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Bruins Post-Game Recap: Washington at Boston: 11/16/19

/ Max Mainville / Leave a comment
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PHOTO CREDITS: (nhl.com)

By: Max Mainville | Check me out on Twitter @tkdmaxbjj

Less than 24 hours removed from their 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the 12-3-4 Boston Bruins are right back at it tonight against the Washington Capitals who have the best record in the National Hockey League but felt short last night against the Montreal Canadiens.

Pre-Game Notes:

Arena: TD Garden – Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Home: Boston Bruins (12-3-4)

Away: Washington Capitals (14-3-4)

Bruins Last Game: 4-2 win vs TOR

Bruins Gameday Lineup:

Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron is out with a lower-body injury, he is considered day-to-day. Forward Paul Carey will play in his 100th career NHL game as a replacement.

First Period:

The opening minutes of this hockey game starts out pretty even, but it seems that the Capitals are getting a bit more zone time and a few more chances in Boston’s end. That said, the Bruins seem to be playing responsible hockey on the defensive side and they are holding their own against a solid Washington team.

Not long after the Bruins successfully killed off David Pastrnak’s hooking minor, Danton Heinen makes a slick pass from right near the boards to Charlie Coyle in the slot who taps the puck five-hole past Braden Holtby – Bruins score first, it’s 1-0.

This game has been entertaining so far, with both teams getting bids on either goaltender. However, only three minutes after Coyle’s game-opening tally, Travis Boyd scores his first goal of the 2019-20 season off of a couple deflections near the net and Washington ties the game.

In the final minutes of the period, the action amped up even more when the Bruins get their first power-play of the contest with just around 38 seconds remaining. Boston fails to get any chances on the reduced man-advantage due to Pastrnak turning the puck over and allowing the Capitals a shorthanded bid that gets stopped by Halak, but they will start the second frame with over a minute of power-play time.

Not the best period for Boston because of the lack of really good offensive chances, but they did strike on 5-on-5 and are in a tie with one of the top teams in the NHL.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 9 WSH: 18

Score: 1-1 Goals – Coyle (4) Assists: Heinen (5), McAvoy (5); Boyd (1) Assists: Carlson (24), Leipsic (5)

Second Period:

Bruce Cassidy must have said something in the locker room during the first intermission because shortly after the penalty on Washington expired, the Bruins set up a beautiful tic-tac-toe play for Charlie McAvoy who misses the net wide, however, Pastrnak on the goal line buries it on what seemed like an impossible shot, Bruins take a 2-1 lead early on in the second.

Danton Heinen takes a penalty a few minutes after Boston’s goal – another hooking minor. It seems like the officials are calling these stick infractions a lot tonight, Bruins need to be more careful or it may come back to haunt them. Regardless, the penalty-kill looks great and it is back to even-strength.

With 9:55 remaining in the second frame, John Carlson gets his stick caught in the skates of forward Paul Carey who was called up early today and Boston goes to the power-play. They are unable to capitalize and then Washington comes back with a long, dangerous time in Boston’s zone including a one-timer shot that beats Halak, but not the post. Bruins survive the onslaught for now.

The remainder of the period was a good one, but Washington has been the better team offensively – a direct result of the shot department. Bruins ahead by one heading into the final regulation period.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 15 WSH: 30

Score: 2-1 Bruins – Pastrnak (17) Assists: McAvoy (6), Krejci (9)

Third Period:

The third period starts off just as the rest of the game has been – back-and-forth hockey for a good majority of the opening period and the Bruins have been looking solid on both sides of the puck. It does, however, seem like Boston is content playing more of a defensive game to keep their one-goal advantage, but they have to be careful to not get too defensive.

After Tom Wilson absolutely destroys Chris Wagner with a massive body-to-body hit, the Capitals get a good offensive chance to score on an odd-man rush but Charlie McAvoy makes a tremendous effort to backcheck and he manages to disrupt the shooter enough to prevent a shot altogether, a great move from the young defenceman.

As tensions rise with the minutes ticking away, Alex Ovechkin nails McAvoy along the end boards, only for McAvoy to lay a heavy hit on Tom Wilson when the play went the other way. Wilson didn’t like the hit and grabbed McAvoy’s stick. As the two begin to scuffle, captain Zdeno Chara comes to the aid of McAvoy and grabs Wilson. Chara and Wilson each go off for roughing, four-on-four hockey coming up.

Just around halfway into the 4-on-4 session, Charlie Coyle makes a great neutral zone play to steal the puck and get in on a rush towards the net, becoming a breakaway, but Holtby follows Coyle brilliantly to make the pad save. Chara and Wilson’s penalties expire with 3:53 remaining in the third period.

Washington comes just inches away from equalizing the hockey game when Halak attempts to play the puck from behind his net that goes to Wilson and eventually to John Carlson. Carlson’s bomb from the point makes the identifiable “ding” off the post and stays out, 3:04 left to go.

The Capitals pull the goalie with a little over a minute remaining in the game and with the extra man, bury the tying goal. Evgeni Kuznetsov takes the puck behind the net and throws it out front for T.J. Oshie who slaps it home, 2-2 with 58 seconds left in regulation.

