“We really look at this as more of a statement game for us because we’ve been struggling, and we had to come out with the kind of effort we had the game before, which is something we haven’t done very much in a long time.” – Claude Julien

Kicking things off with back-to-back shifts of heavy pressure on the Toronto net and perhaps their best full period of play in over two months, the Black and Gold definitely brought their “A-Game” from the get-go on Monday. Accounting for the game’s first eight shots on goal, the B’s would capitalize on exactly half of them, securing a four goal lead midway through the opening frame.

Chris Kelly got it all started when he corralled a Benoit Pouliot feed and slipped it through Leafs’ goaltender James Reimer for his career-high 18^th tally of the season. Not long after, Boston’s fourth line pivot Gregory Campbell would account for his eighth of the year when he caught Reimer napping with a quick wrap-around. It would be Pouliot who would be the next to get on the score-sheet after redirecting a Johnny Boychuk blast into the Toronto goal. Reimer’s short and painful evening would come to a merciful end less than two minutes later when Brad Marchand converted a Bruins’ power-play chance into his 24^th goal of the season.

Opting to bring the Swedish netminder Jonas Gustavsson back out for the second, new Leafs’ bench boss Randy Carlyle’s headache would only get worse as the B’s would put three pucks past the Toronto back-up during the middle frame. It began only 2:31 into the period when Pouliot would put home his second of the night after an ill-timed turnover by Gustavsson behind his own net. Captain Zdeno Chara’s power-play bomb at the 5:45 mark converted the Boston “touchdown” to make it a 6-0 game. Breaking out the cannon of a shot that made him such a beloved hockey figure in the Hub during his first stint with Boston, Brian Rolston increased the B’s lead to 7-0 with only thirty-five seconds left in the middle frame.

Despite a more evenly matched third period, Boston would add yet another tally when Tyler Seguin’s wrist shot found the twine at the tail-end of a 3-on-2 rush by the Bruins. The 8-0 victory completes Boston’s season sweep of the Leafs, taking all six contests between the two Northeast division rivals by a combined 36-10 margin.

“They beat us in every aspect of the game. We made more mistakes than them, we turned the puck over more than them, they out-competed us. Just not acceptable for our group. We have to take responsibility for that.” – Dion Phaneuf

My Thoughts

– Without question, there were more positives to take out of Monday’s victory than of any Bruins’ game in recent memory. Putting eight pucks behind an opposing goalie whilst allowing only thirteen shots on goal is undoubtedly an accomplishment to be lauded for and something that truly illustrates Boston’s commitment to giving a complete effort night in and night out. The entire team seemed to be in top form from the opening puck drop, imposing their will and style of play for the entire sixty minutes, something they haven’t had the luxury of enjoying since a 9-0 throttling of the Flames on January 5.

– Unexpected contributions from the third (and fourth) offensive unit were one of the many reasons the Bruins enjoyed so much success last season. This season, Boston’s depth has been seriously challenged by a plethora of injuries to some key contributors, most notably third line stalwart Rich Peverley. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons behind the B’s recent struggles has been the inability to find any sort of consistency in their third line. Over the course of the past month and a half, a number of players have been slotted alongside the incumbent Chris Kelly, but none have been able to truly embrace the role and enjoy any sort of continued success. However, the newest trio of Kelly, Pouliot and the newly-acquired Brian Rolston seem to have created a perfectly balanced third unit that bench boss Claude Julien can feel confident in using with regularity down the stretch. The trio combined to score four goals and add five assists with a plus-10 rating in Monday’s victory over the Maple Leafs.

“Kells (Kelly), he’s a player that plays in every dimension of the game. He’s great defensively, he can make things happen offensively – he’s a pleasure to play with. Benny (Pouliot),  he’s a tremendously talented kid and I just think we’re supporting each other well and we’re building a little bit of chemistry.” – Brian Rolston

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Brian Rolston (1 Goal/3 Assists)

2) Benoit Pouliot (2 Goals/1 Assist)

3) Johnny Boychuk (1 Assist/Plus-4 Rating)

What’s Next?

– The Black and Gold will now embark on a three-game road swing to the great state of California that will begin on Thursday evening with a late-night clash against the San Jose Sharks. It’ll be a quick turn-around for the Leafs, who will be back in action Tuesday against the New York Islanders.

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Records: Toronto 32-32-8 (72 Points) , Boston 41-27-3 (85 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: Maple Leafs 3 , Ottawa Senators 1  ……. Flyers 2 , Bruins 3 (SO)

Tonight’s Lineup (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS:

Lucic–Krejci–Caron

Marchand–Bergeron–Seguin

Pouliot–Kelly–Rolston

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE:

Chara–Seidenberg

Zanon–McQuaid

Ference–Boychuk

GOALTENDER:

Thomas

Turco

Scratches– ….. Mike Mottau, Joe Corvo

Injuries:

Nathan Horton (Concussion) – Boston’s top right winger remains sidelined with a concussion he suffered back on January 21. Number eighteen has made regular appearances at TD Garden during home games and has begun to ride the stationary bicycle.

Rich Peverley (MCL) – Peverley will continue to sit as he rehabs an injury to his right MCL. The good news here is that Peverley has begun skating on his own.

Tuukka Rask (Groin) — Rask will remain sidelined for the next 4-6 weeks with a lower abdomen/groin injury.

Last Time We Met: Bruins 5 , Maple Leafs 4

– The last time these two Northeast division rivals made acquaintances was back on March 6 when the Black and Gold took home a 5-4 victory at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. Boston has taken all five of the meetings between these two teams this season by a combined score of 28-10.

Prediction: After pulling out a much-needed victory against the Flyers on Saturday, one would like to believe that the B’s can come out with a fire on Monday as they look to build some momentum for the post-season. Look for Tyler Seguin and David Krejci to lead Boston to a big-time win on TD Garden ice.

Maple Leafs 2 , Bruins 5

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The Bolts are in fifth (last) place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by twelve points. Tampa Bay is in 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, seven points out of a playoff spot and two points from the conference cellar. Only the New York Islanders and the Montreal Canadiens trail the Bolts.

After 71 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 50. He leads the Bolts and is second in the league in points with 84. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 41. Forward Teddy Purcell leads the team in rating with a +9.

Defenseman Brett Clark is last in rating with a -24. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 23 wins, a 2.85 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

Goalie Dustin Tokarski is 1-2-1 with a 2.79 goals against average and an .901 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:21 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 251.

The Lightning have scored 199 goals (10th in the NHL) and allowed 240 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts power play and the penalty kill remain sub-par. The power play success rate is 15.5% (23rd in the 30 team NHL) and the penalty kill is at 78.6% (26th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.4% and the average NHL team kills off 82.6% of their penalties successfully.

The Bolts have allowed eleven shorthanded goals, second most in the NHL.

Tampa Bay is 23rd in the league in faceoff percentage, winning 48.8% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 69 – Tampa Bay Lightning 6 – Boston Bruins 1

Game 70 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Toronto Maple Leafs 3

Game 71 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1– St. Louis Blues 3

Three Stars of the Week

Steven Stamkos – Two goals.

Martin St. Louis – One goal and one assist.

Brian Lee - Two assists.

Transactions

The Lightning announced the signing of 2011 first-round pick Vladislav Namestnikov to a three year, entry level contract.

The Lightning recalled forward Trevor Smith from Norfolk (AHL).

The Lightning have signed German League goaltender Sebastien Caron.

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after having major knee surgery.

Forward Dana Tyrell is out for the year after having successful knee surgery.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron has chosen to undergo back surgery that may end his season.

Forward Vincent Lecavalier is out indefinitely with a broken hand. The Bolts are hoping to have him back in three to five days.

Goalie Mathieu Garon has a torn groin muscle and is out 3-4 weeks.

Defenseman Bruno Gervais is day-to-day with a shoulder injury.

Forward Nate Thompson is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Bolt Notes

The Lightning’s slide into oblivion continues. Tampa Bay has now lost five of its last six games and is proving to be one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference and the NHL. Although, still mathematically alive for a playoff spot, Tampa Bay is done.

Steven Stamkos became just the sixth player in NHL history to record multiple 50-goal seasons before the age of 23. The impressive list includes Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy, Joe Nieuwendyk and Alex Ovechkin.

Sports Club Stats has the Lightning’s playoffs chances at 2.1%.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Buffalo on Monday, Edmonton on Thursday and the New York Islanders on Saturday.

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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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To say that things got off to a “hot start” for the home team would undoubtedly be the hockey understatement of the year. Picking up three goals in the first 4:31 of the game, the Bolts effectively ended this game before it even began, as they were able to chase Marty Turco less than five minutes after puck drop.

The first Lightning goal was a questionable one, bouncing off the skate of Tom Pyatt and past Turco to give Tampa a 1-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest. Only thirty seconds later, former-Bruin Nate Thompson collected his ninth of the season after a defensive zone collapse by Boston. Former Boston College standout Ryan Shannon would add another when he beat Turco on a breakaway at the tail end of a power-play.

At the 15:38 mark, defenseman Victor Hedman blasted a slapshot past the newly inserted Tim Thomas to kick off the route in Tampa, making it a 4-0 game.

If there was one statistic that could sum up Boston’s effort in the first frame it’d be this one: the Bruins had half as many shots on goal (two) as the Lightning had goals (four). Yikes.

The second frame began much in the way the first did for a Bruins team that simply couldn’t find it’s skating legs on Tuesday. The phenom known as Steven Stamkos would tuck home his league leading 49^th tally of the season just past the three minute mark of the frame to give the Bolts an astounding 5-0 lead.

This would pave the way for head coach Claude Julien to bring Marty Turco back into the game with the result no longer in doubt.

Jordan Caron would get one back for the B’s early in the third when he deflected a Zdeno Chara wrist shot past Tokarski for his career-high seventh goal of the season.

At the 11:43 mark of the final frame, Stamkos would join elite company as he potted his league leading 50^th goal of the season, becoming only the sixth player in NHL history to perform the feat in multiple seasons before his 23^rd birthday. Truly an astonishing accomplishment for the 22-year-old Markham, Ontario native.

The 6-1 defeat is the B’s third consecutive loss and it drops their record to 16-17-2 since their New Year’s Eve Night defeat down in Dallas.

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Victor Hedman (1 Goal/1 Assist)

2) Dustin Tokarski (33 Saves)

3) Steven Stamkos (2 Goals)

What’s Next?

– The B’s will have another showdown in the Sunshine State on Thursday, this time with the division-leading Panthers at the BankAtlantic Center. The Bolts will be home again on Thursday, when they host Phil Kessel and the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs.

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It was a tale of two halves in the first frame as the Caps took control from the opening puck drop to the mid-point of the frame, grabbing a 2-0 lead after only eight minutes of action.

Washington jumped ahead 1-0 at the 7:50 mark when Russian enigma Alexander Semin corralled a Karl Alzner rebound and shoveled it into an open goal.

A mere twenty-five seconds later, things would go from bad to worse for Boston as the Capitals would add another tally to make it 2-0 only eight minutes into the game. It was former Bruins’ prospect Matt Hendricks who would out-work two B’s defenseman in front of goaltender Tim Thomas and poke home his 4^th of the season. The Caps accounted for 12 of the game’s first 15 shots on goal.

