Points, -7 Rating

Playoff Stats: 5 GP, 0 Goals, 0 Assists, 0 Points, EVEN Rating

– Since arriving on the scene in the summer of 2007, Shawn Thornton has met and exceeded everything that was expected of him by fans, coaches and the Boston Bruins organization. Fresh off a Stanley Cup championship with the Anaheim Ducks, the 34-year-old veteran brought with him the type of toughness and attitude that demands respect throughout locker rooms across the league. His personality, style of play and commitment to the city of Boston have made the Oshawa, Ontario native an ice hockey staple in the Hub. The 2011-’12 campaign was nothing out of the ordinary for Thornton, chipping in with a handful of goals — the most remarkable being his back-hand roof-job against Winnipeg’s Ondrej Pavelec on a penalty shot — while collecting over 150 penalty minutes and dropping the gloves whenever the situation called for it. After sealing a brand new two-year pact in March, Thornton will remain in Boston for at least the next two seasons, earning $2.2 million dollars over the life of the contract.

Final Grade: B

#23 Chris Kelly

Age: 31

Contract Status: $2.125 MIL Cap Hit/ Unrestricted Free Agent On July 1, 2012

Regular Season Stats: 82 GP, 20 Goals, 19 Assists, 39 Points, +33 Rating

Playoff Stats: 7 GP, 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 3 Points, +1 Rating

– General Manager Peter Chiarelli‘s prized acquisition from the 2011 trading deadline, Chris Kelly went far and above expectations in his first full season with the Black and Gold. Posting career-bests in goals, points and plus/minus during his contract season, Kelly has set himself up to sign a lucrative (and well-deserved) new deal on July 1. The hero of Boston’s game one overtime win against the Capitals in the first round of the postseason, Kelly was also one of the few Bruins’ forwards that fully lived up to his playoff expectations in 2012. While Kelly’s increased offensive production (20G/19A) in 2011-’12 came as a surprise to many, the six-foot Toronto-native once again lived up to his billing as a defensive zone stalwart, winning a number of key draws for the Bruins and posting the league’s third highest plus/minus rating (+33). Unfortunately for B’s fans, Kelly may have just played his way out of Boston. After a career year in 2011-’12, Kelly will undoubtedly be looking for significant raise on the deal that’s paid him $2.125 million dollars over the past two seasons. It will be interesting to see if Chiarelli is willing to offer Kelly the type of deal he signed fellow third-liner Rich Peverley to last fall (3 years/$3.250 MIL per).

Final Grade: A

#49 Rich Peverley

Age: 29

Contract Status: $3.250 MIL Cap Hit/ Unrestricted Free Agent On July 1, 2015

Regular Season Stats: 57 GP, 11 Goals, 31 Assists, 42 Points, +20 Rating

Playoff Stats: 7 GP, 3 Goals, 2 Assists, 5 Points, EVEN Rating

– Despite missing nearly the entire second half of the season after suffering a torn MCL, Boston’s most versatile forward was still able to surpass the 40-point mark for the second time in his career. In the absence of the concussed Nathan Horton, Peverley did an admirable job filling in on the Boston top line, and was solid in his role at center — after the Patrice Bergeron injury — during the B’s first round series with the Capitals. Peverley’s five points (3G/2A) in seven playoff games was good for first on the team as number 49 was without doubt the most consistent producer amongst the Boston forward group in the 2012 postseason. Signed to a brand-new three year contract extension (worth a total of $9.75 million dollars) in October, it is evident that the 29-year-old Ontario-native is a major part of GM Peter Chiarelli’s long-term plan for the success of the Bruins.

Final Grade: B+

#67 Benoit Pouliot

Age: 25

Contract Status: $1.100 MIL Cap Hit/ Restricted Free Agent On July 1, 2012

Regular Season Stats: 74 GP, 16 Goals, 16 Assists, 32 Points, +18 Rating

Playoff Stats: 7 GP, 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 2 Points, -1 Rating

– In more ways than one, Benoit Pouliot’s first campaign in a Boston Bruins’ uniform produced eerily similar results to what the B’s came to expect from the man no. 67 replaced: Michael Ryder. In two of his three seasons with the Black and Gold, Ryder hovered around the 30-40 point mark — which is right where Pouliot fell in 2011-’12 — while leaving B’s fans frustrated at his streaky tendencies. At times this season, Pouliot showcased the type of top-line skills that made him the fourth overall selection in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. However, there were also periods in which the Alfred, Ontario native seemed to resort to the type of on-ice behavior that saw him banished to former head coach Jacques Martin‘s doghouse during his time with the Montreal Canadiens. Coming to the Hub by way of a one-year, $1.1 million dollar contract, Pouliot was the epitome of a low risk/high reward-type off-season signing by general manager Peter Chiarelli. Picking up 32-points (16G/16A) in 74 games this season, Pouliot more than earned his salary, but never truly found the type of consistency that Chiarelli and the Bruins had hoped to see from the former Sudbury Wolf.

Final Grade: B-

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It was their 196th game in the past eighteen months. Their power-play was once again unproductive, scoring at only a 14% (3-for-23) clip. They’d lost three out of the four playoff games on home ice. The unproven opposing goaltender posted an otherworldly (for a rookie) 2.00 goals against average. Yet, through all that, the Boston Bruins still came within inches of winning their first round series against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday evening.

Less than thirty seconds into the overtime period of game seven, Boston’s sure-handed alternate captain Patrice Bergeron wound up with the puck on his stick while staring at an open Washington goal and a chance to send the Bruins to round two for the fourth consecutive season. Unfortunately, hampered by an upper body injury, Bergeron just couldn’t settle the puck, sending the rubber disk eight inches wide of the yawning net and into the corner.

Only two minutes later, the Capitals would make the Bruins pay for their missed opportunity when fourth line cog Joel Ward backhanded the puck past Tim Thomas to lift Washington to it’s first road victory in a game seven in franchise history.

“It happened so fast, again, as you said, but I knew he was going to take the puck to the net.I was just trying to follow it up just in case there was a puck loose that squirted or a rebound. I just kind of saw it and then gave it one of the hardest whacks I’ve ever given a puck.” – Joel Ward

Becoming the seventh defending Stanley Cup champion in the last nine years to bow out in the first round, summer has commenced on Causeway street much earlier than the Bruins had hoped.

“We we’re used to going you know, all the way. And to be done now it’s like, it’s kind of hard to even understand. It’s like you can’t even believe it’s over right now.” – Johnny Boychuk

For Boston, was it a disappointment? Yes, of course. But was it a choke? Nope.

Let’s call it for what it was: the Washington Capitals deserved to win the series. Their dedication, commitment and desperation far exceeded that of what looked to be an understandably burnt-out Boston squad. In every facet of the game you could logically give the advantage to Washington over the course of the entire seven game set. In a sense, the Capitals beat the Bruins at their own game: they rolled four lines with success, rode timely goaltending, turned their opposition’s mistakes into goals and collectively bought in to their head coach’s strict defensive system.

From top to bottom, the Capitals outplayed the Bruins. It was evident from puck drop in game one. Washington’s top-six forwards (Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, Laich, Johansson, Brouwer) produced ten of the team’s sixteen goals on the series and added eleven assists. Spearheaded by Russian uberstar Alex Ovechkin and underrated pivot Brooks Laich, the Capitals’ top forwards elevated their play in this series in the way all superstar players should.

Boston’s top two lines (Krejci, Lucic, Seguin, Peverley, Bergeron, Marchand) were a shell of their former selves, picking up only seven goals and nine assists. Perhaps more telling was that the two players who produced the most out of the aforementioned six were a 20-year-old in his sophomore season (Seguin) and a player who was only given a top-six spot in the absence of the injured Nathan Horton (Peverley). Combining for only three goals and eight points in seven games, Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand and David Krejci seem to have lost some of the luster that regarded them as “big-time playoff performers”.

Much in the same mold as Boston’s fourth unit in 2011, the Washington grinders proved themselves invaluable in this series, picking up two goals — including Ward’s series winner — and adding four assists whilst continuing to hold their own in the defensive zone as head coach Dale Hunter relied on them to preserve leads late in games. The production and dependability of the Caps’ fourth line (Ward, Keith Aucoin, Mike Knuble) provided Hunter the opportunity to line match and wear down the Bruins over the course of the series — something Claude Julien rode all the way to a Stanley Cup championship just one year ago –.

Boston’s defense corps were strong all series long. The German-born tank that is Dennis Seidenberg once again proved how truly valuable an asset he is for the Black and Gold, holding Ovechkin to only a five point series. The Johnny Boychuk — Andrew Ference pairing did a formidable job while consistently being matched up against the dynamic duo of Alex Semin and Nicklas Backstrom. Even the oft-scratched Mike Mottau impressed in games six and seven while filling in for an injured Joe Corvo. However, what shocked many — including myself — and made the real difference in this series was the strong defensive play of Washington’s blueliners. The surprisingly efficient play of Roman Hamrlik, Mike Green and John Carlson, amongst others, is what allowed the Caps to nearly completely shut down the Boston top-six.

Entering this series, the Bruins were thought to have the greatest advantage in this series between the pipes. It was Capitals’ rookie Braden Holtby — who had only seven games of previous NHL  experience — against the reigning Vezina and Conn Smythe trophy winner Tim Thomas. That’s why they play the games, folks. The 22-year-old Saskatchewan native bested Thomas on the stat sheet in every meaningful category — 2.00 GAA to Thomas’ 2.14; .940 SVG % to Thomas’ .923; and of course wins, 4-3 — and by most accounts was the better goalie in this series.

The players in that Bruins locker room deserve tons of credit for how they handled things after being sent home in the first round for the first time since 2008. They were asked about lingering injuries, a shortened summer, a questionable non-call (for goaltender interference) on the game-winning goal, and  missing important pieces of their roster (Horton, Adam McQuaid). The Bruins were given every opportunity to make excuses. They wanted no part of it. And they deserve an immeasurable amount of credit and respect for that.

At the end of the day — for as cliche as this may sound — it’s time for the city of Boston to “give the Devil his due” and recognize the fact that the Washington Capitals were the better team in this series and deserve to be moving on to round two.

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For the first time in four seasons, the Boston Bruins were unable to advance past the first round of the playoffs, becoming the second straight defending Stanley Cup champion to fall in the first round of their title defense.

It was former-Nashville playoff hero Joel Ward who would strike the dagger into the heart of the 17, 565 Black and Gold clad fans on hand at the TD Garden on Wednesday evening with his first goal of the postseason at the 2:37 mark of overtime. Ironically enough, it was former-Bruin Mike Knuble who would block a Benoit Pouliot dump-in attempt and proceed up the ice to create a scoring chance for Washington. The 31-year-old Ward would make no mistake about it, ending the Bruins’ season with one back-handed flip of the puck into an open Boston goal.

“I went for a change and Knubs (Mike Knuble) made a big block there and I assumed we had a little bit of a break up ice so try to take a chance and I knew he was going to take it to the rack and I just tried to follow it up as best as I could. You know, I just saw the puck laying there and I just took a whack at it and it went in.” – Joel Ward

Things didn’t get off to the start the Bruins had hoped for after a Milan Lucic defensive zone turnover would lead to an open chance from the point for John Carlson. The Natick, MA native fired a wrist shot through a crowd that would be deflected by another former-Bruin, Matt Hendricks, into the Boston net.

In typical Boston fashion, the Black and Gold would not go down without a fight. Late in the second period, it would be game six hero Tyler Seguin who would push home the game-tying goal after diving for a loose puck that had slipped through Washington goaltender Braden Holtby and pushing it into the net.