This game is going to 3-on-3 overtime.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 21 WSH: 41

Score: 2-2

Overtime:

As soon as the puck is dropped for overtime, Tom Wilson takes a stick up high from Brad Marchand with no call made and then Kuznetsov gets a breakaway in on Jaroslav Halak but Halak somehow manages to make a save to keep it tied for now.

Washington has had the majority of puck possession halfway through overtime, making smart passes and zone entries but on two shots – one from Alex Ovechkin and one from T.J. Oshie missed the net way wide when they tried to snipe it. Boston has not had any chances to bury the game-winning goal yet.

Capitals get another great chance on an outlet pass but Urho Vaakanainen does an amazing job staying strong on Kuznetsov, making it pretty easy for Halak to read the play and make the save. This play from Vaakanainen came moments after he nearly buried it. A great shift for the young prospect. Overtime ends there, the always-loved shootout will end this entertaining affair.

Shootout:

WSH T.J Oshie – NO GOAL

BOS Charlie Coyle – GOAL

WSH Evgeny Kuznetsov – NO GOAL

BOS David Pastrnak – NO GOAL

WSH Nicklas Backstrom – GOAL

BOS Brad Marchand – NO GOAL

WSH Alex Ovechkin – NO GOAL

BOS David Krejci – NO GOAL

WSH Jakub Vrana – GOAL

BOS Chris Wagner – NO GOAL

Final Score: 3-2 Capitals

Max’s Three Stars:

1st Star: BOS G Jaroslav Halak – 42 Saves, .955 SV%

2nd Star: WSH F T.J. Oshie – 1 Goal (Game-Tying), 6 Shots, 21:03 TOI

3rd Star: BOS D Charlie McAvoy – 2 Assists, 23:23 TOI

Boston falls to 12-3-5 with the shootout loss, but take 3-out-of-4 possible points in this back-to-back weekend. Up next, New Jersey Devils on Tuesday in New Jersey.

Check out the new Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast episode 153 that we recorded below! You can find our show on many worldwide platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

Please subscribe to our new Black N’ Gold Hockey YouTube channel! We’d really appreciate the continued support. Click HERE for exciting Black N’ Gold online content!!

Bruins Post-Game Recap: Boston at Toronto: 11/15/19

/ Max Mainville / 2 Comments
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PHOTO CREDITS: (@MapleLeafs on Twitter)

By: Max Mainville | Check me out on Twitter @tkdmaxbjj

On the hands of a devastating 5-4 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers earlier in the week, the Boston Bruins are coming in tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs before another game tomorrow against the Washington Capitals in hopes of ending their current four-game losing skid.

For Toronto, they are coming into the game losing each of their last two meetings with a 5-4 loss to the New York Islanders fresh in their mind only two nights ago. Toronto will be without forward Mitch Marner and Alexander Kerfoot due to injuries that will keep them out for the next few weeks. The Leafs are currently out of a playoff spot and will look to rebound here tonight against their biggest rival.

Tonight, the six most-recent inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame will be present in the stands as the NHL celebrates it’s annual Hockey Hall of Fame Game.

Pre-Game Notes:

Arena: Scotiabank Arena – Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Home: Toronto Maple Leafs (9-7-4)

Away: Boston Bruins (11-3-4)

Last Bruins Result: 5-4 SO loss vs FLA

Starting Goaltenders:

BOS: Tuukka Rask 7-2-2 2.16 GAA .926 SV% Last Game: 25 Saves in 5-4 SO loss to FLA

TOR: Frederik Andersen 9-3-3 2.72 GAA .912 SV% Last Game: 25 Saves in 5-4 loss to NYI

Bruins Gameday Lineup:

Bruins forwards Jake DeBrusk, Zach Senyshyn, Brett Ritchie, Karson Kuhlman, and David Backes are all out with injuries while defensemen Torey Krug, Kevan Miller, and John Moore remain out of the gameday lineup. Head Coach Bruce Cassidy said on Thursday that Brett Ritchie is the only one that has a chance to play tomorrow against the Capitals.

First Period:

Following a great ceremony to honor the Hall of Fame inductees, the two teams get underway. In the opening five minutes or so, the Bruins had the better of the puck possession even though the Leafs took an early lead in the shot department. Just about seven minutes in, Andreas Johnsson manages to get around Charlie McAvoy for a partial breakaway, but Rask makes the pad stop. Less than a minute after, Pastrnak gets a brilliant chance right in front of the net but is robbed by Andersen – we got a game ladies and gentlemen.

Halfway through the opening frame, both teams are going back-and-forth still. The puck seems to be taking bounces and deflections off of bodies on either side of the ice and the physicality is through the roof. Chris Wagner landed a big hit on Trevor Moore in the neutral zone and Trent Frederic has landed numerous hits of his own already. Connor Clifton too:

With about seven minutes left in the period, the Maple Leafs get the best few chances of the game so far with a couple really close shots that were towards an open Bruins net but the shot either missed or was blocked by a Bruin in front. Boston manages to recover and get it out of the zone.

Right after that, Matt Grzelcyk had the puck behind Frederik Andersen and makes a slick pass to Charlie Coyle who was open in that bumper spot that Patrice Bergeron has had success in and buries the game’s first goal, 1-0 Bruins. Great sequence from Boston who dealt with the onslaught of Toronto for a few minutes to bring the play right-back against a tired Leafs line and capitalize, taking some momentum away from the home Toronto crowd.