It was then that B’s bench boss Claude Julien opted to use his timeout, a trick he’s used quite a few times in the past to help calm his team down after a rough start. The decision by the former Jack Adams award winner would prove to be pure genius quickly thereafter.

“That’s not the start we wanted, as soon as we called the timeout it was like night and day. We realize that we are going to play and once we realized that I thought we played good hockey.” – Johnny Boychuk

Aided by two power-play opportunities, the B’s would turn things around in the second half of the frame, taking control of the action and registering 10 of the next 11 shots on net. With only five ticks left on the clock, the Bruins would finally get on the board when a Milan Lucic wrister went five-hole on Caps’ netminder Tomas Vokoun after an offensive zone face-off win by the always-dependable Patrice Bergeron.

In what was certainly an odd sequence of events, the second period would end up nearly identical as the first. This time, with Boston holding the early edge and Washington finishing strong.

Boston would jump out to a hot start, keeping the pressure on the Caps’ end for almost the entire first half of the period. Just prior to the five minute mark, the red-hot Jordan Caron would disrupt an Alex Ovechkin up-ice rush and deflect the puck to a streaking Brad Marchand. The B’s undersized, agitating winger would take advantage of the break, beating Vokoun five hole to even the score at two a piece.

“Jordan made a great play to force Ovechkin and make him throw the puck away, it kind of bounced of the defenseman’s shin pad in open ice and I went in and tried to make a move, the five-hole opened up and I slid it in.” — Brad Marchand

Things then turned ugly for a Boston team that would finish the frame by taking three ill-advised penalties, including a two-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct (David Krejci). The Caps would regain the lead  at the 11:22 mark when Jay Beagle fired one past Tim Thomas after an unfortunate mishap behind the net between Dennis Seidenberg and Adam McQuaid. Just five minutes later, Washington would extend their lead when Brooks Laich redirected a Dennis Wideman pass into the Boston net with only three seconds left on the Caps’ third power-play of the period.

The third period would provide the B’s with a wealth of opportunities to even the score again as the Black and Gold out-shot the Caps by an astounding 13-2 margin, something Washington blueliner and former Bruin Dennis Wideman attributed to the Bruins “coming at them” as opposed to the Capitals sitting back with the luxury of a two-goal advantage.

Boston would get one back with 3:13 to go in the game when Johnny Boychuk pushed a Marchand rebound past Vokoun to cut the deficit to one. The goal was the fourth of the year for the B’s brusing blueliner, who had just returned to the game after taking a Troy Brouwer slapshot to the inside of his right foot. The B’s continued to “storm the bastille”, so to speak, but where unable to solve the Caps’ ‘tender for a fourth time as they appeared to do everything BUT score during the final minute and a half of play.

The win was of crucial importance for a Washington squad that is fighting for it’s playoff lives. The Caps know that in order to sneak into the post-season, they’ll need to come through with multiple strong efforts and victories away from the friendly confines of the Verizon Center.

“We’ve just got to approach the games, just focus on today. I think that we play five of our next six on the road but that was in nobody’s mind today; it was come here and try to get the job done. I’m happy with the guys, I thought we played a really good game, should be proud of themselves.” – Brooks Laich

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Alexander Semin (1 Goal/1 Assist)

2) Dmitry Orlov (2 Assists)

3) Tomas Vokoun (31 Saves)

What’s Next?

– It’ll be a quick turn-around for a Bruins squad that will face-off with Evgeni Malkin — and possibly a returning Sidney Crosby — on Sunday afternoon at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Caps will return home to the Verizon Center for a Sunday night contest with Phil Kessel and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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5.) —–> To Chicago: Hal Gill, Travis Moen, 5th Round Pick

—–> To Montreal: Kyle Beach, Brandon Saad, 2nd Round Pick

– Seemingly going nowhere this season it may be time for the Habs and GM Pierre Gauthier to start thinking about unloading some pieces in an attempt to build for the future. Both Gill and Moen are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer and could provide a Cup-hunting Blackhawks team with some added depth and grit for a playoff run this spring. Neither Moen nor Gill give you much in the way of flash or skill, but both are very durable players who have a Stanley Cup on their resume. For Montreal, both Beach and Saad fit the mold of what the Habs need the most: big, strong power forwards who can put the puck in the net. While neither will give Montreal much in the way of immediate assistance, they both have the potential to become cogs in the Canadiens’ lineup for years to come.

4.) —–> To Boston: Tuomo Ruutu, Bryan Allen

—–> To Carolina: Jordan Caron, Matt Bartkowski, 2nd Round Pick

– For a team that has simply run roughshod on the Eastern Conference since the start of November there really aren’t many glaring holes on a roster full of Stanley Cup winners. However, like we saw last February, GM Peter Chiarelli isn’t afraid to tinker with his team in order to add the necessary depth to make another run at Lord Stanley. This trade makes perfect sense for a Boston team that still relies on an inexperienced Steven Kampfer as it’s seventh defenseman. The hard-nosed Bryan Allen isn’t known much for his offense (0G/7A in 51 games this season) but can provide a solid defensive presence in his end of the ice, as well as log some valuable time on the penalty kill. Like Allen, the 28-year-old Ruutu will be a free agent on July 1. The Finland native seems to have been cut from the same mold as Boston winger Rich Peverley in the way that he can be trusted in any situation. Ruutu has posted fifteen goals and added eleven assists in 51 games this season while being shuffled up and down the Carolina lineup.

3.) —–> To Philadelphia: Ryan Suter, 3rd Round Pick

—–> To Nashville: James Van Riemsdyk, Brayden Schenn, Andrej Meszaros, Jody Shelley, 1st Round Pick

– Now, I’d put this trade as the least likely to happen, at least not until this summer. A deal like this makes perfect sense for a Flyers team that will be without captain Chris Pronger for the remainder of the season. Ryan Suter is perhaps the most underrated defenseman in the entire NHL. Often overshadowed by Shea Weber, Suter has quietly stacked together one all-star season after another and is slated to finally cash in this summer when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. The question still remains as to if the cash-strapped Predators can re-sign Suter to a long term deal to keep him in Nashville. However, if GM David Poile comes to the realization that he will not be resigning with the Preds, he would be better served to deal him now than let him walk for nothing this July. The package I’ve presented seems like quite a hefty price for one player but keep in mind, true number one defensemen simply do not grow on trees. While I really can’t see this one happening before the deadline, if Suter is adamant about not re-upping in Nashville, I can’t see any better scenario for the Predators’ franchise both now and into the future.

2.) —–> To Toronto: Jeff Carter, 3rd Round Pick

—–> To Columbus: Luke Schenn, Nikolai Kulemin, 2nd Round Pick

– There’s no question that Jeff Carter’s brief stay in Ohio’s capital is coming to an early end. Reportedly frustrated by the entire situation, the former Flyers star has put up only seventeen points (10G/7A) in 30 games this season while playing for the league-worst Columbus Blue Jackets. While many teams would be skeptical of accepting any player with ten years left on his contract, the Leafs have been on a league-wide search for a true number one center since Brian Burke took the helm in November of 2008. It’s my belief that if Carter is surrounded by a talented team (like he was in Philadelphia) he will once again be able to return to his elite form. While many could think of this as an overpayment for Carter, I would argue that while Schenn still looks like a future all-star, he seems to be the odd man out on a Leafs’ blueline already manned by Dion Phaneuf, Mike Komisarek and John-Michael Liles — all of whom are signed to lucrative contracts. Kulemin is a young player with loads of skill and potential who seems to be struggling under the hockey-crazed pressure cooker that is Toronto. Perhaps a change of scenery would do him a world of good. In Toronto, Maple Leafs’ fans may be foaming at the mouth with the thoughts of putting an elite pivot in between all-star wingers Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul.

1.)  —–> To Minnesota: Zach Parise

—–> To New Jersey: Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle, Jonas Brodin, 2nd Round Pick

– This trade simply makes too much sense. With Parise still unsigned and the Devils’ ownership situation still uncertain, it’s easy to suggest that New Jersey will be unable to retain Parise at year’s end. Recent speculation has suggested that the 5’11″ Minneapolis would like nothing better than to return to his home state to continue his career, making him a perfect fit for the Wild. However, a former 40-goal scorer with extensive leadership qualities simply does not come cheap. With this package the Devils pick up a solid return for a guy who will likely be gone for nothing on July 1. Devin Setoguchi is a solid young winger who can play top-six minutes and provide some pop playing across from Ilya Kovalchuk. In Coyle and Brodin New Jersey receives two former first round selections who look to be sure bet NHL contributors in the near future. Parise should provide the right type of boost for a Wild team trying to work themselves off of the playoff fringe.

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5.) Jackets Fail For Nail

– Without question the worst team in hockey through the first half of the season, the Blue Jackets have been an unmitigated disaster all year long. Entering the season most hockey journalists (including myself) had Columbus pegged for their second post-season appearance in franchise history. However, the aforementioned NHL pundits could not have been more wrong. With the acquisitions of Jeff Carter and James Wisniewski not panning out, look for the Blue Jackets to deal one of the two before the deadline. Purely based on Wisniewski’s massive contract, my guess would be Carter moves on for greener pastures elsewhere. The former Flyers’ standout should bring GM Scott Howson a decent haul and will help them continue to build for the future as they trudge along on the “Fail For Nail” campaign.

4.) Kessel Posts 90 Points, Finally Quiets Critics

– Perhaps the most talked about trade in recent Boston sports history, the Bruins–Leafs swap of September 2010 sent crafty winger Phil Kessel to the epicenter of hockey in exchange for three draft selections. Bruins’ GM Peter Chiarelli then used those picks to select forwards Tyler Seguin and Jared Knight as well as defenseman Dougie Hamilton. While Seguin has exploded onto the scene in the Hub, amassing 19 goals and 24 assists through 46 games this season Kessel has truly emerged as one of the league’s most prominent scorers. With 51 points (26G/25A) in 49 games, he and linemate Joffrey Lupul (20G/32A) have completely turned the Toronto franchise around, leading them to a top-eight position in the Eastern Conference. In the second half of this season, I believe that Kessel will easily reach the 40-goal marker and surpass his career high of 64 points to finally justify this trade and quiet the throngs of critics who have harassed the Minnesota native ever since he arrived on the scene in Toronto.

3.) Hitchcock, Blues Continue Magical Run

– Without doubt the biggest positive surprise of any team in the league this season has taken place underneath the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The Blues, who struggled mightily to begin the season under former coach Davis Payne, have been given new life since the arrival of veteran bench boss Ken Hitchcock. With no players in the NHL’s top-50 scoring leaders, the Blues’ team-first philosophy has shown through this season, leading them to the fifth seed in the Western Conference — a comfortable eleven points ahead of ninth place Colorado –. Captain David Backes seems to have his team — a seemingly perfect blend of youth and experience — poised for a deep run through the post-season. In the shocker of the season, I can see the Blues becoming this year’s NHL Cinderella story, upsetting a team or two and making it to the Conference Finals this spring.