“I tried going in front of the net and I actually fell and Johnny (Boychuk) shot. I kind of saw the puck laying there so I just dove in and whacked it with my stick.” – Tyler Seguin

After a third period in which the B’s were out-shot 12-6 and the city of Boston held it’s collective breath with each Capitals’ shot, the defending champions were served a gift on a silver platter. With just 2:26 left in regulation, Jason Chimera was banished to the penalty box for holding, and the Bruins had themselves an opportunity to end the series with a power-play goal.

“When you talk about tonight, that’s probably the most frustrating part of our game, was that power play that could have ended the series and the game……. Your power play can win you hockey games, and tonight it didn’t.” — Claude Julien

If there was ever a position in which a struggling power-play could erase all it’s previous woes, it was right then and there. Unfortunately for Boston, the man advantage was once again ineffective, producing zero high quality scoring chances throughout the entire two minutes.

Just one minute into the overtime period, the B’s had yet another chance to end the game – and the series – on their terms, when a loose puck bounced directly onto the stick of Patrice Bergeron who was staring directly at a yawning Washington goal.

“It kind of exploded – just rolled on my stick and the puck was bouncing I just tried to go quick because obviously there wasn’t a lot of time and the puck wouldn’t settle.” – Patrice Bergeron

Uncharacteristically, number 37 sent it wide of the net, allowing the Capitals to convert on a scoring chance of their own just ninety-seven seconds later. The loss marks Boston’s third home-ice defeat in a game seven over the past four seasons as the 2011 Champions have been sent to summertime much earlier than they had envisioned.

“It’s hard to swallow, tough to understand right now. I think obviously it’s going to take us a couple of days to sink that one in, we obviously weren’t ready for being done right now.” – Patrice Bergeron

My Thoughts

– I’ll be back on Thursday and Friday with more fallout from this series and a disappointing end to the Boston season. Locker clean-out day is slated for Friday morning. Be sure to check back then for player reaction and analysis.

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Joel Ward (1 Goal/Plus-1 Rating)

2) Tyler Seguin (1 Goal/7 Shots)

3) Braden Holtby (31 Saves)

Series:  Washington WINS 4-3

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The two most notorious words in sports: Game Seven. The mere mention of the phrase is enough to kick-start the heart of hockey fans across the globe. It’s the most entertaining event in sports for fans with no vested interest in either team playing. But for people who have pledged their allegiance to either of the two sides, it’s an excruciatingly long sixty-plus minutes of heart-in-your-throat action.

On Wednesday evening the defending champion Boston Bruins will look to prolong their title defense in game seven of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against the Washington Capitals. Here are my five predictions for what you will all see at the Garden this evening.

1) Jordan Caron WILL Be In The Lineup

– With the upper body injury to Patrice Bergeron one could only assume that the Bruins will once again dress sophomore power forward Jordan Caron, at the expense of one of their other bottom-six skaters. The 21-year-old Caron provides Claude Julien with flexibility in case number 37 becomes more severely injured and cannot fulfill his normal allotment of ice-time. Caron has the ability to play a grinding fourth line role but also possesses the required skill set to skate on one of the B’s first two offensive units. While many believe that it will again be Shawn Thornton who will be relegated to the press box as Caron enters the lineup, I am of the opinion that Benoit Pouliot will be the odd man out on Wednesday. After taking a late penalty in back-to-back games, the Alfred, Ontario native seems to have reverted to the player that was a healthy scratch for the Canadiens during last year’s postseason. Whether it be Pouliot or Thornton to take a seat, expect Jordan Caron to be in the Boston lineup on Wednesday.

2) Alex Ovechkin WILL Be A MAJOR Factor

– Held to just one goal in the first six games of the series, the Russian uberstar has been well contained by Boston’s top defense pair of Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg. However, the Great Eight was buzzing during Sunday’s game six, scoring Washington’s only goal of the third period and creating an abundance of chances for both he and his teammates. I’d expect that to continue tonight with the Capitals’ supremely talented left wing picking up at least one goal for his team on this, the grandest of playoff stages.

3) Braden Holtby Will NOT Crack Under Pressure

– It seems as through Boston sports fans are under the impression that Washington rookie netminder Braden Holtby  is going to “wet the bed” so to speak and come unraveled right before their very eyes on the pressure packed ice of the TD Garden. Those folks could not be more off based in their assumptions. Back in June I remember speaking with a colleague of mine and I told him with confidence that Holtby would have more NHL success than either of Washington’s other 22-year-old goaltenders, Michael Neuvirth and Semyon Varlamov. Varlamov has since been dealt to Colorado and while Neuvirth has enjoyed a solid 2011-’12 campaign, he’s been far from a superstar in net.

Through six games of this series the Boston Bruins have learned exactly why I made those remarks about the Saskatchewan native just nine months ago. He’s shown both skill and composure en route to a 1.60 playoff GAA. If he hasn’t cracked through the first six games of this series — even after the Bruins scored two goals in twenty-eight seconds in game five — there is no evidence to suggest that he will turtle tonight, despite it being his first career game seven appearance.

4) Game Seven WILL Be Decided By ONE Goal

– This Bruins vs. Capitals’ series has been history-making, in the sense that is has been the first series in NHL history to have it’s first six games decided by only one goal. This is a tremendously surprising statistic, being that the NHL has been widely recognized as the league with more parity that it’s professional sports counterparts. I believe that tonight will be no different, as these two squads will set another record, making this the only series in history to have all SEVEN games decided by one goal.

5) The Bruins Will Survive

– If last year’s remarkable run to Lord Stanley taught us anything, it’s that the Black and Gold can never be counted out. Amassing five consecutive wins in games in which they’ve faced the possibility of elimination, the B’s have certainly been in this situation before. Just last summer they became the first team in history to win three game sevens en route to a championship. While it does feel a bit different — and maybe not for the better –  for the city of Boston to have confidence heading into a decisive game seven, I have a hard time picking against the Bruins at home in a do-or-die scenario. My pick would be Boston over Washington 3-2 with the game-winning-goal to come late in the third period.

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Troy Brouwer’s tie-breaking second tally of the series came at the most inopportune time for the B’s, with just a minute and twenty-seven seconds left on the third period clock. The collective life was completely sucked out of a raucous TD Garden when Benoit Pouliot was banished to the penalty box for what head coach Claude Julien called a “very weak call” of slashing. It wouldn’t be long after that the former-Chicago Blackhawk would streak down the right side wing and beat Tim Thomas with a glove-side wrist shot.

The Bruins had mounted not one but two comebacks prior to Brouwer’s late marker, erasing both a 2-0 and a 3-2 deficit. It began right around the mid-point of the game when Washington would be the first to find the twine.

At the 11:16 mark of the second period the Capitals would take advantage of a befallen Joe Corvo and pin the B’s into their own defensive zone. After a lengthy offensive sequence it would be game four hero Alexander Semin who would push home a rebound to give the Caps a 1-0 lead.

Just over three minutes later, Washington would double their lead after a wrist shot from gritty third line pivot Jay Beagle deflected off the stick of Boston blueliner Johnny Boychuk and past Tim Thomas to make it 2-0 in favor of the visitors.

It was at the end of the period that a two-goal outburst in a matter of only twenty-eight seconds by the Bruins would even the score at two. First it was German defenseman Dennis Seidenberg who would snap a wrist shot past Capitals’ rookie goaltender Braden Holtby to cut the Washington lead in half. On the very next shift Brad Marchand would poke a rebound through Holtby’s five hole to bring the score to a tie.

“I jumped by their forward and Looch (Milan Lucic) made a great pass to the outside and all I was trying to do was get the puck on net and somehow it found the back of the net.” – Dennis Seidenberg

The B’s would face even more adversity after former-Bruin Mike Knuble would corral a Joel Ward rebound and slide it into the Boston net for a 3-2 Washington lead just three minutes into the third period. After a stretch of fourteen consecutive failed power-play attempts, the B’s would finally break through when Johnny Boychuk released a rocket slapshot that blistered right past Holtby and into the Capitals’ net.

Boston would swarm the Washington end for the better part of what was left in the third frame, but it would be the Caps who would come out on top after scoring on a power-play that many felt should not been granted in the first place.

“Tough call.  I will leave it to you guys, but it was a tough call to make at 2:15 in the game.  It is a grind out there.  Sometimes you get the calls and sometimes you don’t. To call that at the end it is disappointing but there is nothing you can do about it.” – Benoit Pouliot

My Thoughts

– The one thing that the B’s have going for them is the simple fact that they’ve been here before. While they didn’t necessarily face an elimination game six on road ice, they did confront (and overcome) numerous occasions in which they were in a must-win situation. Game three in Montreal, game three against Vancouver and game five against the Lighting were all situations in which the Bruins were in desperate need of a victory and were able to come through.

If they’re not prepared, they could become the second consecutive Stanley Cup champion to lose in the first round of their title defense.

“It’s do or die for us, and we have to make sure we leave it all out there and try to force game seven. But we’re in their rink. They’re going to be coming out hard, so we got to be prepared.” – Brad Marchand

“It’s good to know that we’ve been in tough spots before and responded well. Having said that, we got to do that. You got to bring it and do it. It isn’t, it’s not going to be for granted that we’re going to do it. It’s up to us in this room.” — Tim Thomas

It’s certainly an unfavorable situation, but if the 2011 Bruins taught us anything, it’s that you can never count out the Black and Gold.

“We may be in trouble, but we’re not dead.” – Claude Julien

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Dennis Seidenberg (1 Goal/1 Assist)

2) Troy Brouwer (1 Goal)

3) Mike Knuble (1 Goal)

Series:  Washington Leads 3-2

Next Game: Sunday April 22, 2012. 3:00 PM. Verizon Center, Washington, DC.

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While it’s quite impressive to see that the Boston Bruins have received a bevy of contributions from their bottom-six forward group, the unfortunate fact of the matter is that without consistent production from their top players, they may not make it out of this first round.

In an effort to help his team break out of the offensive slump that’s engulfed them throughout their series with the seventh seeded Washington Capitals, Bruins’ bench boss Claude Julien opted to give his forward units a complete makeover in advance of Saturday’s game five at the TD Garden. Based on lines from Friday’s practice, the new trios look like this:

Daniel Paille—Patrice Bergeron—Rich Peverley

Milan Lucic—David Krejci—Brian Rolston

Tyler Seguin/Jordan Caron—Chris Kelly—Benoit Pouliot

Brad Marchand—Gregory Campbell—Shawn Thornton

The most obvious and surprising change there is Brad Marchand’s demotion back to the Merlot line, where he spent the entire first half of last year’s regular season. After watching Thursday’s 2-1 defeat at the Verizon Center, it was clear as to who was playing well and who had some areas to improve upon, which likely played a large part in Julien’s decision to alter his lines.

A popular question amongst the Twitter-sphere on Friday was as to if Jordan Caron would be making his playoff debut on Saturday. And if so, whose spot in the lineup would he take? Many suggested it to be sophomore sensation Tyler Seguin. While I would agree that the B’s could use the added grittiness and net-front presence that Caron can provide, I wouldn’t agree with the notion that number nineteen should be sat down. Seguin’s absence from the score sheet has been a major detriment to Boston’s postseason success but he did show signs of improvement during game four, creating opportunities for both he and his linemates.

As referenced above, the Boston third line has been unquestionably the team’s most consistent trio of the series, picking up three of the Bruins’ seven playoff goals. However, beyond that, the B’s haven’t received much else in the way of offense from any of their forward corps.

Contrast In Performance From The Top-Six Brings Teams To Equal Footing

Rich Peverley’s two tallies – one in game 3 and one in game 4 – account for the only two goals scored by Boston forwards currently skating on one of the top two lines during their conference quarterfinal series against Washington.