With 5:51 remaining in the first, the Bruins take the first penalty of the game as David Pastrnak gets sent to the box for two minutes for interference. Toronto needs a tying goal here on the power-play before the buzzer sounds. However, Boston says no to that idea and make a strong kill, back to five-on-five. Leafs fail to get even a single shot on the man-advantage.

3:23 shows on the score clock in the Scotiabank Arena and the Toronto Maple Leafs take their first penalty. Nic Shore gets called on a holding minor. Unlike the Bruins, they struggle to get any momentum at all on the power-play and just looked out of sorts, failing to move the puck around enough and the Maple Leafs successfully kill it off late in this period.

The first period ends after a couple icings by the B’s. Fairly competitive twenty minutes of hockey that sees Boston holding a one-to-nothing lead over Toronto. Solid two-way hockey and much of the same is needed for a full 60-minutes.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 9 TOR: 8

Score: 1-0 Bruins – Goals: Coyle (3) Assists: Grzelcyk (4), Bjork (1)

Second Period:

Again in the opening minutes of the period, the Bruins are showing really good focus and confidence in their game and it has been working out well. Patrice Bergeron has been fantastic on the defensive side of the puck and after each whistle, there seems to be more and more shoving. Tensions are running high as usual with Boston and Toronto.

Toronto is still getting their brief moments of attacks as they have become known for in the past few seasons, but Tuukka Rask has done his job in between the pipes with some big saves. Rask hasn’t been great as of late but looks dialed in thus far.

As Toronto builds momentum, they manage to cycle the puck from behind the Bruins net to Jake Muzzin who one-times it towards the net. Auston Matthews gets his stick on the puck, deflecting it past Tuukka Rask. The on-ice officials reviewed the play for a potential high-stick on the deflection, but after a short review, the goal stands and the Maple Leafs officially ties the game at one.

Boston has a great chance to sway the momentum back to them immediately after the tying marker after a brutal hit by Charlie McAvoy that resulted in a breakaway for Sean Kuraly only moments later. However, Kuraly tries too hard to find a corner on Frederik Andersen and ends up missing the net high and wide.

Later on in the period, Boston gets their second opportunity on a man-advantage when Andreas Johnsson gets caught tripping Charlie McAvoy near the offensive blueline and he goes to the box for two minutes. Boston gets a few really good shots including a great chance for Bergeron off a rebound chance that hits the outside of the post, penalty comes to an end – back to even-strength.

Within the final few minutes of the middle regulation period, Boston makes a few bad turnovers that leads to a wide-open John Tavares with a chance to snipe one past Rask, but he takes a slash from Bergeron that makes him miss the net. Boston to the penalty-kill again. Tuukka Rask made two key saves on a pair of Matthews one-timers, giving Boston the chance to make the kill and they indeed do, five-on-five once again.

Not nearly as good as a period for Boston, but they manage to make it to the intermission tied at one.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 19 TOR: 25

Score: 1-1 – Goals: Matthews (14) Assists: Muzzin (8), Nylander (9)

Third Period:

No time wasted. Boston wins the opening faceoff of the period and they bring it in with Brad Marchand. Marchand takes a wrist shot on net and Andersen leaves a rebound right there for Marchand who shoots it again, this time crossing the goal line and the Bruins take a 2-1 lead eleven seconds into the third period of play.

Boston’s lead does not last long as less than four minutes into the third, the Bruins have a terrible miscommunication in their own zone, resulting in Kasperi Kapanen being all alone and he beats Rask with the shot. This hockey game is tied at two goals apiece with sixteen minutes left to play.

That does not last long either, Charlie Coyle works hard along the end boards behind Andersen, feeding Marchand in the slot. Marchand fakes a wrist shot as he gathers the puck, shoots a shot that’s blocked, but gets his own rebound to bury it again. Three goals in 4:57, Bruins score 1:12 after Toronto’s goal, 3-2 Bruins.

The B’s continue their offensive opportunities shortly after the midway mark of the third period as the first-line of Marchand, Bergeron, and Pastrnak gets more than one really good chance to score, but Andersen stops it. Boston is putting a lot of shots towards the net, creating rebounds from the puck hitting either Andersen or the traffic in front of the net.

As the game is winding down, the Leafs are clearly trying for a hail mary play to tie this hockey game. They have iced the puck on numerous occasions in hopes of getting a long-distance pass for an odd-man rush. Boston has done a solid job thus far limiting speed in the neutral zone in the final regulation frame.

With 1:30 left to tick away, captain Zdeno Chara buries the empty-net goal to give Boston a two-goal advantage. Leafs captain John Tavares shatters his stick across the post in frustration and Boston will end their four-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 34 TOR: 31

Final Score: 4-2 Bruins

Max’s Three Stars:

1st Star: BOS F Brad Marchand – 2 Goals (GWG), 7 Shots, 1 Hit, 18:21 TOI

2nd Star: BOS G Tuukka Rask – 29 Saves, .935 SV%

3rd Star: BOS F Charlie Coyle – 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 3 Shots, 1 Block, 19:13 TOI

Boston is right back at it tomorrow against the Washington Capitals in the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins are now 12-3-4 on the season.