2.) Sabres, Habs Continue Rapid Fall From Grace

– Mired in the basement of the Eastern Conference, this season simply has not gone the way fans in Buffalo and Montreal had once thought it would. Currently sitting eight and ten points out of the playoff picture, the Sabres and the Habs have been absolute train-wrecks on ice the entire season. In Montreal, things went awry immediately out of the gate and have only been trending downwards since then. In a year that’s seen the departure of both an assistant coach and a head coach, an unheard of mid-game trade and continuous public outcry for a French-speaking bench boss, the city of Montreal has been an absolute circus all year long. In Buffalo, fans and players alike had Stanley Cup aspirations after new owner Terry Pegula’s ill-advised off-season spending spree. Unfortunately for the hockey-mad folks in Western new York, it just hasn’t quite worked out this season as their beloved Sabres sit tied for dead last in the Eastern Conference. What’s worse? GM Darcy Regier is handcuffed by the insanely generous contracts of Christian Ehrhoff and Ville Leino.

1.) Bruins, Rangers Will Battle For Eastern Conference Crown

– Now I could be getting ahead of myself a bit here but right now all signs are pointing towards an Original Six showdown with a spot in the Cup Finals on the line. Without a doubt the two best teams in the East through the first half of the season, New York and Boston have put together the two best records in the Conference through the first half of the season. Armed with gritty, two-way players who aren’t afraid to put the team before themselves, the B’s and Blueshirts almost mirror one another in terms of playing style. After putting together an instant classic earlier this month at TD Garden, it’d be easy for one to expect three more beautifully played contests between these two squads this season. However, I’m going to take it a step further and say that New York and Boston will once again meet in the Eastern Conference Finals this spring for yet another chapter in the Boston  vs. New York rivalry.

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The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by eleven points. Tampa Bay is in 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, nine points out of a layoff spot.

After 40 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 28. He leads the Bolts in points with 43. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 21. Marc-Andre Bergeron leads the team in rating with a +7. Steve Downie is last in rating with an alarming -17.

Forward Steve Downie is last in rating with an alarming -17 and has accumulated 100 penalty minutes. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 11 wins, a 2.85 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:14 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 139.

The Lightning have scored 107 goals (17th in the NHL) and allowed 134 goals (28th in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams are awful. The power play success rate is at a season low 13.77% (27th in the NHL) and the penalty kill slipped below 80% at 79.50% (23rd in the NHL). The Bolts are in the middle of an appalling 1-34 road power play skid.Tampa Bay is 25th in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 48.5% of their draws.

Tampa Bay has won 11 of 16 games at the Tampa Bay Times Forum and six of 24 games on the road.

Box Scores

Game 38 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Toronto Maple Leafs 7

Game 39 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Ottawa Senators 4

Game 40 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Montreal Canadiens 3

Three Stars of the Week

Vincent Lecavalier – Two goals and an assist.

Steven Stamkos – Two goals.

Dominic Moore – Two assists.

Transactions

Tampa Bay acquired defenseman Brendan Mikkelson from Calgary for forward Blair Jones.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie was recalled by the Lightning.

Forward Brett Connolly returned from Team Canada.

The Lightning announce a two year-one way contract extension for $600,000 per year for forward Tom Pyatt.

Injuries

Forward Ryan Shannon is out 2-4 weeks with a lower body injury.

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Defenseman Victor Hedman is out indefinitely with a concussion.

Forwards JT Wyman and Adam Hall are day-to-day with upper body injuries.

Bolt Notes

The Bolts went 0-3 this past week. At the mid-season mark, Tampa Bay is in trouble. They are nine points out of a playoff spot with four teams to jump over to get into the postseason tournament. The Lightning plays nine of its next 12 games at home and must go on a run to maintain hopes of a playoff appearance in 2012. The Bolts have lost 18 road games, only two less than their total road losses last season.

The first half MVP is superstar Steven Stamkos. The Tampa Bay sniper has a NHL best 28 goals and is on pace for another 50 goal season. The 21 year old center has grabbed hold of a leadership role with the team and is playing a more physical game, getting to the front of the net and battling for “garbage” goals.

The biggest disappointment  of the first half is $3 million goaltender Dwayne Roloson, who is 6-9 with a 3.76 goals against average and an .881 save percentage, last and second to last in the NHL respectively.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Vancouver on Tuesday and  Carolina on Thursday. The Bolts travel to Washington on Friday before hosting Pittsburgh on Sunday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

On Wednesday night, the Norfolk Admirals faced off against division rivals, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Pennsylvania. The normally tough Brad Thiessen was just not himself. The Admirals beat Thiessen three times in the third period. Richard Panik, Cory Conacher, and Radko Gudas  all lit the lamp to give Norfolk a 3-0 lead. The Penguins put their only goal of the night in the second frame. Cory Conacher would get his second of the night in the third and Mike Angelidis put things to bed with the Admirals fifth goal of the night. Dustin Tokarski stopped 20 of 21 shots in theNorfolk 5-1 win.

Friday night had the Admirals and Albany Devils squaring off at the Norfolk Scope. Norfolkdominated the first two periods with goals from Mark Barberio, Carter Ashton, Trevor Smith, and Evan Oberg. Halfway thru the third period Norfolk fell asleep and Albany started their comeback. The Devils would score four unanswered goals and send the game to overtime.Albany finished the Admirals off with a goal at 3:31 of the overtime period for the 5-4 win.

The Devils were back on Saturday night and set the tone early. Stephane Veilleux of the Devils slashed Cory Conacher as the teams lined up for the opening face-off. If they were trying to intimidate the Admirals, it worked.Albanydominated the entire game. They scored their first goal in the first and added two more in the second.Norfolkwas only able to put one goal on the board from Richard Panik. With the 3-1 win the Devils have now won all four meetings of the season.

Trevor Smith (16G 28A 44Pts +18) and Cory Conacher (2G 20A 41Pts +7) find themselves at the top for scoring. Smith and Conacher are 3^rd and 5^th in scoring in the AHL.  Mark Barberio (4G 28A 32Pts +18) leads allNorfolk defensemen and is in third place amongst all Admirals in scoring. Carter Ashton (15G 12A 27Pts +9) continues to hold onto fourth place.  Dustin Tokarski (14-8-0 2.45GAA) went 1-1 this week. Jaroslav Janus (7-5-2 3.04GAA) lost in his only start this week to the Albany Devils.

For the Season the Admirals are 21-12-1-2 with 45 points. They are currently four points behind the East Division leading Hershey Bears.Norfolkis currently on a 0-1-1-0 streak and is 5-3-1-1 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Cory Conacher  – Two goals and an assist.

Trevor Smith – One goal and four assists.

Richard Panik – Two goals.

Transactions

Evan Oberg – Returned by theTampaBay Lightning.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie – Recalled by theTampaBay Lightning.

Injuries

Alexander Picard – Undisclosed injury – Day to day

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed injury – Day to day

Kevin Quick – Lower body injury – Day to day

An Observation from the Stands

One of the big issues Norfolk has had in the past is starting slowely after the Christmas break. The Admirals have played six games and lost three of them. You can attribute the losses to bad breaks, penalties, carelessness, or flat out being outplayed. At the end of the day none of these excuses matter. A loss is a loss and losing those points will matter at the end of the season. The last two games against Albanywere terrible performances by the Admirals. In the first game they built a four goal lead and lost it in the final 15 minutes. The following game they let the Devils walk all over them.Albanyhas won all four meetings with the Admirals this season. It’s time forNorfolkto wake up and beat them.

The Week Ahead

The Admirals remain home for three games this week. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will be in town for a rare Tuesday night game. Sean Avery and the Connecticut Whale come to town Friday and Saturday night.

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The first 12 minutes of the game was ugly for the Red Wings and that’s spelled with a capital U-G-L-Y.

The floodgates started at 4:30 of the first period when Phil Kessel scored his 24th goal of the season as he undressed Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard on a penalty shot. Kessel had originally gone in alone on a breakaway, but was hooked by Ian White and that led to the call.

Less than four minutes later, Danny Cleary’s errant pass to Dion Phaneuf made it 2-0.  Cleary tried to clear the puck from their own zone on the PK, but Phaneuf was there to interept the puck and fired a shot from the right point to extend the lead.  David Steckel made it 3-0 at 11;36 and that led to a time out by Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock.  In a situation like this, sometimes the victimized goalie would be given a hook in favor of the backup to give the team a jolt, but Babcock stuck to his guns and kept Howard in there.

The time-out was the best thing that happened to the Red Wings. The team regrouped and they started to play their typical puck-possession game for most of the way.

Todd Bertuzzi got the offense going for the Red Wings at 6:46 of the second period by tipping-in a Pavel Datsyuk shot past Leafs goalie Jonas Gustavsson.  The goal was under review because the Leafs thought that Bertuzzi scored with a high stick, but the goal stood.

The Leaf’s lead was cut to 3-2 at 15:49 as Johan Franzen skated around the opposing net and passed it over to Niklas Kronwall, who then drove to the net and got his hands dirty by grinding in his ninth goal of the season and outworked three Leafs in the process. The Red Wings kept up with their momentum at 4:32 of the third period when Jiri Hudler took advantage of a Brad Stuart rebound by burying it past Gustavsson to tie the game at 3-3.

It seemed as if the Red Wings were going to pull a rabbit out of their hat after being down 3-0, but another crucial hiccup from their own zone cost them dearly.  Kronwall attempted to clear the puck from behind the Red Wings’ net, but slightly connected on the shot and Joffrey Lupul was right there to take advantage of the turnover and roofed it past Howard to give the Leafs a 4-3 lead.

The game was almost tied with less than a minute left when Datsyuk set up Franzen, who was open in the slot, Gustavsson (37 saves) was there to shut the door.  The loss gives the Red Wings a 10-12-0 record away from the Joe Louis Arena.

Despite the 3-0 deficit early in the game, Jimmy Howard (14 saves) also answered the call for the Red Wings. He made a couple of key saves to keep it close and shouldn’t be at fault for the loss.  It was the play in front of him before the Red Wings woke up and Kronwall’s miscue in the third period that cost the Red Wings two points in the Western Conference standings.

Whenever the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs clash, it’s always special, but it’s too bad that they face each other only once a year. Hopefully that the realignment issue gets resolved so that they face each other more than once every season.  The NHL needs more Red Wings vs Maple Leafs, but wouldn’t this be a perfect Winter Classic for 2013?

If Red Wings’ owner Mike Illitch has his way, it’ll be at Comerica Park, but the league would love to have the event at Michigan Stadium aka “The Big House” where it seats 115,000. Just imagine the Red Wing fans and the Leaf Nation in Ann Arbor (or at the Copa) with chants of “Let’s Go Red Wings” followed instantly by “Go Leafs Go”.  It would be music to a hockey fan’s ears.

The Red Wings don’t have time to dwell on the loss in Toronto because they go back to Chicago for another “Original Six” clash with the Blackhawks Sunday night.

Now, with the year 2011 coming to a close tomorrow evening when the clock strikes midnight, I figured that now is as good a time as any take a step back and review some of the best moments of the 2011 calendar year for the Boston Bruins. Through a year with as much drama and excitement such as this, it was next to impossible to put these amazing events into such an order. If you asked five people to organize this set, I’m sure you’d get five totally different responses.