There is no denying the fact that the absence of 2011 playoff hero Nathan Horton is a huge factor in the struggles of the B’s top-six. Number eighteen provides the Bruins with a constant physical presence and one of the deadliest wrist shots on the team as well as the chemistry he creates with both Milan Lucic and David Krejci.

Despite this, there truly is no explanation behind the complete lack of offensive production from Boston’s superstars. The top line (for most of the year) of Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand accounted for nearly 30% of the Bruins’ goals (79 of 269) during the regular season, the most of any Boston trio by a significant margin. On line two, Peverley (who missed a large portion of the season with an MCL injury) Krejci and Lucic combined for sixty goals and 165 total points. Much to the displeasure of hockey fans in the Hub, only Peverley (2 Goals) and Bergeron (1 Assist) have been able to find the score sheet this series.  The other four? Zero goals, zero assists, a combined -2 rating and 36 shots on goal.

On the other side of the ice, the Washington forwards have perfectly fit to a tee the definition of “top-six forwards”, ranking 1-6 in points scored for the Caps during this postseason. NHL mega-star Alexander Ovechkin and gritty power forward Brooks Laich lead the way with four points (1G/3A each) whilst Marcus Johansson and Nicklas Backstrom have a goal and an assist each in the series. Former-Chicago Blackhawk Troy Brouwer has also picked up a goal and game four hero Alex Semin has tickled the twine twice in four games.

The stark contrast in production levels from the top-six from each of these teams is what’s made this series has tight as it’s been. Boston hasn’t been able to capitalize on their distinct advantage both between the pipes and on the defensive end.

While I still firmly believe that the B’s will be able to bounce back on Saturday and emerge from this offensive malaise, if they’re not, they could be polishing off the golf clubs a lot sooner than they’d hoped.

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Much to the chagrin of Black and Gold supporters hoping for the chance to seal the series on Saturday, the B’s were stopped cold in their tracks during a 2-1 loss to the Caps on Thursday thanks to 44 saves from netminder Braden Holtby.

The 22-year-old Saskatchewan native stopped each and every puck that the B’s threw his way including thirteen in the third period to seal a one-goal home-ice victory for the Capitals.

To say that things didn’t get off to the type of start that the Bruins had envisioned  may qualify as a candidate for the understatement of the year award. After a questionable non-call that saw Alexander Ovechkin jump on the back of Boston defenseman Andrew Ference and remove him from the play, the Capitals proceeded up the ice with a 2-on-1 breakaway. Power forward Brooks Laich would slide the puck through the legs of Brian Rolston and over to Marcus Johansson at the 1:22 mark of the opening frame. The 21-year-old Swede made no mistake, sending it into the top shelf to give Washington an early 1-0 lead.

“It was an odd man rush. They made a good play. The puck rolled and stuck right to Johansson’s stick. He was able to bury it top corner.” — Tim Thomas

In typical Bruins’ fashion, Boston would not go down without a fight, evening the score just past the mid-point of the first period. It was Rich Peverley who would carry the puck down the wing and fire a wrist shot through Holtby’s five hole to pull the Bruins in to a 1-1 tie. Despite Thursday’s contest being without doubt the most wide-open of any of the games thus far, neither team could find the twine again until the tail end of the middle period.

After yet another questionable call went against the Bruins – conspiracy theorists may suggest that it stems from Caps’ owner Ted Leonsis’ most recent comments – Patrice Bergeron would be sent to the penalty box with 2:07 on the clock in the second period. It was on the ensuing power-play that Washington would regain their lead after a wicked wrist shot from Alex Semin blazed right past the glove of Tim Thomas and into the Boston net. Even after the Caps had scored the eventual game winning goal while he was in the box, Boston’s always-humble alternate captain was quick to defend the referee’s decision.

“He made that call. It happens fast for me, for him. I’m obviously not going to complain about it.” – Patrice Bergeron

As the second period came to a close and the third period progressed, it appeared as if the Capitals had taken back most of the game’s momentum, controlling play for the better part of the final twenty-plus minutes.

Boston would amass fifteen total shots after Semin had given the Capitals the lead, but simply couldn’t solve Holtby as they fell 2-1 at the Verizon Center. Thursday’s win by the Caps has also assured that there will indeed be a game six played right back here in Washington, DC at some point on Sunday.

My Thoughts

– While it was evident that Braden Holtby was in top form on Thursday, most of the Bruins’ 45 shots on net wouldn’t exactly be characterized as “high quality scoring chances”. A large portion of Boston’s best opportunities to score came on shots that the Caps’ ‘tender was able to get a clear look at, which of course makes the shot far easier to stop.

“He saw everything tonight, that’s for sure. I can’t say there’s too many shots that he didn’t see. He likes to glove pucks, he likes to hold on to it, so like I said we’ve got to get more bodies in front of him.” – Rich Peverley

– In game three, the Black and Gold did an excellent job in disrupting the crease of the Caps’ rookie goaltender and didn’t allow him to find a rhythm. Thursday’s game four was a completely different story as much like games one and two, the majority of the B’s scoring chances had to come from the outside. The overwhelming theme in the Boston locker room after Thursday’s difficult defeat was that the team needed to do a better job in establishing it’s presence in front of the Washington goalkeeper.

“I think our pressure was good. Now it’s about finding the loose pucks. It’s there, we’re in the area, we just haven’t found the loose pucks for the rebounds. We’ve got to be better.” — Patrice Bergeron

“Obviously there is a lot of loose pucks around the net that they cleared and we didn’t get to.  The net front presence has to be better, not just screening but also finding those loose pucks. They’re finding them better than we are. So, there’s probably not a good enough commitment in that area right now until we get that we are going to be struggling to score goals.” – Claude Julien

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Braden Holtby (44 Saves)

2) Tyler Seguin (6 Shots)

3) Alex Semin (1 Goal)

Series: Tied 2-2

Next Game: Saturday April 21, 2012, TD Garden, Boston, MA.

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WASHINGTON, DC–On Thursday afternoon, the Boston Bruins will have an opportunity to take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Washington Capitals with a win in game four of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Series. After a bit of late-game heroics lead the B’s to a 4-3 victory on Monday evening the team will look to secure a Verizon Center sweep and earn the chance to complete the series on Saturday in Boston.

X-Factor: Through three games this postseason the Bruins’ first two offensive units have produced a grand total of one goal. While the contributions from the bottom-six have been an invaluable asset to the B’s early success in these playoffs, they must see improved production from both the David Krejci line and the Patrice Bergeron line if they are to finish off the Caps in this series. Bergeron was quick to praise the recent play of Boston’s third and fourth lines during an interview following Thursday’s morning skate in Washington.

“They’ve been great all year. They give us some scoring. Depth this time of year is very important and right now it shows. It’s about every line doing their job.” – Patrice Bergeron

Series: Boston Leads 2-1

Location: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

Time: 7:30 P.M. (EST)

TV/Radio Info: NESN (Edwards, Brickley, Funayama) – 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers)

Tonight’s Lineup (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS:

Lucic–Bergeron–Peverley

Marchand–Krejci–Seguin

Pouliot–Kelly–Rolston

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE:

Chara–Seidenberg

Boychuk–Ference

Zanon–Corvo

GOALTENDER:

Thomas

Khudobin/Rask

Scratches– ….. Mike Mottau, Jordan Caron

Injuries:

Nathan Horton (Concussion) – Boston’s top right winger was officially ruled out of the 2012 Playoffs by General Manager Peter Chiarelli during a press conference last Wednesday morning.

Tuukka Rask (Groin) — The B’s back up goaltender has been practicing with the team, but head coach Claude Julien did confirm to us this morning that no. 40 isn’t quite ready to return to action.

Adam McQuaid (Upper Body) — In what’s become one of the more unpredictable injuries of the season, Boston’s dependable blueliner will be forced to sit out again on Thursday after not making the voyage south to DC.

Opposing Goaltender: Braden Holtby (3 GP/2.00 GAA)

Prediction: Despite the suspension to Nicklas Backstrom, I believe that the Capitals will still find a way to pull out a game four victory. In sports it is often times the more desperate team that wins the game, and I think that old adage will hold true once again on Thursday at the Verizon Center. However, if the B’s are able to get off to a hot start and take the crowd out of the game, it’s entirely possible that we could be heading back to Boston with the Bruins holding a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Bruins 4 , Capitals 5

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“The more we play each other, the more we hate each other.” – Brad Marchand

The above quote, courtesy of the Bruins’ resident agitator and Boston fan favorite, Brad Marchand just about perfectly sums up Monday’s game three between the B’s and Capitals. The animosity between these two Eastern Conference foes had reached a boiling point, and it was obvious to all that the intensity levels of the series had skyrocketed.

It was a seesaw contest at the Verizon Center on Monday, but in the end, the visiting Bruins were able to down the host Caps 4-3 on a late tally from captain Zdeno Chara.

Boston’s towering Slovakian defenseman let loose one of his patented backscratcher slapshots that found it’s way through Washington goaltender Braden Holtby with only 1:53 to play in the game.

“I just tried to put it on the net and keep it low.  I think it was deflected off of one of their player’s stick and went in.” – Zdeno Chara

Things didn’t begin the way the Black and Gold had hoped for as they found themselves down a goal on two separate occasions during the game’s first twenty-one minutes. Russian enigma Alex Semin would be the first to get on the board – tallying the first opening period goal of the series – after firing a wrist shot through Tim Thomas amidst a late period Washington power-play.

The B’s would respond just thirty-five seconds into the middle frame when a Rich Peverley shot deflected off Holtby’s glove and into the Washington net. However, the Caps would immediately answer back on a slapshot goal from captain Alexander Ovechkin, a mere thirteen seconds after Boston had tied the score at one.

Hard work and grit would wind up championing the night in America’s capital city, as evidenced by Daniel Paille’s mid-second period goal in which he corralled a doorstep rebound and pushed it home to once again even the score at two.

“My goal was just a battle by Soupy (Gregory Campbell) and Thorty (Shawn Thornton) in the corner and then got the puck to Zans (Greg Zanon) and Zans shot it right away and me I had a ton of time in front of the net so I thought I’d make a move and I had a wide open net so it was nice to go in.” – Daniel Paille

Another bit of quick-strike offense would benefit the visiting Bruins when wily veteran Brian Rolston dug the puck out of a net-mouth scrum and shoveled it into the Capitals’ net only sixty-two seconds into the third and final period.

The Caps would certainly not go down without a fight,  especially not in their home building in front of 18,000-plus screaming fans all decked out in red hockey apparel. With exactly six minutes left in regulation, the Capitals evened the score at three after Brooks Laich would take advantage of a rare lapse in coverage from the B’s otherworldly defenseman (Zdeno Chara) and beat Tim Thomas on a breakaway.

Boston’s 6’9” captain would quickly atone for his mistake, picking up the game winning goal just more than four minutes later and lifting the B’s to a 2-1 series lead.

My Thoughts

– The Bruins’ ability to remain composed and keep a high level of confidence through the events of allowing a game-tying tally with just six minutes left on the clock and of being forced to play from behind a mere thirteen seconds after evening the score for the first time is truly impressive. Teams that can withstand the pressure of adverse moments are the ones who will make deeper runs into the postseason. The B’s certainly proved that ability during last year’s Stanley Cup run, and Monday’s win went a long way to helping the 2011-’12 Bruins squad form their own playoff identity.