Check out the new Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast episode 153 that we recorded below! You can find our show on many worldwide platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

Please subscribe to our new Black N’ Gold Hockey YouTube channel! We’d really appreciate the continued support. Click HERE for exciting Black N’ Gold online content!!

Bruins Game 19 Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs

/ Max Mainville / Leave a comment
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PHOTO CREDITS: (CHARLES KRUPA/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

By: Max Mainville | Check me out on Twitter @tkdmaxbjj

Only a few days removed from one of the worst third-periods in recent memory, the Boston Bruins are back against their Original Six rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, in game one of a back-to-back this weekend. Sunday’s 5-4 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers marked the fourth-consecutive loss by the Bruins, dropping their record to 11-3-4, but still hold the first place position in the Atlantic Division.

Toronto is not doing so hot as of late, either, losing two consecutive games and falling out of a playoff spot early on in the season. Not long after the return of captain John Tavares, the Leafs lost forward Mitch Marner for the next four weeks due to a high ankle sprain. Toronto also recently saw the return of forward Zach Hyman, but still lost a 5-4 game to the New York Islanders. The Leafs are ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 9-7-4 record.

Starting Goaltenders:

BOS: Tuukka Rask 7-2-2 2.16 GAA .926 SV% Last Game: 25 Saves in 5-4 SO loss to FLA

TOR: Frederik Andersen (Likely) 9-3-3 2.72 GAA .912 SV% Last Game: 25 Saves in 5-4 loss to NYI

Who’s Hot:

Auston Matthews is one of the lone players not injured right now on the Maple Leafs so he is being tasked with the majority of the workload and he has stepped up to the plate. The superstar forward has points in five-straight games, improving his season numbers to 13-13-26 totals in 20 games played. Matthews has not scored a goal in the last three games, but has tallied seven assists in those games including a four-assist effort against the Chicago Blackhawks on November 10th.

Surprisingly, Danton Heinen has been really good for the Bruins as of late. The 24-year-old forward only has 4-4-8 numbers in 18 games in 2019-2020, but has scored points in each of the last two games. The Athletic’s Joe McDonald, (@JoeyMacHockey on Twitter), wrote an article on Friday about the recent play of Heinen and how even though he hasn’t come big on the score sheet, he still has played a great game – improving his net-front play and strength along the boards. Heinen has become a great versatile player and that article highlights that.

David Krejci has dealt with some early-season injuries that has halted his play, but yet the veteran center still has 2-7-9 numbers in 12 games and has six points in his last five games. Against the Panthers, Krejci played 17:34 of ice-time and tallied two assists on Anders Bjork’s power-play marker and Zdeno Chara’s third of the year. Both assists were primary helpers.

Who’s Not:

Kasperi Kapanen is going to be relied on a bit more with the absence of Mitch Marner and for the Maple Leafs, that production is going to need to come sooner rather than later. The Kuopio, Finland native has five goals and six assists for eleven points in 20 games on the campaign, but only has one point in his last five games – a goal scored against the Islanders. Kapanen, 24, signed a three-year contract extension with Toronto worth $3.2 million per season last summer.

Bruins Head Coach Bruce Cassidy said recently that defenceman’s Charlie McAvoy’s play as of late has not been bad, but the production levels are just not there right now. Without power-play quarterback Torey Krug in the lineup, McAvoy needs to put up more points than his 0-4-4 numbers show now. It may be a lot to ask of him to play better offensively when he has been decent on the defensive side, but successful teams have showed that offensive threats on the blueline can pay off in the long and short term.

Milestone Watch:

Boston Bruins:

  • F Brad Marchand is playing in his 700th career NHL regular-season game
  • F Patrice Bergeron is one even-strength goal away (214) from passing Cam Neely (214) for sole possession of 6th-most even-strength goals in Bruins history
  • F Patrice Bergeron is one power-play goal away (99) from 100 career NHL power-play goals

Toronto Maple Leafs:

  • F John Tavares is three assists away (397) from 400 career NHL assists

Bruins vs Leafs Outlook:

It is only November 15th and this is the third meeting of four between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2019-2020 NHL regular-season, with the fourth and final game taking place on March 14th in Boston. So far this season, the Bruins are winning the season series with a regulation win and an overtime loss back in October.

Friday’s contest in Toronto will be another battle of two teams dealing with injuries. For Boston, they will be without forwards Jake DeBrusk (lower-body), David Backes (upper-body), Zach Senyshyn (lower-body), and Karson Kuhlman (leg) as well as defensemen Torey Krug (upper-body), Kevan Miller (lower-body), and John Moore (upper-body). Forward Trent Frederic has been called up to the NHL and will play tonight as well. The Maple Leafs will be without forward Mitch Marner (ankle) and forward Alexander Kerfoot (face).

Boston’s power-play fell to third in the league at 30.5%, but still has a dangerous man-advantage along with their 82.1% penalty-kill percentage (13th in NHL). Toronto’s power-play needs work at 17.6%, while their penalty-kill is not much better at a 75.3% success rate so far this season.

The six most recent Hockey Hall of Fame inductees will be in attendance tonight as the Bruins and Maple Leafs host the annual Hockey Hall of Fame Game in the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm EST.

Check out the new Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast episode 153 that we recorded below! You can find our show on many worldwide platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

Please subscribe to our new Black N’ Gold Hockey YouTube channel! We’d really appreciate the continued support. Click HERE for exciting Black N’ Gold online content!!