10.) Boston’s 8-6 “Old Time Hockey” Victory Over Montreal At TD Garden (February 9)

– In a game that featured back-and-forth hockey from two of the NHL’s biggest rivals, the Boston Bruins would deliver their first victory of the year against the hated Habs. Arguably the most memorable game of the regular season for Boston, the B’s and Habs played an exhilarating contest filled with goals, fights and mayhem galore en route to an 8-6 Bruins’ victory. A night of hard-nosed play from both sides lead to brawls and chippy-ness, including a fight between netminders Tim Thomas and Carey Price, a rare sight in today’s NHL. The game truly had the feel of one of those 1980′s Boston–Montreal classics that we hadn’t seen here in many years.

9.) Re-Signings Of Rich Peverley (October) And David Krejci (December)

– If you take a look at the past three winners of the Stanley Cup, the easily noticeable common denominator would be each team’s tremendous depth at the center position. Over the past few months, the Bruins and GM Peter Chiarelli have done an excellent job in assuring their team will remain among one of the league’s deepest team’s down the middle. The re-signings of Peverley ($9.75 MIL) and Krejci ($15.75 MIL) to new three year extensions have solidified the Bruins’ depth in the middle for many years to come.

8.) Selection Of Dougie Hamilton At The Entry Draft In Minnesota (June 24)

– The drafting of Niagara Ice Dogs defenseman Dougie Hamilton with the 9th overall selection of the 2011 NHL Entry was the entrance of the final chapter of the Phil Kessel trade. Despite not qualifying for a spot on the 2011-’12 Bruins’ roster, the 6’5″ Toronto native has been tearing it up for the Ice Dogs, posting points in games, and is expected to compete for a position with the big club in 2012-’13.

7.) The Acquisitions Of Rich Peverley And Chris Kelly (February)

– Arguably the two most versatile players to don the eight-spoked “B” in 2011, Peverley and Kelly came to Boston as part of under-the-radar acquisitions made by Chiarelli to sure up his team’s depth. Aiding Boston to it’s first Cup win in 39 years, the two have this year become cogs on the highly successful third line that has led the Black and Gold to first place in the Eastern Conference.

6.) Nathan Horton’s Third Period Goal In Game 7 Of The Eastern Conference Finals (May 27)

– In what was one of the greatest hockey games played at TD Garden in over a decade, the Bruins knocked off the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to secure a ticket to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1990. Cashing in for the only goal of the night, in a 1-0 Tim Thomas shutout, it was Nathan Horton who would redirect a beautiful saucer pass from David Krejci past Dwayne Roloson to give Boston the lead, and the victory.

5.) Sweeping Of The Philadelphia Flyers In Round 2 Of The East Playoffs (May 6)

– Bruins’ fans in every nook and cranny of New England know the story of the 2010 post-season. Perhaps the worst moment in franchise history was the collapse at the hands of the Flyers in Round 2 of the 2010 Eastern Conference playoffs. The memory of 2010′s collapse undoubtedly made the Bruins’ 4-0 series sweep of the Flyers in the 2011 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals all that much sweeter.

4.) Nathan Horton’s Overtime Winner In Game 7 Against Montreal (April 27)

– After falling behind 2-0 in the first round of the 2011 playoffs after two straight home losses to the Montreal Canadiens, experts across the country wrote off the Bruins and left them for dead. However, the resiliency of the Bruins payed off as the B’s fought and clawed their way back to a 3-3 series tie and a 3-3 tie in overtime of game 7 at TD Garden. It was then that Nathan Horton blasted one past Habs’ netminder Carey Price to silence the ghosts of Game 7′s past and vault the B’s into the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Click here to view the embedded video.

3.) The Stanley Cup Banner Raising Ceremony (October 6)

– Despite the unfortunate outcome of the game that was played, a 2-1 loss at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers, opening night 2011 was undoubtedly the most memorable kick-off of a Bruins’ season in many years. The Bruins and their staff put together a truly special ceremony for their fans. Perhaps the best feature of the ceremony was the reenactment of the Cup-raising tradition that takes place after a team has secured Lord Stanley. With Game 7 of the Cup taking place in Vancouver, and Bruins’ fans being relegated to watching the original ceremony on television, the B’s staff decided to let their devoted fans get a chance to watch it live on Opening night. The night would conclude with the franchise’s sixth world title banner being securely raised to the rafters of the TD Garden.

2.) Rolling Rally Stanley Cup Championship Parade (June 18)

– On June 18, the entire city of Boston poured it’s heart out for it’s favorite hockey team as over one million New Englanders converged on the Hub for the celebration of the Bruins’ first Stanley Cup championship since 1972. Boston’s hockey roots truly shined through on this day as the B’s rolling produced the largest turnout for any Boston sports celebration ever, surpassing marks set this past decade by the Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots.

1.) Winning The Stanley Cup (June 15)

– This one needs little explanation. The most complete team in recent Bruins history ended the city’s 39-year Stanley Cup drought by quenching their fans’ thirst for victory with a 4-0 shutout of the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena to capture the sixth world championship in team history. June 15 will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest days in Boston sports history.

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Not only do I enjoy watching the NHL, I’m a fan of international hockey and I love seeing the best taking on the best.  As a puckhead, I’ve gone to see the games in the Canada Cup and the World Cup of Hockey. Not only do you get to see the best players represent their country, but watching the fans soak it all in is just as special.

Over the next few days, the city of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, along with neighboring cities Lasalle and Tecumseh, are hosts to the World U-17 Hockey Challenge.  For those who are not familiar with this event, it is a 10-team round-robin tournament that features the best hockey players under the age of 17 displaying their talents on an international stage. Next to the World Junior Championships, this is second biggest international tournament. These kids are two to three years from being drafted by NHL clubs.

Players from the United States, Russia, Czech Republic, Sweden, and Germany take part, along with five regional Canadian teams, which are Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic (the provinces east of Quebec), West (New Brunswick and Manitoba) and Pacific (Alberta and British Columbia).

The game that I went to today was between Team Germany and Team Ontario and the Canadian colors of red and white were well represented.   Here’s how I can tell: A few rows in front of me, there was a family of seven wearing Team Canada #87 Sidney Crosby jerseys. How’s that for commitment?

Team Ontario has won three of the last four gold medals and they pretty much have the home-ice advantage. I wanted to see Team Ontario play just because of the fact that I’m an OHL fan and I wanted to see these future OHL stars. They are to the U-17 Tournament what Team Canada is to the World Junior Championships. They are a well-oiled machine and they are an example of why the OHL are the best at producing young talent.

Here’s a small sample size of the future Hall-of-Famers who have taken part in this tournament: Joe Sakic (Pacific) and Brendan Shanahan (Ontario) took the first step to Canada’s Program of Excellence by playing in what was formally known as the Quebec Esso Cup.

The NHL stars of today who have participated in the World U-17 include Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Marc-Andre Fleury and Vincent Lecavalier.

The stars of tomorrow took part in this tournament not too long ago.  The “Young Guns” such as Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Ryan Strome, John Tavares (all have represented Ontario) and Jonathan Heberdeau (Quebec) got their feet wet before representing Canada in the World Junior Championship.  Being among the best players in this tournament doesn’t mean that they can cut it in the next level of international play—Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Pacific) excelled in the U-17, but didn’t make the cut for Team Canada in the 2011 WJC.

There some NHL bloodlines involved in the tournament, especially coming from the Canadian teams. Max Domi, who is currently on loan from the London Knights (OHL), is the son of former NHLer Tie, but they are complete opposites.  While Tie was known for being an agitator and for his fights with Bob Probert, Max is a player that’s gifted offensively and has a burst of speed that reminds me of Pavel Bure.  While PK Subban currently stars for the Montreal Canadiens, his younger brother, Jordan is on leave from the Belleville Bulls to help shore up the defense for Ontario.  Cole Cassels was taken in the first round of the OHL draft by the Oshawa Generals and is the son of former NHLer, Andrew.

Bo Horvat and Aaron Ekblad are two that you’ve probably never heard of before, but you probably will very soon.  Ekblad was the first overall pick of the Barrie Colts this summer.  The kid is a 6 foot 3 inch defenseman and, just like any teenager, is still growing. He reminds me a lot of a young Chris Pronger.  Horvat, who is property of the Knights, scored one of the goals in Ontario’s 5-0 shutout of Germany. He, like his teammate Max Domi, is another offensively-gifted player, but he looks like the type of player who will do whatever it takes to win.  Maybe he can bring back the phrase “Bo Knows Hockey,” but time will tell.

Going to an event like this was neat.  I was surrounded by mostly Canadian fans and they were really into it. Being at an international sporting event doesn’t happen that often and I wanted to take advantage of it. I’ll be going to another U-17 game tomorrow as Russia will take on USA in another matinee affair.  Who knows if I’ll see the next Alex Ovechkin or the next Phil Kessel, but it will be exciting to watch.

Unfortunately for the Cats, on Friday night the Bruins were able to solve the mystery that is the 35-year-old Theodore, getting to him early and often, en route to an 8-0 romping of the Panthers. Backstopped by 31 saves from Finnish netminder Tuukka Rask, the B’s extended their winning streak to six games and improved their record to 20-2-1 in their last 23 contests. However more impressive for Boston was the amazing depth that Boston put on full display in front of 17,565 of their home fans. An astounding total of fourteen skaters wearing the 8-Spoked “B” registered at least one point on Friday while each and every forward line contributed at least one goal. That type of depth is truly an anomaly i this league. B’s forward Benoit Pouliot understands the importance of such an advantage:

“It says a lot about our depth. Teams around the league know that we can score with any line we have out there.” — Benoit Pouliot

Leading the way for the B’s was none other than their 5’9″ pesky sophomore winger, Brad Marchand. The 23-year-old Nova Scotia native set a new career high on Friday, racking up five total points, including his first career hat-trick.

“He’s (Brad Marchand) good at finding the puck around the net, and also finding ways to put the puck in. He’s pretty resilient, too, just to find ways to score. Right now he’s playing really well.” – Patrice Bergeron

It was Marchand who would open up the game’s scoring at the 5:56 mark of the first period as he collected a pass from Patrice Bergeron and beat Theodore blocker side for the B’s first shorthanded goal of the season. The Bruins were far from finished after that as Milan Lucic, Benoit Pouliot and Dennis Seidenberg would all collect first period tallies to give Boston a 4-0 lead after one. Amidst this hectic scoring pace, the Bruins’ oft-underrated winger Benoit Pouliot managed to put in his entry for goal of the year. The video below shows how Pouliot dangles Florida blueliner Dmitry Kulikov out of his hockey pants and then beats Theodore with a back-door backhander.

“Pou (Benoit Pouliot), he’s sick. That was an unbelievable play there. I think a lot of people had written him off there and said he had no chance but he’s got a lot of skill. That was a beautiful goal.” – Brad Marchand

In the second, the B’s would add two more to their total, courtesy of fourth line center Gregory Campbell, and the always reliable Patrice Bergeron as they would each get one past the newly inserted Scott Clemmensen.

In the third, it was all about no. 63 as Marchand would pot his second and third of the night to extend the Bruins’ lead to an insurmountable 8-0. The score would remain that way for the rest of the game, as the Bruins entered the holiday break with a convincing victory over the Southeast division-leading Florida Panthers. With the win, the Bruins have now moved into first place in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of both the Rangers and the Flyers.