“It’s very important (To stay composed) . This is a battle tested team that’s been through just about every situation possible. When you get into those situations, cooler heads prevail and you just have to continue on with what you do. That’s what we did and we came back with another big goal.” – Brian Rolston

Ben’s Three Stars:

1)Zdeno Chara (1 Goal/2 Assists)

2) Brooks Laich (1 Goal/2 Assists)

3) Chris Kelly (1 Assist/Plus-2 Rating)

Series:  Boston Leads  2-1

Next Game: Thursday April 19, 2012. 7:30 PM. Verizon Center, Washington, DC.

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WASHINGTON, DC– As I make my way down the Eastern seaboard to our nation’s great Capital, the Boston Bruins are preparing for a pivotal game three clash in enemy territory. After Nicklas Backstrom’s double overtime wrist shot lifted the Washington Capitals to a 2-1 victory at the TD Garden on Saturday afternoon, the series makes it’s way to the Verizon Center all evened up at one game a piece.

X-Factor: In games one and two, the Capitals’ newly implemented defensive strategy truly stymied most of the quality scoring chances that the Bruins would normally account for. Much like Tampa Bay’s infamous 1-3-1 system of a a year ago, the Washington defense has kept any and all Boston offense to the outside. In other words, they are taking away the center of the ice and forcing the B’s to make their attack either down the boards or through the ole “dump and chase” formula. If the Bruins hope to prolong their first Stanley Cup defense since 1973, they’ll need to find a way to crack the Caps’ stingy defense.

Series: Tied 1-1

Location: Verizon Center, Washington, DC.

Time: 7:30 P.M. (EST)

TV/Radio Info: NESN (Edwards, Brickley, Funayama) – 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers)

Tonight’s Lineup (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS:

Lucic–Krejci–Peverley

Marchand–Bergeron–Seguin

Pouliot–Kelly–Rolston

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE:

Chara–Seidenberg

Boychuk–Ference

Zanon–Corvo

GOALTENDER:

Thomas

Khudobin/Rask

Scratches– ….. Mike Mottau, Jordan Caron

Injuries:

Nathan Horton (Concussion) – Boston’s top right winger was officially ruled out of the 2012 Playoffs by General Manager Peter Chiarelli during a press conference Wednesday morning.

Tuukka Rask (Groin) — The B’s back up goaltender is still day-to-day, but has traveled with his teammates to Washington and could be backing up Tim Thomas on Monday.

Adam McQuaid (Upper Body) — In what’s become one of the more unpredictable injuries of the season, Boston’s dependable blueliner will be forced to sit out again on Monday after not making the voyage south to DC.

Opposing Goaltender: Braden Holtby (2 GP/1.00 GAA)

Prediction: After taking a split in the first two games in Boston, the Capitals will likely be re-energized by the fact that they now hold home-ice advantage in the series. Also, the team’s outstanding record from the confines of the Verizon Center should do nothing but increase the Caps’ confidence as they enter Monday night’s showdown. Look for this series to finally see some goal scoring as Alex Ovechkin finally breaks out of his shell, leading the Caps to a 4-2 victory and a 2-1 series lead.

Bruins 2 , Capitals 4

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It was Swedish superstar Nicklas Backstrom who would play the hero role at the 2:56 mark of the second overtime period, capitalizing on a Boston defensive zone turnover and firing a wrist shot past B’s goaltender Tim Thomas to send the Caps to their first victory of this postseason.

Early on, it seemed as if game number two was simply a continuation of game one that took place in Boston on Thursday. Both squads were looking to set the tone through the same type of physical play that defined the series opener.It wasn’t until the 17:57 mark of the second period that the first regulation time goal of the series would find it’s way home.

In one of the most fluky incidents of the season thus far, the Capitals would strike first, attaining their first lead of the series after Troy Brouwer was able to poke a loose puck underneath Tim Thomas and into the Boston goal. Brouwer’s first tally of the postseason would be the first playoff goal surrendered by Thomas since a Max Lapierre marker in the third period of Game 6 during the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals.

The B’s were able to tie the score just past the mid-point of the third period when some hard work and hustle from Benoit Pouliot would result in the Alfred, Ontario native’s first career playoff goal. Pouliot out-raced both Capitals’ defenseman to a loose puck in front of netminder Braden Holtby and managed to flick it into the top shelf of the Washington net.

“I think he (Braden Holtby) tried to poke-check, too, at the same time and I took a whack at it and it ended up in the net. So, like I said, sometimes just put the puck or whack at it – you never know what’s going to happen and it ended up pretty good.” – Benoit Pouliot

For the final minutes of regulation and through an entire twenty-minute overtime period, neither team could find it’s way onto the scoresheet until Backstrom’s wrister in the early going of extra frame number two.

The two squads will depart for Washington on Sunday in preparation for Games 3 and 4, to be played on Monday and Thursday respectively. Returning home with a series split should undoubtedly provide the Capitals with a huge momentum boost, especially considering their incredible home ice record this season (26-11-4).

“It means a lot. Coming home 1-1 instead of 2-0 to the Verizon Center with our own fans and giving ourselves a really good chance at this, it feels really good.” – Marcus Johansson

My Thoughts

– Leading the charge for the B’s through the first two games of this series has been the gritty third line trio of Benoit Pouliot, Chris Kelly and Brian Rolston. Not only has the third unit accounted for both Bruins’ goals in the series and each point accumulated, but it’s also proven it’s collective mettle on the defensive end of the ice. While they were the unfortunate group that were on the ice while the Caps scored their first goal, their collective commitment to defense helped neutralize Washington’s lethal second line (Semin—Backstrom—Johansson) whom they were matched up against for most of the night.

“They’ve been doing a good job for us. They scored our what, only two goals so far? So they’ve been doing a good job for us and we’ve just got to make sure to bear down on chances when we do get them.” – Johnny Boychuk

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Braden Holtby (43 Saves)

2) Nicklas Backstrom (1 Goal/Plus-1 Rating)

3) Benoit Pouliot (1 Goal)

Series:  Tied 1-1

Next Game: Monday April 16, 2012. 7:30 PM. Verizon Center, Washington, DC.

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It’s that time of year again. No more five-minute, four-on-four overtimes. No more shootouts. No more three-point games. No more sleeping. Prepare for long nights of thrilling hockey, folks, as sixteen teams prepare to compete for the most coveted prize in sports: the Stanley Cup. After raising the franchise’s sixth championship banner to the rafters of the TD Garden this past October, the Boston Bruins have quickly gone from a team with a chip on their shoulder to a team with a Texas-sized target pasted right between the numbers on their back. Aiming to become the first National Hockey League team to successfully defend their title in over a decade, the Black and Gold enter this year’s postseason as defending champions for the first time since 1972-’73.

Despite rampant speculation over the past few weeks that suggested the Black and Gold would open their title defense against the Northeast division rival Ottawa Senators, a late swerve in the standings has resulted in the Bruins facing a date with Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. Despite the fact that the Caps are far from your average, run-of-the-mill number seven seed, I still believe that the Bruins will win this series and advance past the first round for the fourth consecutive season.

Here’s a look at how the two teams stack up, in advance of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series that is set to begin at the TD Garden on Thursday evening. Note: the number in parenthesis is the team’s overall rank each specified category (i.e. Boston is (3rd) in the NHL in goals per game).

Offense:  WSH–> 222 Goals/2.66 Goals Per Game (14th) — BOS–> 269 Goals/3.17 Goals Per Game (3rd)

Without question, the star power on the Capitals’ front line far exceeds that of the Bruins, and most any other team in the league for that matter. When healthy, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom provide the Caps with one of the most dangerous and dynamic forward duos in the entire NHL. While Backstrom has yet to return to form since recovering from a concussion suffered in early January — posting only two points in four games — , it wouldn’t be farfetched to suggest that the former 100-point pivot could quickly turn things around in the postseason.

The Boston top-six has proven strong despite the loss of last season’s playoff hero Nathan Horton. Anchored by sure-bet Selke favorite Patrice Bergeron and sensational sophomores Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand, five of the B’s top-six forwards posted 50-plus point campaigns in 2011-’12. A strong performance from hulking winger Milan Lucic would go a long way towards disrupting Caps’ rookie goaltender Braden Holtby and create space for playmaking linemates David Krejci and Rich Peverley.

Advantage– Washington (Slight)

Defense: WSH–>230 Goals Against/2.76 Goals Against Per Game (21st) — BOS–> 202 Goals Against/2.42 Goals Against Per Game (6th)

The emergence of former-Bruin Dennis Wideman as a powerful offensive force on the Caps blueline has done a lot to off-set the lack of production from the oft-injured Mike Green. This, along with the transformation of the Karl Alzner–John Carlson combo into a true shut-down defense pair have provided Washington with some new-found stability on the back-end.

Despite the seemingly unpredictable injury to Adam McQuaid, the Boston blueline remains one of the deepest and most defensively responsible in the league. Lead by the best defense pair of the 2011 playoffs in Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg, the Bruins possess eight NHL-caliber rearguards. While the B’s may lack a true offensive threat on the back-end, their ability to play with six reliable and defensively responsible defensemen is what sets them apart from every other team in this league.

Advantage– Boston

Depth: WSH–>Eight (8) Forwards With 30-Plus Points – BOS–> Nine (9) Forwards With 30-Plus Points

Anchored by power-forward Brooks Laich and sophomore pivot Marcus Johansson, the Caps secondary scoring has been ever-present during the 2011-’12 campaign and has remained one of the team’s biggest strengths. While many like to think that the Washington offense is completely reliant upon their top line, a simple stats check will tell you that only 33% of the Caps’ goals this season came from their top forward trio.

Boston’s biggest strength during their championship season in 2011 was without doubt their four-line offensive depth. With three lines that posses the ability to score goals and a reliable fourth unit that can be trusted to provide the occasional spark, head coach Claude Julien has a wide variety of options when it comes to line-matching during the postseason.

Advantage– Boston

Special Teams: WSH–>16.7% (18th) Power Play / 81.6% (21st) Penalty Kill — BOS–> 17.2% (15th) Power Play / 83.5% (11th) Penalty Kill

Despite having a plethora of offensive talent at their disposal for use on the man-advantage, the Capitals just haven’t been able to put it together on the power-play this season. While a 16.7 % success rate isn’t exactly terrible, it would be reasonable for one to suggest that a team with the likes of Ovechkin, Backstrom and Semin should be closer to the top of the league when it comes to scoring on the power play.

Perhaps the single biggest “X-Factor” in this series will be the productivity of the Boston power-play units. While the Black and Gold did possess a middle-of-the-pack power-play over the course of the entire 82-game regular season slate, they most certainly didn’t close out the campaign they way they’d hoped. The B’s finished the year with goals on only two of their final twenty-one chances with the man-advantage and have registered only five power-play goals since March 3.

Advantage– Boston (Slight)

Goaltending: WSH–>Braden Holtby (7 GP/2.49 GAA) — BOS–> Tim Thomas (59 GP/2.36 GAA)

After losing both Tomas Vokoun and Michael Neuvirth to lower body injuries, the Capitals have turned to rookie ‘tender Braden Holtby, in the hopes that the 22-year-old Lloydminster, Saskatchewan native can lead them to the promised land. Holtby has posted impressive numbers in his brief NHL career, going 14-4-3 with a 2.02 GAA in 21 appearances. Boston would be wise to employ a “crash the net” type strategy and keep at least one body in Holtby’s crease at all times in order to keep the youngster from establishing any sort of rhythm in goal.