Bruins Game 18 Preview: Florida Panthers

/ Max Mainville / Leave a comment
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PHOTO CREDITS: (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

By: Max Mainville | Check me out on Twitter @tkdmaxbjj

Boston’s strong start of the 2019-2020 season has taken a recent downward spiral with the Bruins losing three consecutive games to the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, and Philadelphia Flyers (SO), bringing their record to a still-respectable 11-3-3. Two of the three losses have been by one goal and the loss to Detroit required an empty-net goal as well. Boston is fifth in the league standings with 25 points.

Following a big free-agent acquisition of goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, the Florida Panthers are having a decent start to the campaign. Florida has a 8-4-5 record and while the wins have not been coming early on, they have been able to earn at least a point in 13 of their 17 games played and have positioned themselves in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Starting Goaltenders:

BOS: Tuukka Rask 7-2-1 1.99 GAA .933 SV% Last Game: 28 Saves in 4-2 loss vs DET

FLA: Sergei Bobrovsky (Likely) 6-3-4 3.39 GAA .884 SV% Last Game: 34 Saves in 2-1 loss vs NYI

Who’s Hot:

Aleksander Barkov has been the main superstar on the Panthers since he was drafted second-overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, accumulating 140-227-367 numbers in his 430 career NHL games. This season, Barkov has been on another level, scoring five goals and 17 assists for 22 points in 17 games – leading the Panthers in assists and points. The 24-year-old is also on a five-game point streak with four of those five games being two-point nights.

Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak are always on fire, even though the duo is combined for only two points in the last three games. Marchand scored in the last game against the Philadelphia Flyers, but Pastrnak was left off the score sheet. Pastrnak did have a secondary assist against the Red Wings that was later taken away due to a scoring change, ending his point streak at 15 games. Don’t expect these two to stay off the score sheet for much longer.

Jonathan Huberdeau has been with Florida since the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and with the emergence of Barkov, he too has seen point increases and has been one of the top players in the league. The 26-year-old forward has 9-12-21 totals in 17 games and is riding on a five-game point streak as well. Huberdeau leads the Panthers in goals with nine.

Who’s Not:

Fresh off his brand-new contract extension, defenceman Charlie McAvoy is still yet to break out in the ’19/’20 season so far and it may be time to wonder what is going on. McAvoy has 0-4-4 totals in the opening seventeen games this year, but has seen his defensive partners change throughout the game due to his struggles. McAvoy is still averaging 20+ minutes-per-game and now with Torey Krug out of the lineup for Tuesday’s game, Bruce Cassidy and the Bruins need McAvoy to step up in a big way.

For a player who is making $10 million per season until the 2025-26 season, Sergei Bobrovsky has not met the high expectations early on in the season. The 31-year-old netminder has a 6-3-4 record this season with a 3.39 goals-against-average and a .884 save percentage. Bobrovsky allowed five goals two games ago against the Capitals in an overtime loss and has not been at the level that earned him the large payday last summer.

Milestone Watch:

Boston Bruins:

  • F Brad Marchand is playing in his 699th career NHL regular-season game
  • F Patrice Bergeron is one power-play goal away (99) from 100 NHL power-play goals

Florida Panthers:

  • F Evgenii Dadonov is three assists away (97) from 100 career NHL assists
  • F Aleksander Barkov is two goals away (140) from tying Nathan Horton (142) for 5th-most goals in Panthers history
  • F Aleksander Barkov is two assists away (227) from tying Robert Svehla (229) for 4th-most assists in Panthers history

Bruins vs Panthers Outlook:

In the history of both franchises, the Boston Bruins have a combined record of 54-35-6-5 in 100 games against the Florida Panthers, including a 2-2-0 record in the 2018-19 season. Boston took a 7-3 win on March 23rd and a 4-3 win on March 7th from the Panthers while Florida won a 5-0 game on December 14th and a 4-1 game on March 30th.

As mentioned, the Bruins come into tonight’s game on a three-game losing streak – the longest of the new season and will look to end that streak tonight. Boston has been close to winning games against the Montreal Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers, but were unable to come away with the two points. It has not been just one thing that has caused the losses, but just a combination of injured players, slow starts, and mistakes that can be fixed.

For Florida, they are still looking to gain traction to become a more-dominate team in the Atlantic Division and even the Eastern Conference. If goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky can play like he did with the Columbus Blue Jackets at the end of last season and into the postseason, this Panthers team can be a true challenge for the other 30 franchises.

Boston still has the best power-play in the entire league, scoring at a 29.8% rate while on the man-advantage. Florida will look to compete against that with their 12th-best penalty-kill in the NHL, killing off 83% of the penalties they take. On the power-play, the Panthers have a 22.6% success rate – going against Boston’s 84.6% penalty-kill (9th in the NHL).

Head Coach Bruce Cassidy announced that defenceman Torey Krug will miss tonight’s game with an upper-body injury while Urho Vaakanainen comes in the lineup for his third NHL game as a replacement.

It is Military Appreciation Night in the TD Garden tonight. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm EST.

Check out the new Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast episode 153 that we recorded below! You can find our show on many worldwide platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

Please subscribe to our new Black N’ Gold Hockey YouTube channel! We’d really appreciate the continued support. Click HERE for exciting Black N’ Gold online content!!