From The Room:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Pouliot

KEY STATS

Goals–                       FLA (0)                 BOS (8)

Shots–                       FLA (31)                 BOS (35)

Power-Play–           FLA (0-2)                BOS (2-5)

Penalty-Kill–           FLA (3-5)               BOS (2-2)

• Ben’s Three Stars– ….. 3.) Tuukka Rask   ….. 2.) Patrice Bergeron   ….. 1.) Brad Marchand

What’s Next?

From here the B’s will get four days off from game action as they enjoy the Christmas Holiday and prepare for a visit to the Jobing.com Arena where they will face-off against the Phoenix Coyotes on December 28th. This will be the first time the B’s and ‘Yotes will meet since splitting last year’s NHL Premiere games in Prague, Czech Republic. The Panthers will be off until December 27th, when they kick-off a year-ending three game home-stand against Phil Kessel and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Have a Merry Christmas Everyone!

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Forwards ($38.05 MIL)

Line 1:

Phil Kessel (Toronto) $5.4 MIL — Jason Spezza (Ottawa) $7.0 MIL — Joffrey Lupul (Toronto) $4.25 MIL

I like the chemistry shown between Lupul and Kessel up in Toronto; throw in Jason Spezza’s world class play-making abilities, and you’ve got one of the best first lines in the league.

Line 2:

Brad Marchand (Boston) $2.5 MIL — Tyler Seguin (Boston) $3.5 MIL — Max Pacioretty (Montreal) $1.65 MIL

Boston’s duo of sensational sophomores have proven themselves as legitimate top-six forwards in this league. Their speed, coupled with the size and strength of Montreal’s budding power forward would provide a difficult match-up for any D-pairing.

Line 3:

Nick Foligno (Ottawa) $1.2 MIL — Patrice Bergeron (Boston) $5.0 MIL — Clarke MacArthur (Toronto) $3.25 MIL

You have got to love the versatility of this line. All three of these players can be counted on in any situation, including on both sides of special teams.

Line 4:

Daniel Paille (Boston) $1.1 MIL — Gregory Campbell (Boston) $1.1 MIL — Zenon Konopka (Ottawa) $0.70 MIL

Konopka and Campbell are two of the best face-off men in all of the NHL, while Daniel Paille can be a very valuable asset on the penalty-kill. All come at a very reasonable price and provide the team with the necessary grit to excel in today’s NHL.

13th Forward: Nathan Gerbe (Buffalo) $1.4 MIL

Defense ($19.85 MIL)

Pair 1:

Zdeno Chara (Boston) $6.9 MIL — Erik Karlsson (Ottawa) $1.3 MIL

Easily the two biggest no-brainers on this team, Chara and Karlsson provide the perfect balance of defense and offense on the squad’s top pair.

Pair 2:

P.K. Subban (Montreal) $0.85 MIL — Dennis Seidenberg (Boston) $3.25 MIL

Subban and Seidenberg also provide a great mix of offense and defense. Seidenberg’s veteran savvy and poise should be able to assist the young Subban’s development.

Pair 3:

Luke Schenn (Toronto) $3.6 MIL — Andrej Sekera (Buffalo) $2.75 MIL

The youngest pairing of the three, both players should be good enough to one day become top-pair defensemen. Meanwhile, both come at relatively inexpensive cap hits.

7th Defenseman:  Jake Gardiner (Toronto) $1.20 MIL

Goaltenders ($7.75 MIL)

1.) Tim Thomas (Boston) $5.0 MIL

2.) Carey Price (Montreal) $2.75 MIL

Boston’s Tim Thomas is once again putting up Vezina-worthy numbers, furthering the notion that he truly ages like a fine wine. Meanwhile, Carey Price, who comes with a manageable price tag, has also asserted himself as one of the best netminders in the game.

Recap:

Total Salary: $65.65 MIL

Cap Space: $0.00

Representation: Boston 8 , Toronto 5 , Ottawa 4 , Montreal 3 , Buffalo 2

General Manager: Peter Chiarelli (Boston)

Head Coach: Claude Julien (Boston)

– It’s hard to argue with the defending Stanley Cup champion head coach and GM combo.

Home Arena: Bell Centre (Montreal)

– One of the loudest buildings in the league, this one was an easy choice.

– NHL salary cap information courtesy of CapGeek.

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Through a first period that had it’s ups and downs of entertaining action, the game remained scoreless, despite a handful of quality chances from both teams.

The score would remain 0-0, up until the 4:20 mark of the second frame when the newly-signed David Krejci potted his 5th of the season after a beauty of behind-the-net pass from Nathan Horton found it’s way onto the stick of the 25-year-old Czech-born pivot. Unfortunately for Boston, a mere 0:48 seconds later, noted Bruins’ killer Mikhail Grabovski evened the score at 1 as he blasted a slapshot over the right shoulder of Tuukka Rask and into the Boston goal. The 5’11″ native of Potsdam, Germany has now scored 12 goals and added 3 assists in 25 career games against the Bruins.

 ”I like to play against good teams, it’s good for me. I mostly remember scoring my first NHL goal against Boston. I guess it’s a little bit lucky against this team (Boston).” – Mikhail Grabovski

After some brilliant work on the penalty-kill twice during the period, the B’s were able to regain the lead at the 13:11 mark when Rich Peverley connected with a streaking Chris Kelly who found the back of the net for his 10th of the season. The goal continues what has been a remarkable season thus far for no. 23, who has already posted 17 points (10G/7A) for the B’s.

“I think it was a great play by Benny (Benoit Pouliot) to (enter) the zone. We were getting a change and he started the whole play off and Andrew (Ference) joined later. They had a good read and obviously the pass from Pevs (Rich Peverley) was right on and I didn’t have to do much.”  – Chris Kelly

It wasn’t until 3:06 into the third period that another puck would find the back of the net, when Johnny Boychuk extended the B’s lead to 3-1 on his third goal of the season –all on slapshots from the right point– after some hard-work in the corners from Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. “You know me, come on. No muffin wrister. I’ll take a slap shot” Boychuk said jokingly in his post-game press interview. With only 5:34 remaining in the 3rd period, after a solid three minutes of dominating play withing the Leafs’ zone, David Krejci found Nathan Horton open in the slot and he rifled it through a screen and past Reimer to extend the Boston lead to 4-1. Despite a flurry of late third period chances from the Bruins, who controlled the action for the better part of the rest of the game, the score would remain 4-1 as Boston walked away with their 4th straight win and their 13th in the past 14 games.

“They are a good team, they play well as a team and they had us pinned in for some pretty good stretches there. Some of the big bodies that they have, it’s tough to get the puck back. They control the puck pretty well and I think it showed there.” – John-Michael Liles

Throughout the first two periods, these two Northeast division squads looked relatively evenly matched, as two teams fighting for first place should. However, it was in the third period that Boston took over and proved themselves a better team. Out-shooting Toronto by an 11-4 margin and controlling play for the better portion of the period, the B’s scored two goals in the final frame to improve their record to 4-0-0 against the Leafs this season.

“I thought that as the game went on we were better and better and we were just controlling the puck. And then we were just really making smart plays without taking some risks. And we were basically controlling the game from that point.” — Zdeno Chara

KEY STATS

Goals–                        TOR (1)            BOS (4)

Shots–                       TOR (22)           BOS (30)

Power-Play–           TOR (0-4)          BOS (0-2)

Penalty-Kill–           TOR (2-2)          BOS (4-4)

• Three Stars– ….. 3.) David Krejci  ….. 2.) Tuukka Rask     ….. 1.) Johnny Boychuk

What’s Next?

Next on the docket for the Bruins is a visit to Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Consol Energy Center on Monday night to kick off what will be a very busy week for the Black and Gold.

“It’s going to be a big game. We haven’t faced them this season yet. Obviously they got a healthy team. I’m sure it’s going to be a good game.” – Zdeno Chara

It’s a quick 24-hour turnaround for the B’s as they will then make their first ever visit to the MTS Centre to face the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday evening. The Maple Leafs will also be faced with a set of back-to-back games on Monday and Tuesday, as they visit the Rangers at Madison Square Garden prior to hosting Zach Parise and the Devils back at the Air Canada Centre.

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Tonight’s Line-Up (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS

Marchand–Bergeron–Seguin

Lucic–Krejci–Horton

Pouliot–Kelly–Peverley

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE

Chara–Boychuk

Seidenberg–Corvo

Ference–McQuaid

GOALTENDER

Rask

Thomas

Scratches– ….. None

– Tonight’s game can be seen on NESN (Edwards, Brickley) and heard on 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers), the flagship radio station of the Boston Bruins.

NEWS & NOTES

– Tonight the Toronto Maple Leafs will receive a much needed emotional boost from the return of their no. 1 goaltender, James Reimer. As I suggested in Wednesday’s blog, the 23-year-old Manitoba native will make his first start tonight since October 22, when he suffered a concussion, courtesy of Montreal Canadiens’ captain Brian Gionta.

– Bruins’ youngsters Jordan Caron and Steven Kampfer are both not with the team today after being sent to Providence early on Thursday morning. Both took part in the P-Bruins’ 4-1 loss to the Connecticut Whale on Friday and will likely be back in action on Saturday evening as Providence pays a visit to the Manchester Monarchs.

– Former Boston Bruins’ prospect and 2008 first round draft choice Joe Colborne will likely be making his TD Garden debut on Saturday night. Since being dealt to Toronto last February in the trade that sent Tomas Kaberle the way of the Bruins, the 6’5″ Colborne has notched one goal and added four assists in seven career games with the Leafs.

– Tonight will mark the first game of the month of December for Boston. The Bruins enter the final month of the calendar year after a historical 12-0-1 run through November. The B’s 13-game point streak will be put on the line on Saturday against a Maple Leafs’ team looking to re-take control of the Northeast division.

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Leading the way for the B’s on Wednesday was their much-maligned (this season) top line of Nathan Horton, David Krejci and Milan Lucic.  The Boston first line, which hadn’t seen a multi-goal performance since Nathan Horton on November 7 against the Islanders, combined for 3 goals, 4 assists and a +5 total rating on Wednesday. It is imperative for the B’s to get their top line back on track and producing at a consistent pace, and last night was a huge step in the right direction for head coach Claude Julien’s bunch.

Despite allowing an early power-play goal to noted Bruins-killer Mikhail Grabovski, Boston was able to outscore the Leafs 6-2 over the remainder of the game. It was at the 15:08 mark of the first frame that Milan Lucic would knot the score at one a side when he went upstairs of Leafs’ netminder Jonas Gustavsson after a bit of beautiful triangle passing on the power-play.

After a back-and-forth second period in which the B’s would take a 3-2 lead after David Krejci notched his 4th of the season and Zdeno Chara added his 5th of the campaign, it appeared as if Boston had took control of the game’s momentum. It was at the 3:03 mark of the final frame that the Bruins took control of the game as Benoit Pouliot picked the corner on Gustavsson for his 3rd of the season to make the score 4-2. A mere 2:57 later, Toronto would answer as rookie Matt Frattin scored his second of the season after an unlucky bounce caught Tim Thomas off guard and the puck ended up in the Boston net. At the 15:21 mark of the third period, as David Krejci set up shop in Wayne Gretzky’s office, Milan Lucic found his way to the front of the Toronto net for the eventual redirection of a pass from the Czech-born centerman for his second goal of the night. Brad Marchand would add an empty-netter with 0:52 seconds remaining to seal the 6-3 win for Boston as they continue their domination of Original Six rival Toronto. The Bruins have now outscored the Leafs by an astonishing 19-5 total in three games this season.