“We have to get pucks on their goalie. If it’s the goalie that’s been playing, Braden Holtby, I think he’s a good, young goalie he’s just inexperienced so we have to get traffic and pucks there.” — Peter Chiarelli

Mr. Conn Smythe, Mr. Vezina, Tim Thomas will be back in goal for the Black and Gold. After making 59 appearances in the regular season — two more than the 2010-2011 regular season — the B’s goaltender will look to duplicate the superhuman (1.98 GAA, .940 Save Percentage) splits that he posted during last year’s playoffs.

Advantage– Boston (Major)

Coaching: WSH–>Dale Hunter (1st Season) — BOS–> Claude Julien (5th Season)

The long-time bench boss of the OHL’s London Knights took over in Washington following the firing the Bruce Boudreau in November of 2011. While his tenure in the NHL may be brief (60 games coached), Dale Hunter’s reputation as a hard line-matcher precedes him wherever he goes.

“That is a big distinction between (former coach) Bruce Boudreau and Dale, he’s a real hard matcher…I think that plays to Claude’s strength because he can respond, mix the lines a little bit. I think our depth through the forward position allows us to mix the lines and throw a hard matcher off.” — Peter Chiarelli

On the opposite bench will be former Jack Adams award winner and reigning Stanley Cup champion, Claude Julien. Making his fifth postseason appearance in five tries since taking over at the helm of the Black and Gold, Julien has posted an impressive 6-3 record in playoff series since his arrival in the Hub.

Advantage– Boston (Major)

Home-Ice Advantage: WSH–> 26-11-4 (56 Points) — BOS–> 24-14-3 (51 Points)

The Caps were heavily reliant upon the friendly confines of the Verizon Center in 2011-2012. In fact, over 60% of Washington’s points were accrued on home-ice in the Nation’s Capital.

Boston was far from perfect on home-ice this season, but still managed to do enough to send the fans home happy after more than half of the team’s 41 regular season home games. However, as we learned last year, the B’s have another gear in the postseason when it comes to defending home-ice. During last spring’s run to the Stanley Cup, the Bruins posted a remarkable 10-3 record at the TD Garden.

Advantage– Washington (Slight)

Road Warriors: WSH–> 16-21-4 (36 Points) – BOS–> 25-15-1 (51 Points)

The Caps’ continual road woes very nearly cost them a chance at the postseason. Posting a 16-21-4 mark in 41 games this season, the Capitals are the (not-so) proud owners of the worst road record amongst teams qualifying for the 2012 Eastern Conference playoffs.

Boston’s extraordinary success outside of TD Garden made it possible for them to succeed without being as dominant on home-ice as other Eastern Conference playoff teams. In one of the league’s many statistical oddities, the B’s actually accounted for exactly the same amount of points (51) at home this season, as they did on the road.

Advantage– Boston (Major)

Intangibles: WSH–> Two (2) Players Who’ve Won A Stanley Cup — BOS–> Nineteen (19) Players Who’ve Won A Stanley Cup

After failing to advance past the second round for the fourth consecutive season, General Manager George McPhee went out this summer and acquired Roman Hamrlik, Troy Brouwer and former-Nashville playoff hero Joel Ward in an attempt to create a new culture within his locker room. After relatively quiet regular seasons from all three, it will be interesting to see if they can create a spark during the postseason.

With the exceptions of Mark Recchi, Michael Ryder and Tomas Kaberle, the Bruins will be bringing back an entire roster of players who experienced the feeling of a Stanley Cup championship just one year ago. As team GM Peter Chiarelli remarked during an Easter Sunday conference call, experience is something that can never be underestimated, when it comes to postseason hockey.

“The experience that we’ve gained from winning – I’ve talked about it before, the ability to avoid panic is an attribute that’s carried over also… Plus, the confidence you get from having won will be important. You can never underestimate the value of the experience.” — Peter Chiarelli

Advantage– Boston (Major)

Schedule: Game 1 –> Thursday April 12, 7:30 PM, TD Garden

                  Game 2 –> Saturday April 14, 3:00 PM, TD Garden

                  Game 3 –> Monday April 16, 7:30 PM, Verizon Center

                  Game 4 –> Thursday April 19, 7:30 PM, Verizon Center

                 **Game 5** –> Saturday April 21, 3:00 PM, TD Garden

**Game 6** –> Sunday April 22, TBA, Verizon Center

**Game 7** –> Wednesday April 25, TBA, TD Garden

** If Necessary

Series Prediction: Perhaps this isn’t the ideal match-up for the Bruins in round one. Perhaps the Caps do possess one of the league’s most dynamic forward tandems in the form of Ovechkin and Backstrom. Perhaps the injury to Nathan Horton takes away from the Bruins’ “intimidation factor” and depth amongst the forward ranks. But if there’s one thing we learned during last summer’s thrilling journey that brought the Stanley Cup to Causeway street for the first time in 39 years, it’s that you can never count out the Black and Gold. No matter the circumstances.

Bruins Win In 6

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After a quiet first period, that saw neither team find the score sheet and the only action coming via some mid-period fisticuffs from Shawn Thornton and Robyn Regehr, the two squads went into the rooms in a zero-zero tie. It was at the 3:15 mark of the second period that Patrice Bergeron would find a wide open Tyler Seguin streaking towards goal for his team-leading 28th tally of the campaign.

“Look at my lineys (linemates Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand), they’re easy to play with and I think if you look at some of my goals tonight, they set most of them up. Very fortunate to play with them and capitalize.” — Tyler Seguin

Late in the frame, the Sabres would draw even on former Bruins’ draft choice Brad Boyes‘ seventh tally of the season. The score would remain tied at one until the mid-point of the third and final frame when Boyes would collect his second goal of the night and eighth of the season. A mere 1:44 later, Buffalo would add to their lead when Jason Pominville corralled a lose puck out of a net-mouth scramble to give the Sabres a 3-1 advantage.

Boston would answer back seventy seconds later when Seguin blasted a slapshot past Sabres’ netminder Jhonas Enroth whilst on the power-play to cut the deficit to one. Saturday’s two-goal performance gives Seguin a total of 67 points (29G/38A) on the season, as he sets the record for being the youngest Boston Bruin in history to lead his team in scoring.

“It’s pretty amazing. It’s definitely an honor. Obviously again, like I was saying before my linemates make the game a lot easier for me.” — Tyler Seguin

With just under eight minutes to play in regulation, the B’s would even the score at three after Brad Marchand sent a backhand roof-job over the glove of Enroth for his 28th of the season.

After playing through a scoreless final seven minutes and through the five-minute overtime, the two squads would be forced to settle it in the shootout. It would be Patrice Bergeron — who enjoyed a three-point night of his own — that would score the only goal of the NHL’s skills competition, securing a 4-3 home-ice victory for the B’s.

My Thoughts

– Despite Saturday’s game not holding any tangible value when it comes to playoff positioning, the Boston Bruins third period effort was truly something to be applauded. In a game with nothing but personal pride on the line, and facing a two-goal deficit with less than ten minutes to play, it would have been easy for any team to “mail it in” so to speak. That didn’t happen at TD Garden on Saturday. The B’s fought and clawed their way back into the game, and eventually took home the two points. A victory like that –no matter the stakes — truly says a lot about a team’s character and resiliency and bodes well for a team poised to defend it’s Stanley Cup Championship.

“We wanted to finish on a good note. We had a tough start, digging out by a couple goals, but we showed the character that we need going into the playoffs. We battled back, and that’s what you have to do if you want to win games. We’re proud of what we accomplished tonight.” – Brad Marchand

“That’s just it. I think we weren’t just willing to just throw in the towel and say, ‘OK, it’s a nothing game. They’ve got a two-goal lead, let’s just finish this game.’ But our guys, after they scored that second goal, there was some life on the bench, some of that bitterness that we got accustomed to hearing, and guys talking about it not being good enough. We had to get ourselves back in this game, and we responded with two big goals and found a way to win in the shootout.” — Claude Julien

Ben’s Three Stars:

1)Patrice Bergeron (3 Assists/Plus-2 Rating)

2) Tyler Seguin (2 Goals/Plus-2 Rating)

3) Jhonas Enroth (38 Saves)

What’s Next?

– After completing the 82-game regular season slate, the Black and Gold will now kick off their Stanley Cup defense on Thursday evening, right back here at the TD Garden against the . The Sabres will return home to Buffalo for a locker clean out after missing the post-season for the first time since 2008-2009.

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Things didn’t begin well for the Black and Gold as Crosby fired one over the glove of Marty Turco after finding himself all alone in front of the Boston net during a 4-on-4 situation. On the play, Pens’ forward Pascal Dupuis picked up an assist to extend his current 15-game point streak, the longest in the NHL for any player this season. Only seven minutes later, Pittsburgh would extend their lead when a fluky bounce would wind up with the puck in the Boston goal, and Pens’ defenseman Paul Martin being credited with his second tally of the season. The B’s would get one back late in the opening frame when Benoit Pouliot made a brilliant deke through the Pittsburgh defense and beat goaltender Brent Johnson upstairs with a backhander.

A mere eighteen seconds into the middle period, David Krejci would set up Milan Lucic for his 25^th goal of the year off a beautiful no-look drop pass in the slot. “He’s definitely got that in his bag of passes. It’s great that he was able to find me” said Lucic during his post-game media scrum.

However, it would be with just under three minutes to go in the frame that things would begin to go awry for the Black and Gold. Assigned two minor penalties in a brief nine second span – both of the highly questionable variety – the B’s suddenly found themselves in a 3-on-5 situation against one of the league’s most deadly power-play units. The Penguins wouldn’t waste any time, quickly pushing two power-play tallies past Turco in a 48-second span. The first came from the stick of James Neal, his team-leading 40^th of the season, and the other came as Sidney Crosby’s second of the night and the seventh of his injury-shortened campaign.

“It’s just unfortunate that we get two men down and they are able to capitalize. It’s just one of those games where we weren’t getting many calls. We’ve just got to…you know, we’re not a bunch of complainers; we’re just going to play through it.” – Milan Lucic

“They got a dangerous power play you got to keep them off it.  Their stars took advantage and at the same time we got to kill those off, but you can’t do anything about it now – they buried their chances.” – Rich Peverley

Pittsburgh would all but end it in the early parts of the final frame after gritty forward Aaron Asham deflected a Craig Adams wrist shot into the Boston net. The B’s would make it close again after Milan Lucic connected with Rich Peverley on a 2-on-1 break to set up number 49’s eleventh tally of the season. However, it would simply be too little, too late as Boston fell 5-3 on home ice to the Penguins.

My Thoughts

– After reliable blueliner Johnny Boychuk went down with an apparent left leg/ankle injury midway through the third period of an essentially meaningless game, I’d expect that the Bruins will proceed with extreme caution in their final two regular season contests, as to avoid any further ailments to key players.

“Those kind of injuries, you’ve got to kind of let the night go by and the next day you get a better idea. We’re keeping our fingers crossed right now that it’s not bad news.” — Claude Julien

If I were to pose a guess, I’d hedge my bets on the B’s calling up a couple of “Black Aces” from Providence a little bit early, in order to give a few veterans some valuable rest. I would not be surprised if a few players — Chara, Seidenberg, Thomas, Bergeron, Krejci to name some candidates — did not even make the trip to Ottawa with the team for Thursday’s tilt with the Senators.

– I had the luxury of speaking with new Bruins’ defenseman and former Michigan State standout Torey Krug following the B’s 5-3 loss. The 5’9″ Livonia, Michigan native logged 18:18 minutes of ice time during his NHL debut, whilst being on the ice for two goals against, and two goals for. On a personal note, the former MSU Spartan certainly seemed like a stand up guy, who was truly relishing the opportunity he’s been given to perform at the NHL level.