Bruins Game 16 Preview: Detroit Red Wings

/ Max Mainville / Leave a comment
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PHOTO CREDITS: (Getty Images)

By: Max Mainville | Check me out on Twitter @tkdmaxbjj

Another short rest period and the Boston Bruins are right back at it Friday night with their first meeting of the 2019-2020 season against the Detroit Red Wings. The Bruins are coming off of their second regulation loss of the year, a 5-4 defeat at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens in the Bell Centre. As of November 7th, the B’s are now third in the overall league standings with an overall record of 11-2-2.

The Detroit Red Wings are going through big changes since their dominate run during the 1990s and 2000s, resulting in them missing the playoffs in each of the last three seasons. To start the new campaign, the Red Wings are 4-12-1 after playing 17 games, putting them tied for dead-last in the entire National Hockey League with a measly nine points.

Starting Goaltenders:

BOS: Tuukka Rask 7-1-1 1.88 GAA .936 SV% Last Game: 26 Saves in 5-4 loss to MTL

DET: Jimmy Howard (Not Confirmed*) 2-8-0 3.99 GAA .887 SV% Last Game: 26 Saves in 5-1 loss vs NYR

*Goaltender may change prior to puck drop.

Who’s Hot:

David Pastrnak became the first Boston Bruins player to become the NHL’s first 30-point scorer in a season since Bobby Orr (1974-75) in Tuesday’s loss to the Canadiens, a game where Pastrnak scored a single goal – extending his current point streak to 13 games. The 23-year-old has 15-15-30 numbers in fifteen games this season and has continued to be a true force for other teams to be wary of at any time. Pastrnak nearly created the game-tying goal in the dying seconds of the game but failed to score. Either way, he has been hot.

When your team has twelve losses in the first 17 games of a season, it is expected to not have any players completely dominating a game. For Detroit, forward Anthony Mantha is the number one scoring player on the roster right now, leading the team with 9-6-15 numbers in 17 games. In addition, Mantha is a -8 rating on the ice and has twelve penalty minutes thus far. The 20th-overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft tallied one assist on the lone goal scored by the Wings in Wednesday’s loss to the Rangers.

Torey Krug has been the quarterback of the Bruins offensive strength on the blueline for the past few seasons but started the year slower than in the past. However, the 5-foot-9 defenceman has points in four consecutive games, bringing his season totals to 2-10-12 in 15 games played. Ten of those twelve points have come on Boston’s dangerous power-play.

Who’s Not:

As of November 7th, there is no confirmation of who gets the starting job for the Red Wings in the net on Friday night, but either way, they will not have a goalie with recent success playing. Both Jimmy Howard (2-8-0) and Jonathan Bernier (2-4-1) have losing records and average nearly four goals-against-per-game, (Howard – 3.99, Bernier – 3.51). Each one of the netminders has the same save percentage at .887%.

While Tuukka Rask’s numbers are fantastic, it is worth noting that Rask had a poor outing against the Canadiens, allowing five goals on 31 shots against with a few goals that he would most definitely like to have back. The Bruins, however, are not too concerned with Rask as they are giving him the start against the Wings on Friday. For a team that is 11-2-2, there is not a whole lot to be concerned about right now.

On the flip side, the entire Detroit offense is ice cold right now. In the past three games, the Wings have a combined two goals while allowing a total of fifteen goals against, including a 4-0 shutout loss to the Florida Panthers last Saturday in Florida. Detroit’s league-worst -33 goal differential on the season is a testament to that statement and is a reason for their very poor record.

Milestone Watch:

Boston Bruins:

  • F Patrice Bergeron is one even-strength goal away (214) from passing Cam Neely (214) for sole possession of 6th-most even-strength goals in Red Wings history

Detroit Red Wings:

  • F Frans Nielson is four assists away (296) from 300 career NHL assists

Bruins vs Red Wings Outlook:

Last season, the Boston Bruins lost the four-game season series against the Detroit Red Wings, finishing with a record of 1-2-1. Boston’s lone victory over the Wings was a devastating 8-2 win on home ice on October 13th, 2018. Detroit’s biggest win over Boston was a 6-3 win on March 31st.

Boston still has the best power-play percentage in the NHL, scoring at an impressive 31.4% while the Red Wings have the worst penalty-kill in the entire league at a 66.7% success rate. Detroit’s man-advantage has not been good either, scoring at a 12.7% rate – the 25th-best in the league. The Bruins’ penalty-kill is fifth in the National Hockey League at 86.7% so far this season. The Boston Bruins will have a clear advantage on paper across all specialty teams for Friday’s contest. It is also fair to note that Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk will not travel with the team to Detroit due to a lower-body injury that has not been disclosed further.

There are even sportsbooks that have odds published for the game. Honestly, it doesn’t matter which site you scroll through because the Bruins are clear favorites. Take a bit of time to go through this list of sports betting sites because most of them have updated odds. They’re sites that have a good reputation and are more trustworthy than others out there. There might be a few that haven’t released numbers for Friday games yet so just checking if that’s the case.

Puck drop for Friday’s game is scheduled for 7:30pm EST in the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

Check out the new Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast episode 152 that we recorded below! You can find our show on many worldwide platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

Please subscribe to our new Black N’ Gold Hockey YouTube channel! We’d really appreciate the continued support. Click HERE for exciting Black N’ Gold online content!!