KEY STATS

Goals–                        BOS (6)            TOR (3)

Shots–                       BOS (40)           TOR (37)

Power-Play–           BOS (1-5)          TOR (1-2)

Penalty-Kill–           BOS (1-2)          TOR (4-5)

• Three Stars– ….. 3.) Luke Schenn ….. 2.) Milan Lucic    ….. 1.) David Krejci

What’s Next?

Following tonight’s game both teams will make the trip to Boston for the second half of this home-and-home series between these two original six rivals on Saturday night. In their only meeting at TD Garden this season, Boston steamrolled the Leafs by a 6-2 score.

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Tonight’s Line-Up (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS

Marchand–Bergeron–Seguin

Lucic–Krejci–Horton

Pouliot–Kelly–Peverley

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE

Chara–Boychuk

Seidenberg–Corvo

Ference–McQuaid

GOALTENDER

Thomas

Rask

Scratches– ….. Caron , Kampfer

– Tonight’s game can be seen on NESN (Edwards, Brickley) and heard on 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers), the flagship radio station of the Boston Bruins.

NEWS & NOTES

– Toronto will once again be without injured goaltender James Reimer, who has been out with concussion symptoms since being steamrolled by Montreal’s Brian Gionta in a game back in October. However, reports suggest that the 6’2″ Manitoba native may be back in the Leafs’ lineup on Saturday night at the TD Garden. Jonas Gustavsson and Ben Scrivens are expected to be the two netminders dressed for Ron Wilson’s team tonight.

– In two meetings with the Leafs this season, the Bruins have very clearly been the superior team. Outscoring Toronto to the tune of 13-2, Boston holds a 2-0-0 record against the Maple Leafs in 2011.

– As mentioned above, the B’s have secured 23 of a possible 24 points in the month of November. Tonight the Bruins have the chance to close out their first month without a regulation loss since January of 1969.

– Former Bruin Phil Kessel continues to shine in Toronto, posting a league leading 16 goals and adding 15 helpers in only 24 games of action.

– The product of the infamous Kessel-to-Toronto trade is none other than Tyler Seguin (among others). Seguin, a native of the Greater Toronto area, stole the show  in the B’s last visit to the ACC, registering the first hat-trick of his NHL career, en route to a 7-0 Boston victory.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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The Lightning are in third place in the Southeast Division four point behind the Florida Panthers and 10th in the Eastern Conference.

After 22 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team in goals with 14 (2nd in the NHL) and points with 24. Marc-Andre Bergeron is tops in assists with 16. Stamkos leads the team in rating with a +8.

Forward Steve Downie has accumulated 49 penalty minutes (5th in the NHL) and goalie Mathieu Garon has five wins, a 2.46 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. Dwayne Roloson has six wins, a 3.46 goals against average and an .887 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:06 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 86.

The Lightning have scored 62 goals (14th in the NHL) and allowed 69 goals 921st in the NHL). The Bolts power play was a little better this week and now is clicking 16.05% (17th in the NHL) of the time, down from 19.05% just six games ago. The penalty kill is successful 82.98% (15th in the NHL) of the time, slightly below the league average of 83.04%.

Box Scores

Game 20 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Toronto Maple Leafs 7

Game 21 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Florida Panthers 1 OT

Game 22 – Tampa Bay Lightning 5 – Florida Panthers 1

\

Three Stars of the Week

Steven Stamkos – Three goals and and two assists.

Martin St. Louis – One goal and two assists.

Vincent Lecavalier – Two goals.

Transactions

Forward Blair Jones was placed on waivers, cleared and was sent to Norfolk.

Forward Dana Tyrell was recalled from Norfolk and signed a two year, $1.2 million, one way contract with the Lightning. The former second-round pick in 2007 was in the final year of an entry level contract that paid a base salary of $650,000. He would have been a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. He is skating with the team while wearing the red “no contact” jersey.

Forward Steve Downie is day-to-day with an upper body injury. He skated with the team Monday for the first time since suffering an undisclosed upper body injury on Tuesday against Toronto. Downie has been able to workout off the ice all week.

Bolt Notes

The Lightning earned four of a possible six points this week. Tampa Bay’s defense continues to struggle, especially five-on-five. In that situation they have given up 46 goals (24th in the NHL). The Bolts are 22nd in the NHL in goals against (3.04) and 19th in the NHL in shots against (30.5) per game. Brett Clark is -5, Eric Brewer is -5, Victor Hedman is -3 and Bruno Gervais is -2.

With the DNA line reunited, Bolts look more like last seasons Cup contenders

After being blown out by Toronto on Tuesday, the Bolts brass found it’s scapegoat in Blair Jones and sent him down to Norfolk and called up Dana Tyrell. Certainly, Jones is not to blame for the Bolts defensive woes, but a shakeup was due for this underachieving team. The move seemed to awaken Tampa Bay as they played two solid games against the Panthers, looking much like the forechecking, first to the puck squad of last season.

Tyrell played alongside his DNA line partners, Nate Thompson and Adam Hall and provided a spark that led the Bolts to their first back-to-back wins since November 9th.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay is at Minnesota on Monday, at Detroit on Wednesday and home vs. the New York Rangers on Saturday.

*DNA line photograph courtesy of Susan Ferlita.*

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Norfolk Admirals kicked off a six game homestand with a Thanksgiving Eve match against the Charlotte Checkers.  What started off as typical Admirals and Checkers game quickly ended in the third period. At the end of two the teams were tied at three goals each. In the third, Cory Conacher gave the Admirals a 4-1 lead, butCharlotte would storm back with three unanswered goals.Norfolk could not figure out how to score a goal and appeared to not even try.

The Providence Bruins came into town for a two game weekend series. Norfolkhad already taken two games up north and wanted to take the two games down here as well. The Friday night game marked the return of Admiral Fan favorite, Blair Jones. His presence on the ice was immediately felt as he scored the first goal of the night. The Admirals  scored early and often with goals from Ondrej Palat, Pierre-Cedric Labrie, Radko Gudas, and J.T. Wyman. Providence was held to one goal in the 5-1 victory.

Saturday night’s game was a little tighter, but the outcome was the same.  Pierre-Cedric Labrie, Richard Panik, and James Wright scored for the Admirals and Dustin Tokarski won his second game in as many nights.Norfolkheld the Bruins to two goals and 28 shots in the 3-2 victory.

Cory Conacher (10G 13A 23Pts +1) and Trevor Smith (9G 13A 22Pts +12) lead the Admirals in scoring. Conacher maintains his hold as the scoring leader for all AHL rookies.  Mark Barberio (3G 13A 16Pts +10) leads the defense. Dustin Tokarski (7-5-0 2.49GAA) appeared in two of the three games this week winning both games. Jaroslav Janus (5-3-1 3.18GAA) took the loss Wednesday night againstCharlotte.

For the Season the Admirals are 12-8-0-1 with 25 points. They are currently second in the East Division and trail the WB/S Penguins by two points. Lightning prospect James Wright broke out of his scoring drought with his first goal of the season Sunday night.Norfolk is currently on a 2-0-0-0 streak and is 5-5-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Dustin Tokarski – Two wins, stopped 43 of 46 shots.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie  – Two goals and an assist.

Blair Jones  – A goal, 10 SOG and lots of ice time.

Transactions

Dana Tyrell – Recalled by Tampa Bay

Blair Jones – Assigned by Tampa Bay

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day to day

Michel Ouellet – Undisclosed –Day to day

Kevin Quick – Lower Body Injury – Day to day

An Observation from the Stands

The Charlotte game on Wednesday was a disappointment. It seems that the Admirals always have a tough time against the Checkers. This game was no exception. The Checkers took the wind out of the Admirals sails and the Norfolk did nothing to fight back. It was like they were in a hurry to get to their Thanksgiving meal.

On Friday and Saturday it was all Admirals. Already two games up on the Bruins in the season series, the Admirals were determined to finish them off. Blair Jones received a warm welcome back to Scope. Jones who usually wore number 9 appeared on the ice with number 19. I guess Alexandre Picard did not want to return the number or was never asked. Jones logged plenty of ice time and did his part to keep the Bruins on their toes. Saturday night saw the end of James Wright’s scoring drought as he netted his first of the season. Ondrej Palat stepped up his game with a goal and two assists over the last two games. Overall this was a good week for the Admirals. Tokarski played well in both games, making some spectacular saves. Norfolk has not been relying on the Conacher, Smith, and Carter line for all of its goals. It’s nice to see players like Labrie, Panik, Gudas, and Palat getting in on the action as well.

The Week Ahead

The East Division leading WB/S Penguins come in for a Tuesday night game. Friday and Saturday has the Philadelphia Flyers farm team, Adirondack Phantoms, coming to town.

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Sparked by the magnificent play of goaltender Tim Thomas, who recorded his eight straight victory on Saturday, the Bruins were able to successfully bounce back from Friday’s loss to Detroit. The 37-year-old Flint, Michigan native stopped 40 of Winnipeg’s 42 shots, en route to his eighth straight win.

Finding themselves in a 2-0 hole midway through the first frame –thanks to Winnipeg goals from Evander Kane and Dustin Byfuglien– the Bruins were able to recover quickly and earned themselves a 3-2 advantage after 40 minutes of play. After Jets’ defenseman was banished for two minutes for interfering with Brad Marchand, the B’s were able to solve Ondrej Pavelec for the first time all night on a Zdeno Chara slapshot that trickled through the Winnipeg goaltender and into the goal.

The ice completely tilted into Boston’s favor in the second period, as forwards Chris Kelly and former Thrasher/Jet Rich Peverley would completely dominate the action. Scoring a pair of goals –His eighth and ninth of the season– and aiding in the kill of two Winnipeg power-plays, Kelly’s skill and versatility paid huge dividends for Boston tonight.

“Kelly continues to have a real good year for us. He’s one of those guys that flies under the radar most times. There are always bigger names that get mentioned ahead of him, but he’s probably one of our most consistent forwards this year and continues to impress on the stat sheet. And something that’s not necessarily thought of as pedigree, but at the same time he’s one of those guys that is contributing so well for us and that’s giving our team a lot more depth with scoring.” – Claude Julien

Easily the two most unheralded heroes of this years Bruins team, as well as last, Kelly and Peverley combined for two goals and two assists on Saturday as they continue to provide valuable secondary scoring to this Boston team. The two of them, along with Benoit Pouliot have slowly but surely created one of the best and most well-rounded third lines in the NHL. “We’re having a lot of fun right now. I think the three of us are getting more familiar with one another.” said Chris Kelly after Boston’s 4-2 win over the Jets.