“The biggest advice I was given was have fun and be myself. You know, when it comes down to it, it’s just another hockey game and it’s just a level higher. All the guys said, ‘Have fun, you’re going to remember this for the rest of your life,’ and I think I did that.” – Torey Krug

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Sidney Crosby (2 Goals/1 Assist)

2) Kris Letang (3 Assists)

3) David Krejci (2 Assists)

What’s Next?

– Up next for the Black and Gold is what looks to be a first round playoff preview, when they travel to ScotiaBank Place for a Thursday evening showdown with the Ottawa Senators. The Pens will return home to the friendly confines of the CONSOL Energy Center for a contest with the New York Rangers on Thursday.

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New Jersey Devils (96 Points) Record Against: 4-0-0

Strengths: Arguably the most defensively responsible team in the Eastern Conference, each and every line – with the exception of the top unit – is better than solid in the defensive zone, while still possessing the ability to contribute on the offensive end. The Devils are also a team built with hoards of veterans, who have been to the rodeo a time or two. Aided by the league’s top penalty kill unit, aging netminders Martin Brodeur and Johan Hedberg have posted a respectable 2.54 goals against average this season.

Weaknesses: Outside of the top line of Ilya Kovalchuk, Adam Henrique and Zach Parise – which is without doubt one of the NHL’s most lethal forward trios – the Devils struggle to find consistent secondary scoring. While the return of Travis Zajac will likely go a long way to helping solve that problem, New Jersey is fairly heavily reliant on production from the star-studded Kovalchuk line.

Conclusion: While unlikely that these two squads will make acquaintances in round one, I’m fairly confident that I’d give the Bruins the nod if and when they meet the Devils in the playoffs.

 Ottawa Senators (90 Points) Record Against: 4-1-0, 1 Left To Play

Strengths: Armed with the Northeast division’s most lethal power-play unit (18.3%) and a 3.00 goals per game average, the Sens are one of the more offensively prolific teams headed for the post-season. Anchored on the back-end by hands-down Norris Trophy favorite Erik Karlsson (19G/58A) and former-Bruin Sergei Gonchar (4G/31A), the Senators also possess the league’s best tandem of puck-moving defenseman. Lead by superstar pivot Jason Spezza, Ottawa’s front line consists of youthful and extremely dynamic forward corps.

Weaknesses: Outside of veteran captain Daniel Alfredsson and a few others, the better part of the Sens’ roster hasn’t experienced the intensity of playoff hockey. Also, the Sens aren’t known to be a physical team. With the exception of enforcer Chris Neil, Ottawa does not employ many physically imposing skaters, something that could put them at a severe disadvantage against a bruising bunch like the Bruins.

Conclusion: Without doubt, this would be the match-up I’m sure most Bruins’ fans would like to see the most. The B’s have fared well against Ottawa this season and could likely easily wear down the Sens over the course of a seven game series.

Washington Capitals (88 Points) Record Against: 1-2-1

Strengths: With the return of puck-handling whiz Nicklas Backstrom and his subsequent reunion with uber-star Alexander Ovechkin, the Caps once again find themselves in possession of one of the most dynamic top lines in all of hockey. The Caps unquestioned ability to score has been complimented this season by the additions of gritty forwards Joel Ward, Jeff Halpern and Troy Brouwer.

Weaknesses: After three consecutive early playoff exits – despite holding one of the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference – the Caps’ ability to “win the big one” has still yet to be answered. Whether it’s due to a character issue in the Washington room , as many in the mainstream media like to call it, or a variety of outside factors, the Capitals will be tethered to that identity until they’re able to escape round two.

Conclusion: Boston hasn’t exactly matched up well with the Caps this season and a first round match-up with Ovechkin and the gang wouldn’t work in the favor of the defending Cup champs. Despite all of their playoff struggles, this Washington group can still be extremely dangerous simply because of their immense offensive talent.

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The hatred was brewing early on as Flyers’ rookie Zac Rinaldo and Bruins’ fourth line enforcer Gregory Campbell dropped the gloves just two minutes into action, for round one of what many expected to become a ten-round joust between two of the NHL’s heavyweight squads.

“I’m just trying to help out anyway I can, and that situation, I think it was good in front of a home crowd, just to spark a little life into the team.” – Gregory Campbell

Boston would jump out to a 1-0 lead at the 6:23 mark of the opening frame when Chris Kelly collected his 17^th of the season off a Benoit Pouliot rebound. The goal marked the first time the Black and Gold have scored the first goal of a game since a home-ice matinee with the Islanders…..back on March 3. Late in the period, the B’s would double their lead when Tyler Seguin slipped one through the five hole of Ilya Bryzgalov after a sweet little behind-the-net dish from Patrice Bergeron.

“It was really nice to get that first one and then obviously get the second one.  It felt good coming in after the first, it’s something we haven’t had in a while.” – Chris Kelly

After some early pressure and a failed power-play chance kicked off the second period for Boston, rugged blueliner Johnny Boychuk threw down the mitts with former Pittsburgh Penguin Max Talbot for the afternoon’s second edition of the fisticuffs.

Philadelphia would cut the Boston lead in half midway through the second period when rookie forward Matt Read would deflect a Danny Briere wrist shot past Tim Thomas for his 20^th goal of the season, with only two seconds remaining on a Flyers’ power-play.

With less than five minutes to play in regulation, the fears of the 17, 565 Black and Gold supporters in attendance at TD Garden would be confirmed when former Columbus Blue Jacket Jakub Voracek would even the score at two as he deflected a Braydon Coburn shot past Thomas for his 14^th tally of the season.

“It would have been easy for us to let our heads hang and just kind of stop playing. But I think our mindset was good today, we wanted to win this game.” — Dennis Seidenberg

The two sides would then play to a scoreless tie through the remaining four minutes of the third and through the entire five minute overtime period. After the first five participants of the shootout found a way to tickle the twine, Tim Thomas came up with a humongous stop on Danny Briere to lift the B’s to a 3-2 home-ice victory.

“We needed to show up and have a good game at home. Things haven’t been going our way. That’s a polite way of saying it lately. To battle out tonight and come up with a good, solid strong game at home and pull out with two points, is hopefully very big for us moving down the road.” – Tim Thomas

My Thoughts

– While surrendering a two-goal lead in any game is never a good sign for a hockey club, Saturday’s contest seemed to resemble a much more Bruin-like effort than what we’ve seen recently from the Black and Gold. The passes were crisper. They were willing to sacrifice the body to make a play, something that’s been missing over their recent losing streak. The forwards, Milan Lucic in particular, seemed to be a lot stronger with the puck and often created scoring chances for themselves with hard drives to the net.

– On both Philadelphia goals, a Flyer forward out-muscled a B’s defenseman to secure proper position to deflect the puck past Tim Thomas. The B’s must do a better job in front of their netminder if they’d like to build on Saturday’s winning effort.

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Patrice Bergeron (1 Assist/Shootout Winner)

2) Matt Read (1 Goal/1 Assist)

3) Tyler Seguin (1 Goal)

What’s Next?

– The B’s will be back at it on Monday evening here at TD Garden when they host Phil Kessel and the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs. The Flyers will travel home for a Sunday afternoon matinee against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

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Records: New York 26-29-1 (61 Points) , Boston 38-21-3 (79 Points)

Location: TD Garden , Boston, Massachusetts

Time: 1:00 P.M. (EST)

TV/Radio Info: NESN (Edwards, Brickley, Funayama) – 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers)

Last Game: New Jersey Devils 3 , Bruins 4 (OT) ……. Islanders 3 , Philadelphia Flyers 6

Tonight’s Lineup (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS:

Marchand–Bergeron–Rolston

Lucic–Krejci–Seguin

Pouliot–Kelly–Caron

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE:

Chara–Boychuk

Seidenberg–Mottau

McQuaid–Zanon

GOALTENDER:

Rask

Thomas

Scratches– …… Andrew Bodnarchuk , Max Sauve

Injuries:

Nathan Horton (Concussion) – Boston’s top right winger remains sidelined with a concussion he suffered back on January 21.

Rich Peverley (MCL) – Peverley will sit out his seventh consecutive game as he continues to rehab his MCL injury.

Andrew Ference (Lower Body)  — The B’s dependable D-man will miss his first game with what’s simply being called a “lower body” injury. 

Last Time We Met: Bruins 6 , Islanders 0

– The last time these two Eastern Conference foes met was back on November 17th at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. The B’s hammered the Isles in that one, winning by a 6-0 score, thanks to a three point night from third line pivot Chris Kelly.

Prediction: After a clutch 4-3 overtime win over New Jersey, I think that the Boston Bruins will be able to finally put together a pair of wins. Look for the Krejci line to stay hot as the B’s pick up the win on home ice.

Islanders 2 , Bruins 5

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Looking to spark a struggling offense that hadn’t light the lamp on home ice since February 11^th, Boston bench boss Claude Julien broke out a new set of forward lines for Thursday’s contest. The new combinations paid immediate dividends for the B’s as only into the game Tyler Seguin connected with new linemate David Krejci on a cross-ice pass that would lead to number 46’s 14^th tally of the season and an early 1-0 lead for Boston.

“He’s (Seguin) got a great vision and he found me basically wide open. So, yeah, everything. He’s got a shot, he’s got speed, vision, so he played a really strong game tonight” — David Krejci

The B’s new first line would strike once again before the period was over as Milan Lucic found Seguin wide-open in the slot for his 21^st goal of the season. The newly formed Lucic—Krejci—Seguin line combined for a plethora of scoring chances in the opening frame, throwing five shots on Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur.

“An early goal was huge, so it was great that we were able to get two goals in our first three shifts and we even had more chances that we could’ve got right at the start of the game, so it was good we were feeling it early and were able to establish that lead to take off the pressure.” – Milan Lucic

It was in the second period that the B’s fortunes would take a 360-degree turn for the worst. It started just after the 6:00 mark of the period when a Joe Corvo turnover – something that’s becoming a common sight here in Boston – lead to a Devils’ 2-on-1 and captain Zach Parise’s 24^th tally of the season. It was only seven and a half minutes later that New Jersey would tie the score at two when Corvo vacated his position in front of the Boston goal, allowing Patrik Elias to tap home his 20^th of the year.

“I mean, I don’t know how you want me to answer that because I don’t throw my players under the bus, but obviously he had a bit of a tough outing.” – Claude Julien

Just when the B’s thought they’d escape what was a dreadfully played second frame, David Clarkson pushed one past Boston netminder Tim Thomas from the side of the net mouth to give the Devils the 3-2 lead as the teams went to the rooms for the second intermission.

The B’s would get a much needed boost at the 5:30 mark of the final frame when Krejci corralled a bouncing puck and hammered it past Brodeur to even the score at 3. Both teams seemed to enter into a defensive style of hockey for the remainder of the period, limiting the number of quality scoring chances at both ends of the ice. Neither team was able to light the lamp for the remainder of regulation as we went into overtime with the two squads still deadlocked at three.

With just over three minutes to go in what was a high-octane extra frame it was Krejci who would play hero, putting home his third goal of the night to secure the Bruins’ first home-ice overtime victory of the season. Krejci’s 16^th tally of the season put the finishing touches on the Czech-born pivot’s second career hat-trick (3^rd if you count post-season).

Accounting for all four Boston goals and combining for points on the night, Boston’s newly formed top-line was undoubtedly the driving force behind the Bruins fourth victory against New Jersey this season.

“Obviously he’s (Seguin) got great speed but I think if you look at the two of us, me and David, I think we’re at our best too when we’re moving our feet and playing that high-tempo kind of game. I think that’s what kind of got us started, especially with that first shift and that first goal. – Milan Lucic

Thursday’s victory completed Boston’s first season series sweep of the Devils since the 1985-’86 campaign, back when Raymond Bourque was patrolling the Boston blueline. Something the Bruins hope will give them a mental advantage in case these two squads meet in the post-season.