Bruins Game 15 Preview: Montreal Canadiens

/ Max Mainville / Leave a comment
1064959326.jpg.0

PHOTO CREDITS: (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

By: Max Mainville | Check me out on Twitter @tkdmaxbjj

For the second time this season, the Bruins are playing in the second game of a back-to-back. Last week, the Bruins won back-to-back games against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday and the New York Rangers on Sunday. Last night, Boston took home a 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins after losing a 3-0 at one point in the game. Boston’s win improved their record to 11-1-2 and secures their spot for second in the overall league standings, only one point behind the Washington Capitals.

The Montreal Canadiens have not won in November so far, losing 4-1 to the Dallas Stars on Saturday. On the season, the Canadiens have a 7-5-2 record after their opening fourteen games and have put up a 6-4-0 record in their last ten games. Montreal is fifth in the Atlantic Division and is only one point of the second Wild Card position currently held by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Starting Goaltenders:

BOS: Tuukka Rask 7-0-1 1.49 GAA .949% Last Game: 30 Saves in 5-2 win vs OTT

MTL: Carey Price (Not Confirmed) 6-4-1 2.64 GAA .915 SV% Last Game: 36 Saves in 4-1 loss to DAL

Who’s Hot:

Brad Marchand made history in many ways in Monday’s win over the Penguins, scoring five points for the second time in four games, bringing his season totals to 10-18-28 on his 13-game point streak. Marchand and Pastrnak are now the first pair of winger teammates in NHL history to average 2+ points-per-game in the first 14 games of a season, further cementing how good of a duo they have become. Marchand now leads the NHL in assists with eighteen and is second in points behind Pastrnak.

 

Jonathan Drouin was acquired by the Canadiens from the Tampa Bay Lightning in June 2017 and in the two seasons he has played in Montreal, he has seen improvements in his scoring numbers. This season, so far, the 24-year-old is tied for the team-lead in points with 7-5-12 numbers in 14 games. Drouin has four points in his last four games, but was held pointless in his last game against the Stars in Dallas.

Tuukka Rask has been absolutely lights out in the 2019-2020 season for Boston and he is silencing the previous stigma that he is a slow-starting goaltender going through eight starts without a regulation loss. Tuukka has the best save percentage in the National Hockey League (minimum of five games played) with a .949 save percentage. Rask is also number one in the league with a 1.49 goals-against-average. The 32-year-old is on another level right now and he will look to continue it against the Canadiens.

Who’s Not:

Paul Byron has been one of those depth players for Montreal that teams are worried of. The 30-year-old forward scored 31 points in 56 games for the Canadiens last year but in ’19/’20, he only has three assists in fourteen games playing around twelve minutes a game. Montreal is in need of some extra depth scoring and Byron could add some additional scoring if he manages to get the monkey off his back.

Sean Kuraly is not known for being a high goal-scorer in the NHL, but with zero goals in 14 games, the Bruins need him to score more in these highly competitive games. Kuraly put up a career-high eight goals last season, but he has the potential to put up more even though he plays on the fourth line. Kuraly will likely score soon, but until then, he has not been great for Boston.

Milestone Watch:

Boston Bruins:

  • D Zdeno Chara is playing in his 1,500th NHL regular-season game. He becomes the 21st player and the 6th defenceman in league history to do so.
  • D Torey Krug is one point away (299) from 300 career NHL points
  • F Patrice Bergeron is one even-strength goal away (214) from passing Cam Neely (214) for sole possession of 6th-most even-strength goals in Bruins history

Montreal Canadiens:

  • F Tomas Tatar is three points away (297) from 300 career NHL points
  • G Carey Price is one shutout away (45) from tying Ken Dryden (46) for 3rd-most shutouts in Canadiens history

Bruins vs Canadiens Outlook:

Last season, the Bruins won the four-game season series against the Canadiens with a 2-1-1 record. The Bruins took home a 3-2 win on November 24th and a 4-0 win on December 17th. The Bruins lost a 3-2 overtime game on January 14th and a 3-0 loss on October 27th. Boston averaged 2.25 goals-for-per-game against Montreal, allowing an average of two goals against in that same time span.

Tonight’s game goes down in the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada – an arena where the Bruins have played a combined 61 games at. Throughout the history there, Boston has an overall record of 27-29-2-3 when playing their Original Six rivals, scoring on average 2.59 goals-for-per-game and allowing on average 2.79 goals-against-per-game.

This season, the Bruins are ahead of the Canadiens in the standings and so far, the Bruins are looking like one of the top teams in the entire NHL and their overall league position of second is further proof of that. Boston has the best power-play percentage over the other 31 teams at 30.6%. The B’s also have the ninth-best penalty-kill, rocking at 86.0%.

Montreal, on the other hand, is 15th in the league on the power-play, scoring on 20.8% of their opportunities while having a 69.8% penalty-kill percentage (28th in NHL).

Bruins Lineup News:

Check out the new Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast episode 152 that we recorded below! You can find our show on many worldwide platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

Please subscribe to our new Black N’ Gold Hockey YouTube channel! We’d really appreciate the continued support. Click HERE for exciting Black N’ Gold online content!!