“I like what I see. They (Peverley, Kelly, Pouliot) seem to be working well together. As we mentioned earlier, Benoit’s (Pouliot) got a good skill level that we think we can tap into and maybe even improve with the way we play… That line is starting to give us some real good shifts… When they put their top lines on and we’ve come off a power-play, you can feel comfortable about putting that line out there and still doing the job.”  – Claude Julien

Despite the strong third period effort from the Jets, one in which they out-shot the B’s by a 16-10 margin, Boston was able to hang on for it’s 11th win of November after Brad Marchand was able to add an empty-net tally with only 1:09 left on the clock.  The most important thing that Boston can take out of this game was the team’s ability to bounce back from a hard-fought loss and earn a crucial two points.

“Coming off a loss we wanted to make sure to come back and get back on the winning ways because we want to put ourselves in a good place for the playoffs.” — Johnny Boychuk

KEY STATS

Goals–                        WPG (2)           BOS (4)

Shots–                       WPG (42)           BOS (36)

Power-Play–           WPG (0-4)          BOS (1-6)

Penalty-Kill–           WPG (5-6)          BOS (4-4)

• Three Stars– ….. 3.) Rich Peverley ….. 2.) Tim Thomas    ….. 1.) Chris Kelly

What’s Next?

Up next for the Black and Gold is a home-and-home series with Phil Kessel and the NorthEast division leading Toronto Maple Leafs. The two game set will begin on Wednesday evening at the Air Canada Centre and will conclude next Saturday back at the TD Garden. Boston holds a 2-0-0 record against Toronto this season, outscoring the Leafs by an astounding 13-2 over that span. From here the Jets will return home to Winnipeg for a Tuesday night match-up against Jason Spezza’s Ottawa Senators at the MTS Centre.

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On Tuesday night, the Boston Bruins absolutely had to have a victory. That’s right, the defending Stanley Cup Champions were in a must-win situation…..on November 1. Coming into Tuesday’s game against Ottawa, the B’s had lost 3 straight and seven of their first ten this season, with a 2-5-0 record at the TD Garden. Sporting a 3-7-0 record, good for dead-last in the Eastern Conference, the Bruins were in desperate need of a victory. Fortunately for Boston, the defending Cup Champs where able to deliver.

Despite a lack-luster 1st period that saw the B’s go down 2-1 to a young Ottawa Senators squad, Boston was able to recover and defeat the Sens 5-3 at the Garden. In a game in which frustration was sure to boil over, the B’s went down early after Ottawa scored a fluky-type goal, that bounced in off of Adam McQuaid, at the 5:19 mark of the 1st period. Boston was able to respond when Milan Lucic tied the score at 1 as he knocked home the rebound of a Zdeno Chara point shot on the power-play. Unfortunately for the B’s, a mere 0:16 seconds later, the Sens regained the lead on former Merrimack College forward Stephane DaCosta’s 3rd goal of the season.

Being able to respond in the 2nd period was crucial if the Bruins wanted to come out of Tuesday’s game with their 4th win of the season. At the 4:21 mark of the 2nd frame, B’s alternate captain Patrice Bergeron tied the game at 2 as he fired a wrist shot past Craig Anderson’s blocker-side after receiving  a beautiful cross-ice feed from Tyler Seguin. It wasn’t until the 18:00 mark of the 2nd period that Boston would take it’s first lead of the night after some hard-work and cycling behind the net from Rich Peverley led to a one-timer goal for Chris Kelly.

“I think it was a great play by Rich and I think everyone was kind of focused on him because he entered the zone with so much speed. It was a great pass by him and I happened to find that area up in the high slot.” – Chris Kelly

The ability to bounce back after getting behind twice early, was a huge factor in tonight’s win for Boston. “When they scored to tie it, we didn’t get down on ourselves…..it’s nice to see us come back hard” said Bruins’ forward Daniel Paille.

When Ottawa rookie defenseman Jared Cowen potted his first career goal at the 5:04 mark of the final frame, it appeared as if the Bruins might once again find themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard. Tuesday night, the B’s were not going to allow that to happen. Only 1:37 after the Sens had tied the game, Boston jumped back on top as Johnny Boychuk blasted a slap-shot through a screen and past Anderson to give the Bruins the lead.

“It’s obviously a huge goal for us. That’s exactly what we needed to respond right away, almost right after. It showed that tonight everyone was on the same page and it paid off. ” – Patrice Bergeron

The Bruins would not look back from there, extending their lead to 5-3 on a breakaway goal from Daniel Paille, a mere 0:37 seconds after Boychuk gave Boston the lead.

In what many consider a more well-rounded effort from the Black & Gold, B’s forward Chris Kelly saw great improvements in the overall play of his team:

“I thought, for the most part, that was the most consistent effort that we’ve had so far this year. There were still times that I thought we could’ve been a bit better, but we played well.” – Chris Kelly

Consistency, which has been the Bruins’ biggest Achilles heel in 2011-12 was definitely not an issue on Tuesday, as the B’s received solid offensive contributions up and down the line-up — 1 goal from each forward line, 13 skaters registered a point — and were able to assert themselves physically in all three zones of the ice. Boston must build off Tuesday’s victory and bring the same type of effort on Saturday, when they visit the division leading Maple Leafs.

“Tonight was a start, and it has to carry over to next game. That’s where we have to be determined to want to bring those kind of efforts with us in the next game (Against Toronto) which is going to be as tough a team to play right now as any.” – Claude Julien

 

KEY STATS

Goals–                  OTT (3)        BOS (5)

Shots–                  OTT (26)      BOS (41)

Power-Play–      OTT (0-3)    BOS (1-7)

Penalty-Kill–      OTT (6-7)     BOS (3-3)

Three Stars– ….. 3.) Nick Foligno ….. 2.) Patrice Bergeron ….. 1.) Rich Peverley

What’s Next?

The Bruins will once again be the beneficiaries of an extended period of days off, as their next game is not until Saturday evening when they visit Phil Kessel and his 1st-place Toronto Maple Leafs. When the two teams met on October 20 at the TD Garden, Boston dominated, winning 6-2 in front of their home fans. On Saturday, Kessel –the league’s leading goal-scorer– and the Leafs will look for revenge, on the ice of the Air Canada Centre. For Ottawa, it’s a return home to the confines of ScotiaBank Place for a 3-game home-stand that will feature visits from Jacques Martin’s Montreal Canadiens, the Sabres, and the Rangers.

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Following a 3-2 shootout victory at Chicago’s United Center, the Boston Bruins returned home to TD Garden to begin a 4-game home-stand. Prior to the start of the home-stand, the B’s record sat at 2-3-0 (4 Points). After  three quarters of this stretch of games at the TD Garden, the B’s record is at 3-5-0 (6 Points). Boston has accumulated 6 of a possible 16 points this season (37.5%).

Standings

The Bruins currently sit in a tie with the Ottawa Senators for 3rd place in the NorthEast Division and are 12th in the Eastern Conference. The B’s are 4 points behind the Buffalo Sabres and  5 points behind the first place Toronto Maple Leafs. Boston is also 8 points back of the conference-leading Washington Capitals.

Team Leaders

Bruins’ sophomore sensation Tyler Seguin continues to lead the Black & Gold with 6 assists and 9 points through 8 games in the 2011-12 season. Seguin is also tied with Rich Peverley for the lead in goals, with 3 a piece. Seguin leads the team, and the NHL in plus/minus with a +7, and is 2nd to Patrice Bergeron (28) in shots with 27. After Tuesday’s penalty-filled contest against the ‘Canes, where he watched from the box for 19 minutes, B’s captain Zdeno Chara leads the team with 29 PIMs. Chara is also second on the team in average TOI, with 24:04. Fellow d-man Dennis Seidenberg leads the B’s in that category, averaging 25:12 per game.

Through 6 starts this season, Tim Thomas (3-3-0) has posted a 2.15 GAA with 162 saves and a .926 save percentage. Finnish net-minder Tuukka Rask (0-2-0) has stopped 54 of 59 shots, in 2 starts this season. Rask’s numbers are good for a 2.52 GAA and a .915 save percentage. Perhaps the most staggering statistic is that through 2 games started,  Rask has only been given 1 goal of support.

Boston’s power-play has slightly improved this week, moving up 5 spots, from 27th in the NHL  to 22nd. The B’s are 8 for 31 with the man-advantage in 2011-12, good for a 12.9% conversion rate. The good news for the Black & Gold is that their penalty-kill has been quite impressive, sporting an 87.9% success rate, killing 29 of 33 penalties against. Those numbers put the B’s at 9th in the NHL on the PK. Boston has 4 players who have registered a power-play goal; Brad Marchand, Rich Peverley, Zdeno Chara and Nathan Horton. The only Bruin to score short-handed in 2011-12 is Chris Kelly.

Carolina 4 , Boston 1 (F)

When the Bruins played host to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday evening, they probably did not expect a lot of physicality. Lead by skilled forwards Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner, the ‘Canes are not widely known as a physical team. However, when Carolina went up 2-0 early in the 2nd, the B’s began to get chippy. Captain Zdeno Chara took exception to Jay Harrison taking liberties with Nathan Horton, and proceeded to pummel the ‘Canes blue-liner into oblivion. The Black & Gold were able to build off that emotion to get within one, when Rich Peverley notched his 1st Power-play goal of the season. However, it all went downhill from there, as the B’s would take one penalty after another, leading to 2 Carolina PP goals, and a 4-1 victory for the visitors.

Toronto 2 , Boston 6 (F)

Prior to Thursday night’s contest from Phil Kessel and the 1st-place Leafs, B’s head coach Claude Julien opted to shake up his forward lines, in hopes of providing a spark. The combination of a line-restructure and the return of David Krejci were enough to lead the Bruins to victory, as they trounced the visiting Maple Leafs 6-2 at TD Garden. Milan Lucic, Tyler Seguin, Andrew Ference and Zdeno Chara all recorded 3-point nights, en route to the Boston victory.

San Jose 4 , Boston 2 (F)

On Saturday night, the Bruins were once again taught the age-old lesson of the need to give 100% effort for an entire game. The B’s did not play a “Full 60 To Victory” (Title of their Championship commemorating book) against former Bruins Joe Thornton and the defending Pacific division champs. Entering the 3rd period, Boston found themselves in a 2-0 hole, thanks to goals from Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture. Despite a solid effort from the Milan Lucic–Chris Kelly–Tyler Seguin line, who notched 2 goals in 0:29 seconds during the 3rd period, the Bruins fell 4-2 to San Jose, in their 4th home loss of the season.

Three Stars Of The Week
1.) Milan Lucic — 2 goals and 3 assists in 3 games this week.  Was a plus-3 for the week.

2.) Tyler Seguin — 2 goals and 2 assists in 3 games this week. Was a plus-4 for the week and leads the NHL with a plus-7 for the year.

3.) Chris Kelly — 1 goal and 3 assists in 3 games this week (All after being moved up between Lucic & Seguin).

Injuries

Defenseman Adam McQuaid remains day-to-day with a head/neck injury. McQuaid was injured during Boston’s game in Carolina on October 12, and has been absent from the line-up ever since. The 6’4″ PEI native returned to practice last week, and expects to play on Thursday against Montreal.

Trade Brewing?