“Today is I think the only positive thing we could take about the series. I think these guys, they know with the experience they got the past few years and especially last year, that it’s a new ballgame when it (playoffs) starts. Hopefully we’ll get in and hopefully we’ll have an opportunity to play against them because if we do it means we’re going to be in a good spot.” – Martin Brodeur

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) David Krejci (3 Goals)

2) Tyler Seguin (1 Goal, 1 Assist)

3) Milan Lucic (2 Assists)

What’s Next?

– The Bruins will finish out their three-game home-stand on Saturday afternoon when they play host to John Tavares and the New York Islanders. The Devils will have a quick turn-around as they leave the Hub for a trip to Washington for a date with Alex Ovechkin‘s Capitals on Friday.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

“I’m not (happy). I’ve been walking around for two days with a headache. Just because I didn’t decide to lay on the ice and get carted off doesn’t mean it wasn’t a cheap shot. In my opinion, he saw my numbers and took an opportunity to seek revenge from the game prior (for his own hit against Turris). Hopefully he’s a man tomorrow and he’ll stand up when I come after him. I’m not going to try to hurt him. I’m going to try to fight him.” — Joe Corvo

Well, despite being on the ice together on numerous occasions during Tuesday night’s game, Corvo did nothing in the way of even check Turris, never mind drop the gloves with him. The former Carolina Hurricane claimed that Turris declined his invitation to fight during his post-game media session.

“I asked him and he wasn’t interested.  It ended like that. His teammates said he wasn’t going to fight me so that’s it.  I wasn’t going to be the idiot chasing him around.” – Joe Corvo

Taking Corvo at his word (because I have no reason not to), one can easily assume that Ottawa’s undersized forward likely did refuse to fight the Boston blueliner. Even if Turris had declined his invitation for fisticuffs, one would think that the Bruins’ 6’1″ rearguard would at least exact a bit of “revenge” through physical play or (clean) hits. Corvo wanted no part of it.

Now, with eight NHL defenseman in the fold, head coach Claude Julien has been given a variety of options when it comes to how he will organize the back-end of his squad. With this in mind, after actions (or lack thereof) tonight that may cause some to question number fourteen’s character, as well as yet another lackluster defensive performance, I don’t think it’s farfetched to think that Corvo could find himself joining us scribes in the press box sooner rather than later.

The game did not begin the way the B’s envisioned it as it took them nearly seven minutes to register their first shot on goal against Sens’ rookie/sophomore ‘tender Robin Lehner. Things went from bad to worse for Boston as two first frame penalties put the Bruins into a hole. While they were able to successfully kill of the first Ottawa man advantage, the Sens were able to jump ahead after defense prodigy Erik Karlsson blasted a point shot past Thomas amidst their second power-play of the evening. The goal was Karlsson’s league leading (amongst defensemen) 15^th of the campaign as the 21-year-old Swede continues to run away from the rest of the pack in the race for the Norris Trophy. Despite a late period power play chance, the B’s went to the locker room facing a 1-0 deficit.

“Our power play’s got to come through.  I think that was the let down tonight.” — Joe Corvo

The second frame was much of the same for a Boston club that simply couldn’t supply the energy needed to compete in such a pivotal divisional contest. The B’s only managed 15 total shots through the first two periods of play against a young Senators goalie that was making only his third start all season.  Luckily for the B’s, Tim Thomas stood on his head throughout the game, denying the Sens any chance to extend their lead.

“He’s a fantastic goaltender and a huge role model for me having grown up liking him a lot. I watched him last year while we were in the playoffs down in Binghamton and how huge he was for this team and he came up big every single night and helped them win a Cup. He’s a great goalie and it was an honor playing against him tonight.” – Robin Lehner

In the third, the B’s were once again lucky enough to be put on the man advantage with countless opportunities to even the score at one. With only 2:09 remaining in the game, Senators’ blueliner Sergei Gonchar was whistled for hooking, resulting in Boston’s fourth power-play of the evening. Unfortunately for the 17,565 Black and Gold supporters that packed into TD Garden on Tuesday, the B’s still couldn’t muster much in the way of a quality scoring chance, even with Thomas pulled for the extra attacker.

The 1-0 defeat marks the Bruins’ eight loss in thirteen February contests and the fifth time that they’ve been shutout during the month. Boston’s streak of consecutive games without stringing together back-to-back wins has now extended to a staggering 21 contests, dating back to January 10^th through the 12^th.

Being unable to build momentum after a victory has been a serious issue for Boston as of late. During the aforementioned 21-game stretch, the B’s have scored only eleven goals in the nine games following a victory. The Bruins have won exactly zero of those nine games.

More importantly, tonight’s win moves the Senators into a point of first place in the Northeast division.The Bruins do have the luxury of having four games in hand over the Sens, but that shouldn’t diminish the accomplishments of this Ottawa squad. Just one year after finishing dead last in the Eastern Conference, GM Bryan Murray and new head coach Paul MacLean have completely turned the Ottawa franchise around. Never has “what a difference a year makes” been a truer statement in the NHL.

“I don’t think we knew what to expect going into this year. We worked hard to get where we are. I don’t think we took anything for granted. It’s always hard work, always trying to get better. Also I think we have a great group and we have a lot of fun together. I think during a tough schedule like an NHL season, it’s important to use the off days to gather some energy, I think this team sticks together, doing activities together and having fun so it doesn’t feel like such a drag.” – Daniel Alfredsson

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Robin Lehner (32 Saves)

2) Tim Thomas (37 Saves)

3) Erik Karlsson (1 Goal, 4 Shots)

What’s Next?

– Up next for the B’s as they continue on their three game home-stand will be Zach Parise and the New Jersey Devils on Thursday evening at the TD Garden.  The B’s will then finish up the three-game set on Saturday afternoon against the New York Islanders. The Sens will be off until Friday when they host the Chicago Blackhawks at ScotiaBank Place.

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Records: Ottawa 33-23-8 (74 Points) ,Boston 37-20-3 (77 Points)

Location: TD Garden , Boston, Massachusetts

Time: 7:00 P.M. (EST)

TV/Radio Info: NESN (Edwards, Brickley, Funayama) – 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers)

Last Game: Bruins 5 , Senators 3 ……. New York Islanders 2 , Senators 5

Tonight’s Lineup (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS:

Marchand–Bergeron–Seguin

Lucic–Kelly–Krejci

Pouliot–Rolston–Caron

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE:

Chara–Seidenberg

Ference–Corvo

Mottau–McQuaid

GOALTENDER:

Thomas

Rask

Scratches– …… Andrew Bodnarchuk , Max Sauve , Greg Zanon

Injuries:

Nathan Horton (Concussion) – Boston’s top right winger remains sidelined with a concussion he suffered back on January 21.

Rich Peverley (MCL) – Peverley will sit out his fifth consecutive game as he continues to rehab his MCL injury.

Johnny Boychuk (Concussion) — The B’s top-pair D-man will miss his first game in quite some time as he sits out with what’s being called a “mild concussion” stemming from the hit he took from the Sens’ Chris Neil on Saturday in Ottawa.

Last Time We Met: Bruins 5 , Senators 3

– The last time these two Northeast division rivals made acquaintances was just three days ago as the Bruins held off a late charge by the Sens to win a 5-3 contest at ScotiaBank Place in Ottawa. Despite a pair of late goals from Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson, Patrice Bergeron would seal a Boston victory with an empty net tally with under a minute to play in the game.

Stat Of Note: Tonight’s contest will likely mark the Bruins debut for at least one of yesterday’s additions made by team GM Peter Chiarelli. Brian Rolston and Mike Mottau have already joined the team in Boston and it’s been reported that Greg Zanon will arrive in the Hub at some point before game time.

Prediction: Something tells me that the streak of 20 consecutive games without back-to-back wins that the Bruins have been mired in for the past month and a half will finally come to a close tonight. I think that the Bruins will be rejuvenated by yesterday’s deadline acquisitions and will pull out a big victory over their division rival on home ice this evening.

Senators 2 , Bruins 5

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Down two of their top-six forwards for what looks like an extended period of time, the Boston Bruins have found themselves in an interesting situation as the February 27 trade deadline approaches. As this year’s trading deadline drew closer, hockey pundits in the Hub rightfully suggested that the Bruins simply needed to add a couple of depth pieces to their Stanley Cup champion core. However, without Horton and Peverley, the B’s lineup looks like an absolute mess. Check for yourself this evening when the team takes on the Jets from Winnipeg at 8 PM.

Under these new found circumstances, I’ve thrown together a few trade ideas that one could assume Chiarelli has at least thought about since hearing of the severity of the knee injury to his prized acquisition from one year ago. Keep in mind that these are IDEAS, and if the Boston lineup was at full strength, none of these would even become a consideration.

1.) —–> To Boston: Rick Nash, Curtis Sanford

—–> To Columbus: Tuukka Rask, Dougie Hamilton, Jordan Caron, 1st Round Pick, 3rd Round Pick

– Let’s start with the obvious elephant in the room. Columbus captain Rick Nash is available to be had for the first time in his nine-year NHL career. The list of team’s who’d like to have big no. 61 in one of their sweaters? It’s 30-teams long. However, the list of team’s he’d accept a deal to? Reportedly only 5-teams long. Luckily for Boston, rumors have it that the Hub of Hockey is indeed on Nash’s brief list of acceptable locations. The 6’4″ Brampton, Ontario native is a prototypical power-forward with 40-50 goal potential, IF put in the right situation. The 27-year-old Nash would instantly become the premier forward in the Boston arsenal, and could be paired with budding star Tyler Seguin for this, and many years to come.

2.) —–> To Boston: Patrick Kane

—–> To Chicago: Tim Thomas

  — There is no questioning the on-ice talents of Patrick Kane. Despite all the questions of character and judgements of what he does when he is away from the rink, Patrick Kane remains one of the most skilled forwards in the entire National Hockey League. He is a United States Olympian. He scored the game winner in a clinching game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final. He’s scored at least 20 goals in each of his four full seasons with Chicago. Kane would provide an instant lift to a struggling Boston offense and would, like Nash, instantly become the most powerful offensive force in the B’s lineup. While it would be excruciatingly difficult to give up the defending Vezina trophy winner, a 23-year old proven all-star with a reasonable cap hit would be one heck of a return for an aging netminder. The reason this makes sense for the ‘Hawks is not only the fact that they have enough depth at forward to survive without Kane, but that their goaltending, as currently constituted is far from strong enough to take them deep into the playoffs.

3.) —–> To Boston: Martin St. Louis, Pavel Kubina, Ryan Shannon, Mathieu Garon, 2nd Round Pick

—–> To Tampa Bay: Tuukka Rask, Joe Corvo, Jordan Caron, Jared Knight

  — Now, this deal is perhaps the most far-fetched of the three, based purely on the number of moving parts involved. However, a deal like this could make a lot of sense for both squads. In St. Louis, the B’s will fill the vacancy left by Nathan Horton up on the top-line with a proven NHL playmaker, not to mention the chemistry that could be sparked with former Vermont University teammate Tim Thomas. In Kubina and Shannon, Boston would get two valuable depth players who both will become unrestricted free agents on July 1. Garon, Tampa’s current back-up goalie would come to Boston merely as throw in, being that the Bolts would likely not want to carry three ‘tenders with the addition of Rask. The young Finnish backstop would provide the Lightning with something they’ve been missing for quite a while: a young, dependable goaltender of the future. Corvo, whose two million dollar cap-hit will come of the books on July 1, was put in the deal to free up space for the incoming additions. In Caron, Tampa would get another young, gritty player who is extremely versatile with the ability to play in all three zones of the ice, as well as kill penalties. Jared Knight, a former second round selection by the B’s could immediately step in next season for the Bolts, alongside London Knights teammate Vladimir Namestnikov, Tampa’s prized prospect who was taken in the first round of last year’s Entry Draft.