On Monday evening, it was revealed that the B’s had cancelled Tuesday’s practice and scheduled a media conference call for GM Peter Chiarelli slated for 6 PM. The B’s failed to include the purpose of the call. The end of the line for Savard?  When the press conference was announced, many believed it would be to formalize the retirement of former B’s pivot Marc Savard. However, I sincerely doubt this is the case. Savard is owed over $20 MIL over the next 6 years; that is simply too much money to leave on the table. Could there be a trade coming? At this point, it is highly unlikely, but never rule anything out. 3 years ago, Chiarelli shipped out Chuck Kobasew only 7 games into the season, after sensing some complacency in his locker room. A contract extension? The guess here is that this press call will be used to announce the re-signing of David Krejci to an extension. Krejci, who has truly embraced the role of no. 1 center, posting 23 points in 25 playoff games one year ago, is slated to become a restricted free agent this summer. However, this is all merely speculation at this point.

The Week Ahead

On Thursday, the Boston Bruins will play host to the hated Montreal Canadiens, as they begin a home-and-home set with their North-of-the-border rivals. Montreal is reeling right now, sitting dead last in the Eastern Conference after a 2-1 home loss to the Florida Panthers on Monday night. Before traveling to the Hub, the Habs will host the Philadelphia Flyers at the Bell Centre on Wednesday. On Saturday evening, the B’s will play the 2nd half of the 2-game set, as they visit Montreal for the first time since Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The Black & Gold will then make a return to the Garden to host the 3-5-0 (6 Points) Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, November 1.

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Regardless of either player’s feelings for one another, 24-year old Maple Leafs’ winger Phil Kessel and 19-year old Bruins’ pivot Tyler Seguin will be linked and compared to one another throughout their entire careers. All of this thanks to a trade in the summer of 2009 that sent 3 top-end draft choices (the first of which was used to draft Seguin 2nd overall) to Boston, in exchange for Kessel.

Despite Boston fans loathing the mere mention of Kessel’s name, the 24-year old Minnesota native has become a prominent scorer in the NHL, during his time with the Maple Leafs. Entering Thursday’s game, Kessel had registered a league-leading 7 goals and 5 assists for 12 total points. However, as he has done in previous games against his former team, Kessel went into a proverbial shell on Thursday, while Seguin lead his team to a 6-2 victory over the previously undefeated Leafs.

The Leafs found a way to get on the board first, after David Steckel beat Tim Thomas glove side on a wrist-shot. However, after that goal, the Bruins would impose their physical presence, and  dominate the Leafs. The Bruins would soon answer with two tallies on the power-play, courtesy of Nathan Horton and Zdeno Chara. Not to be overlooked was the puck-handling & hard-work of Benoit Pouliot, who drew both first period penalties against the Leafs, to set the Bruins up on the Power-play. Head Coach Claude Julien took notice of the strong play by the 6’3″ former Canadien:

“He’s competing hard. He’s really trying to fit in, and he’s trying to do that with his compete level. Although he hasn’t done much on the score sheet, I think he’s coming around and feeling a little bit more comfortable”. – Claude Julien

Coach Julien’s decision to switch up his forward lines continued to pay dividends, when Chris Kelly found the back of the net, when he batted home his own rebound on the back-hand to extend the lead to 3-1. The struggling Maple Leafs would never be able to recover from this 2-goal deficit. Despite a 2nd period that saw the Maple Leafs out-shoot the B’s 14-11 through a scoreless 20 minutes, Boston would bounce back in the 3rd period.

A mere 2:08 into the final frame, Milan Lucic potted his first of the year as he redirected a beautiful cross-crease pass from Tyler Seguin. The Black & Gold did not stop there, as 8 minutes later, Patrice Bergeron made it 5-1 on a quick release wrist-shot over the glove of Jonas Gustavsson. At the 11:43 mark, only 1:35 after Bergeron’s tally, Milan Lucic fed Tyler Seguin in the slot for his 2nd goal of the season. Seguin clearly appreciated Lucic’s returning the favor (of setting the other player up for a goal):

“I’m going to do that every game now if he keeps giving me that nice pass. On his goal he just drove to the net and luckily I got to his stick. And on my goal he took everyone with him. He’s got such a good body that protected the puck and put it right on my tape and luckily it went in” – Tyler Seguin

Thursday was a special night for the 19-year old Brampton, ON native (Seguin), as he set a new career high with 3 points in the game (1 goal, 2 assists). Meanwhile, the face of the league’s most recognizable franchise, Phil Kessel, managed only 1 shot on goal and a -1 in 20:11 of play. Seguin is now Boston’s leading scorer, with 8 points (2 goals, 6 assists) in 7 games this season.

KEY STATS

Goals–                    TOR (2)   BOS (6)

Shots–                   TOR (28)   BOS (43)

Power-Play–      TOR (0-4)   BOS (2-5)

Penalty-Kill–      TOR (3-5)   BOS (4-4)

Three Stars …..3.) Andrew Ference ….. 2.) Milan Lucic ….. 1.) Zdeno Chara

NOTE– Bruins’ Defenseman Andrew Ference tied a single-game  career high, with 3 points (0 goals, 3 assists) in Thursday’s game.

What’s Next?
Next on the slate for the Bruins are the defending Pacific division champion San Jose Sharks.  The Sharks (1-3-0) will be playing in the second half of a back-to-back set, following their game on Friday night in New Jersey. San Jose will be looking to get a boost upon the arrival of newly-acquired winger Martin Havlat, as he returns from injury on Friday night. The Sharks are off to an uncharacteristically poor start this season, when they take on the B’s for the only time this year. For the Leafs, it’s off to Montreal for another divisional battle against the Canadiens on Saturday evening.

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Tonight at TD Garden, the Boston Bruins (2-4-0 (4 Points)) will play host to the white-hot Toronto Maple Leafs (4-0-1 (9 Points)). The Bruins will look to rebound from an ordinarily ugly loss at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night in the Hub. Tonight also kicks off divisional play for the Bruins, who have yet to play against Ottawa, Montreal, or Buffalo. For the Leafs, it will be their 3rd against NorthEast division foes, as their current record against them sits a 2-0-0 after wins against Montreal and Ottawa.

Early on Thursday morning, the Bruins announced that they have assigned 23-year-old defenseman Matt Bartkowski to Providence of the AHL. Playing in 3 of Boston’s 6 games in 2011-’12, the 6’1″ Pittsburgh native accumulated 0-0-0 totals with a plus/minus of -2. It has been evident through all 3 of his appearances that Bartkowski is best-suited for  more seasoning at the AHL level. The biggest issue that Bartkowski is facing currently is confidence. Hopefully, for his sake, more time in the AHL will help him gain that much-needed confidence and “swagger”.

With Bartkowski being demoted to Providence, it means that young Steven Kampfer will be making his season debut this evening. Kampfer is coming off a knee injury that he suffered during the pre-season, and appears to be back in game shape. Kampfer was present at morning skate, and was taking line drills alongside Andrew Ference. Unfortunately for the Bruins, d-man Adam McQuaid was again absent from practice this morning, and will miss his 3rd straight game.  The 6’4″ PEI native missed the past two games for the B’s after suffering a minor neck injury on October 12 in Carolina.

Through 6 games, the Bruins are currently the (not so) proud owners of the league’s worst goals per game average — a dismal 1.67–. It was evident on Tuesday that the status-quo was simply not getting it done for the B’s. They needed a change, and Head Coach Claude Julien knew exactly that. Known for his by-the-book type style and resistance to change, Julien took a step out of the ordinary during Tuesday’s game by running a massive overhaul of his top-3 forward lines. The Bruins are hoping that the shakeup will help spark (among others) Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton, who have a combined 3 points and 18 shots, through 6 games this season.

With all that in mind, Tonight’s lineup Projects as this (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS

Lucic–Kelly–Seguin

Marchand–Bergeron–Horton

Caron–Peverley–Pouliot/Krejci

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE
Chara–Boychuk

Seidenberg–Corvo

Ference–Kampfer

GOALTENDER

Thomas

Rask

NOTE – Toronto netminder James Reimer got the start last night at the ACC against the Winnipeg Jets, therefore Swedish goaltender and Toronto back-up Jonas Gustavsson is expected in goal for the Leafs tonight.

NOTE– Bruins’ top playmaker David Krejci was present at this morning’s skate and was taking line rushes with Rich Peverley, Benoit Pouliot & Jordan Caron. It is entirely possible that #46 returns to the lineup this evening. Krejci has not played since October 10, after suffering a “core injury” during  practice on October 11.

Tonight’s game can be seen on NESN (Edwards, Brickley) beginning at 7PM EST, or heard on 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers), the flagship radio station of the Boston Bruins.

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Darren Helm led the Red Wings to a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. Photo by dinur.

When you think of a Red Wing who had a three-point night, the typical names that come to mind would be Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg,  but neither were in the lineup tonight at the Air Canada Centre.

Members of the current version of  the “Grind Line,” Darren Helm and Patrick Eaves were the offensive catalysts tonight as they each had a goal and two assists as they led the Detroit Red Wings to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2.  Their linemates who split time on the third line with Helm and Eaves, Justin Abdelkader and Drew Miller, each contributed (Abdelkader – one goal; Miller – one assist).  Niklas Kronwall also helped the team’s cause with two assists in the win.

The Red Wings opened the scoring on the power play as Helm used his blazing speed to fend off Leafs forward Mikhail Grabovski.  Helm’s shot from in close was stopped by Leafs goalie James Reimer—but, Abdelkader put home the rebound.  Helm extended the lead to 2-0 as he scored on a wrap-around, which was on another power play.

The Leafs got on the board as Grabovski won the ensuing face-off on the power play and got the puck to Nikolai Kumenin, who passed it over to newly acquired John-Michael Liles, who then ripped a shot past Red Wing goalie Ty Conklin to make it 2-1.  The Red Wings made it 3-1 as Patrick Eaves scored on a backhand. Joey Crabb scored the other goal for the Leafs, but that was all they could muster tonight.  The Red Wings closed the scoring at 4-2 as Tomas Tatar got the puck off of another save by Reimer, but Tatar got the rebound to put it in the back of the net.

Conklin stopped 20 shots for the win while Reimer stopped 22 shots in the loss.  Conklin perfomed very well tonight.  He was fundamentally sound against the Leafs and made the save of the game as he stopped Leafs center Phil Kessel on a breakaway.

The majority of the Red Wings lineup a combination of key depth players, top players of the Grand Rapids Griffins and the backup goalie.  They played like it was a regular season game and they played the typical puck possession game.  Several players from tonight’s lineup will be sent down to Grand Rapids but I’ve a feeling that Helm, Miller and Conklin will crack the regular season roster (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

The Fabian Brunnstrom watch continued tonight, but he was less effective. The lowlight for him (and probably the entire preseason) was when he was called for tripping while the Red Wings were 31 seconds into their sixth power play.  He tripped the Leafs forward while the opposing player was in a one-on-three attack.  He played neither good nor bad, but it was a careless penalty and it wasn’t a good time to go the penalty box, especially if you’re playing for an NHL contract.

The Red Wings close out the exhibition season tomorrow night at the Joe Louis Arena as they host the Pittsburgh Penguins.  This is their final tune-up for the season opener next Friday as they host the Ottawa Senators.