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Much to the dismay of  the 17,565 Black and Gold-clad fans that pack the confines of TD Garden each and every night, .500 hockey is exactly what the Bruins have been mired in since their 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks back on January 7 here in the Hub. Entering Tuesday’s marquee showdown with the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers, the B’s had a chance to break their slump and get things going just prior to an extended six-game road trip.

“We need to have a solid, solid trip and it obviously starts tomorrow with the first game out of those six games.” – Zdeno Chara

Unfortunately for Boston, Tuesday was once again a night of struggles for the Black and Gold. In what would become the trend of the night, the B’s were unable to capitalize on a plethora of early scoring chances. Boston out-worked and out-played the Blueshirts for the better part of the first frame. That is until a delay of game penalty at the 9:21 mark sent the Rangers to the power-play. New York wasted little time in taking advantage with the extra man as some slick passing would end with Ryan Callahan potting his 23rd tally of the season.

“Gaby (Gaborik) makes a great pass to me. We know (Tim) Thomas is going to overplay the shot and challenge and he was going out there when I shot that and I don’t really have a chance at a goal so I slide it over back door to Cally (Ryan Callahan) and it’s nice that we connected on two of those in the last couple games here.” – Michael Del Zotto

The B’s hung with the Rangers for the duration of the period and looked to be in good shape as the first frame drew to a close. However, as the waning seconds ticked off the clock, the Rangers took advantage of a fluky bounce off the sideboards and extended their lead to 2-0 as Ryan McDonagh’s shot found it’s way through a screen and past Tim Thomas. Allowing a team to score with only 0:12 seconds left in a period that you’ve played pretty well in can be an absolute backbreaker for a team, especially when it comes against a team as well rounded as the Rangers.

In the second, the B’s out-shot the Rangers and controlled play for the better portion of the period as the ice was clearly titled in their favor during the middle frame. Despite all their chances, the Bruins simply could not solve New York’s all-world goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

The third period began with much of the same as what we saw during the middle period as the B’s threw shot after shot towards the Ranger net, but were turned aside each and every time. At the 2:53 mark of the period, New York forward Artem Anisimov was the beneficiary of yet another ill-advised turnover from Joe Corvo. After the much-maligned Bruins blueliner made an attempt to pinch in a 4-on-4 situation and lost the puck, the Rangers would quickly zip up the ice on a 2-on-1 break. Anisimov opted to look off his teammate Michael Del Zotto and take care of it himself, ripping it over Thomas’ blocker for his tenth goal of the season.

Going down 3-0 to a team as stingy as the Rangers all but assured another February loss for the Bruins.

“They (Rangers) come out, and they score that third goal, and it was a back-breaker. You could feel it on the bench, especially knowing that they’re a very stingy team. It certainly made things a lot tougher for us.” – Claude Julien

Despite a late breakaway for David Krejci and a power-play in the 59^th minute, Boston could not solve Lundqvist as the Rangers’ goaltender secured his league-leading seventh shutout of the season.

“It seemed to be like we’d get a lot of shots, rebounds were there – it just wasn’t coming to us. (Henrik Lundqvist) obviously played a great game. There was a couple times where we thought he had a couple of goals but he stopped them.” — Johnny Boychuk

With the 3-0 loss, Boston falls to 6-7-1 over their last 14 games, as they remain in search for their first set of back-to-back wins in over a month.

KEY STATS

Goals–                       NYR (3)                   BOS (0)

Shots–                       NYR (20)                    BOS (42)

Power-Play–           NYR (1-1)                   BOS (0-1)

Penalty-Kill–           NYR (1-1)                    BOS (0-1)

• Ben’s Three Stars– ….. 3.) Michael Del Zotto  ….. 2.) Ryan Callahan   ….. 1.) Henrik Lundqvist

What’s Next?

– Next up for the B’s is a Wednesday night showdown at the Bell Centre as they clash with the hated Habs for the final time this season. The B’s will once again be without concussed forward Nathan Horton who will not be making the trip north with his teammates. The Rangers will return home to the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden, where they will play host to the reeling Blackhawks on Thursday evening.

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“We have a lot of pride. We don’t like losing, even if it’s 1-0 never mind 6-0. You never want to get down on yourself and start feeling sorry for ourselves and I think that’s when the pride kicks in. it’s up to different guys at different times to step up and play big at key moments.” — Milan Lucic

The Bruins were able to jump ahead late in the first frame when an otherworldly effort in the offensive zone from Brad Marchand set up Patrice Bergeron in the slot for his first short-handed tally of the season. This would mark the seventh short-handed goal of the season for Boston and it was the second consecutive game that Bergeron has scored against the Predators.

“He’s (Marchand) got that speed and those instincts to do those plays.  Obviously I was just lucky enough to be positioned and get the puck and score but he made the whole play happen.” — Patrice Bergeron

However, at the 7:42 mark of the second period, Nashville’s dynamic defense duo of Ryan Suter and Shea Weber would hookup on the power-play as Weber blasted a one timer from the left point past Tim Thomas after a cross-ice feed from his defense partner Ryan Suter. The goal was good for the eleventh of the season for the Pred’s captain as he moved into a tie (with Niklas Kronwall) for second lace in the NHL’s race for highest scoring defenseman.

It was the hard work of Boston’s fourth line that would put the B’s ahead early in the third as Daniel Paille backhanded one through the five-hole of Pekka Rinne after Shawn Thorton dug it out of the corner. Boston’s lead was short-lived, however, as an up-ice rush from the Preds would end with Patric Hornqvist‘s 17th tally of the year.

Midway through the final frame it appeared as if the B’s were headed for yet another late-game loss after surrendering the go-ahead goal, courtesy of Nashville centerman Mike Fisher. Going down with under four minutes to play, after allowing a goal on the first Preds’ shot of both the second and third periods, the Bruins had to maintain their composure and avoid frustration.

“We try not to get frustrated. In the last couple games we did that and it hurt us. We knew we were playing a good game and we just had to keep sticking with it.” – Patrice Bergeron

However, with only 1:07 left on the clock, Sergei Kostitsyn banished to the sin bin and Tim Thomas pulled for an extra attacker Milan Lucic capped off what was his best game in months by out-racing two Preds’ defenders to a loose puck and roofing it into the goal to tie the game at 3 and send us to overtime.

After the five-minute extra frame couldn’t find us a winner, the two squads went to a shootout. Powered by goals from Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron, the B’s held on to complete the comeback with a 2-0 win in the shootout. One year after being widely regarded as one of the worst shootout teams in the league, the B’s have turned it around this season, improving their season record to 6-1 in games that advanced past overtime.

“It’s a game where I am sure that coach is happy with the one point. But it should have been two.” – Pekka Rinne

Being able to score late in a game and salvage a crucial two points after being down in the third period is no easy task. After accomplishing such on Saturday afternoon, the B’s hope to ride the ensuing wave of momentum and turn it into future success.

 ”We’ve got to build from the effort and the consistency throughout the game. I think it was a great effort from everyone. We stayed with it even though we got down a goal with three minutes left. That’s the most important thing to build from.” – Patrice Bergeron

KEY STATS

Goals–                NSH (3)   BOS (4)

Shots–                NSH (22)   BOS (42)

Power-Play–    NSH (1-3)   BOS (1-4)

Penalty-Kill–   NSH  (3-4)   BOS (2-3)

Ben’s Three Stars….. 3.) Pekka Rinne …..2.) Patrice Bergeron …..1.) Milan Lucic

What’s Next?

– The B’s will finish up their brief two-game home-stand on Tuesday evening when they play host to the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers. The Predators will fly back home to Nashville where they will host the struggling Blackhawks on Tuesday night at the Bridgestone Arena.

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When things are going your way, everything seems to be clicking, you play with confidence, you tend to get the breaks here and there. You feel as if nothing is ever going to go wrong.

However, when you’re struggling it’s a completely different ball game. All of a sudden you’re not catching the breaks, nothing is going your way. It seems like you’ll never get things back on track.

Unfortunately for Boston, after a two month stretch of dominating the competition, the Black and Gold just can’t seem to get much going as of late. That trend would continue on Saturday afternoon when they hosted Evgeni Malkin and the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins.

After what most would consider a rather lifeless first frame from both sides, the Pens would take advantage of a late-period power-play opportunity as Malkin would knock a rebound past Tim Thomas to put Pittsburgh ahead with only 0:09 seconds remaining on the clock. The 6’3” Russian forward once again re-asserted himself as the best player in the game today, picking up his 28^th goal and league-leading 60^th point of the season as he continues to run roughshod on the rest of the NHL .

“He’s been the catalyst for our group all year. It’s amazing sometimes. When you don’t think he can do it anymore, he goes out there and scores another goal. He’s been great for us and hopefully we’ll keep him going.” – Joe Vitale

The B’s where not able to muster up many real offensive chances throughout the entire second frame despite being given a four-minute power-play chance courtesy of a Pascal Dupuis double minor for high sticking.

Early in the third Pittsburgh would tack on an insurance tally when the villainous Matt Cooke out-worked two Bruin defenders in front of Thomas and knocked in his 9^th  goal of the season. The man Bruins’ fans love to hate has now scored two goals in as many games against Boston this year and has put up sixteen points in twenty-five career games against the Black and Gold.

Atoning for his earlier mistake, defenseman Joe Corvo would find the back of the Penguins’ net as his wrist shot made it through a Marchand screen and past Marc-Andre Fleury to cut the deficit to one.

“Marchand did a great job of standing in front of him until the last minute until it kind of got to the net. It was the right height to where the goalie was kind of staying low and trying to see it and it just went in.” – Joe Corvo

Unfortunately for Boston, the rest of the third period would simply be more of the same for a Bruins  squad that simply cannot find it’s groove right now. They unloaded nine more third period shots against Fleury but were still unable to tickle the twine and tie the score.

“You’ve got to give credit to the last two goalies we’ve played. They played really good games I think, and the last two teams we’ve played have played a pretty solid 60 minutes of defense.” – Tim Thomas

Boston has now only managed one goal on their last 81 shots through their last 132:51 minutes of play.

“The last two games, we’ve had almost 80 shots and only one goal showing for it. It’s frustrating right now, but thankfully we got a game tomorrow to focus on.” – Daniel Paille

Boston hasn’t managed to beat the Penguins at TD Garden since November 10….. of the year 2009. Today’s loss marks the B’s fourth defeat in their past six games and their record has dropped to 4-5-1 over their last ten games.

KEY STATS

Goals–                PIT (2)   BOS (1)

Shots–                PIT (28)   BOS (29)

Power-Play–    PIT (1-3)   BOS (0-2)

Penalty-Kill–   PIT  (2-2)   BOS (2-3)

Ben’s Three Stars….. 3.) Matt Cooke  …..2.) Evgeni Malkin …..1.) James Neal

What’s Next?

It’ll be a quick turnaround for the Black and Gold as they depart from Boston this afternoon for a 12:30 PM Super Bowl Sunday matinee contest with the Caps at the Verizon Center in Washington tomorrow. The Pens will also be on the move fairly quickly as they are scheduled for a 1 PM contest in New Jersey tomorrow afternoon.

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