Bruins Post-Game Recap: Ottawa at Boston: 11/02/19

/ Max Mainville / Leave a comment
1130134046.jpg.0.jpg

PHOTO CREDITS: (Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

By: Max Mainville | Check me out on Twitter @tkdmaxbjj

After a dominant October, the Boston Bruins are back to play their first game in November, against the Ottawa Senators. Boston is coming into this game on a four-game winning streak including a 5-1 win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. Ottawa has not played since Sunday, a 5-2 win over the Sharks as well, but still, have a record of 3-7-1 and sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Pre-Game Notes:

Arena: TD Garden – Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Home: Boston Bruins (9-1-2)

Away: Ottawa Senators (3-7-1)

Bruins Last Game: Bruins def Sharks 5-1

Bruins Gameday Lineup:

Head Coach Bruce Cassidy said that Brett Ritchie (infection) is out of the lineup while Connor Clifton will be a healthy scratch for Steven Kampfer. Forward Joakim Nordstrom (infection) will be out for at least the next three games, resulting in the emergency call-up of forward Peter Cehlarik. Par Lindholm (upper-body) is the final scratch for the Bruins.

First Period:

Beginning the game, the Bruins came out aggressive, shooting on Anderson with multiple easy entries and a couple post-whistle scrums. Less than a minute into the game, the Senators are caught with more than five players on the ice – a too many men penalty, Boston to the man-advantage. In a short time, Torey Krug blasts a bomb from behind his own blueline all the way to the end boards right for Pastrnak, who makes a slick move to bury it early. 1-0 Bruins.

3:08 into the first period, David Backes attempted to bring the puck up and out of the Bruins zone to start the rush until Scott Sabourin comes over to throw a hit. Sabourin and Backes collide heads, causing Sabourin to fall directly to the ice head-first. The 27-year-old was unconscious on the ice for several minutes with the TD Garden dead silent, applauding when the smallest movement occurred.

David Backes was evidently shaken up at the collision, showing a bleak look on his face and eventually left to the locker room as he appeared to be crying. Completely accidental play that turned brutal. The entire benches of both teams went out to show their respect to the Ottawa forward as he was stretchered off. Sabourin did give a thumbs-up as he was wheeled off.

Following the delay, the Bruins control the play, bringing the puck in the zone on numerous occasions and just holding onto possession of the puck for a large majority. When the Senators eventually brought the puck into the zone, Charlie Coyle takes an interference penalty and Boston goes to their first penalty-kill of the game. The B’s keep Ottawa from getting even a single shot on the penalty, doing an excellent job killing it off. The game returns to even-strength.

With less than eight minutes to go in the period, the Bruins turn the puck over in the defensive zone, leading to a 3-on-1 chance for the Senators who end up missing the net on the eventual shot. A quick cycle leads to Anthony Duclair burying a one-timer, extending his point streak to four games and this game is tied 1-1.

Later in the frame, another Senators forward goes down the tunnel with what appears to be a hand/arm injury. Logan Brown came in for a hit on Bruins forward Danton Heinen in a seemingly meaningless play, but his arm appeared to get caught up on Heinen and Brown went down on the ice in evident pain. Senators now down to 14 forwards.

Ottawa showed improvements in their game as the period began to close, but the siren sounds to signify the end of the opening frame.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 11 OTT: 6

Score: 1-1 Goals – Pastrnak (13) PPG Assists: Krug (9); Duclair (5) Assists: L. Brown (2), Borowiecki (3)

Second Period:

Boston comes back after a slow second-half to the first period to score less than two minutes into the middle frame. The first line does a fantastic job keeping the puck in and somehow, Pastrnak is all alone right in front of Anderson. Instead of shooting, he waits the extra second to pass it to Patrice Bergeron who buries it, 2-1 Bruins.

In a very short amount of time after the goal, former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Connor Brown throws the puck towards the net along the goal-line and the puck manages to bounce off of Rask and into the net, Sens tie the game within the first five minutes of the second.

Again, not long afterward, the Bruins get caught themselves with too many players on the ice at the same time and they head to their second penalty-kill of the hockey game so far. Ottawa gets a few really good chances early on the man-advantage, but Tuukka Rask makes some big stops and got lucky on some missed shots to keep the puck out.

With 55 seconds left on the penalty, Marchand gets called for hooking but after the whistle, he makes a poor decision to spear DeMelo in the side, getting an additional four minutes of penalty time. Bruins have to kill off 0:55 of 5-on-3 and then over five minutes of 5-on-4 penalty-kill. Boston does a tremendous job killing over seven minutes of penalties, with a big thanks to Tuukka Rask – back to even-strength.

Boston’s power-play gets another chance with 6:07 remaining as Mark Borowiecki gets called on a slashing minor. Ottawa does a much better job preventing any opportunities to score for the B’s and Boston fails to bury one, penalty expires. However, Borowiecki heads right back to the box for another two minutes as he was caught tripping Brad Marchand, Bruins to their third power-play. Nothing. Another excellent kill for the Sens. Period ends right after.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 21 OTT: 21

Score: 2-2 Goals – Bergeron (6) Assists: Pastrnak (13), Marchand (15); C. Brown (2) Assists: Borowicki (4), DeMelo (3)

Third Period:

After ending both periods in what has been a chaotic, entertaining contest tied, both teams come out going back-and-forth at the start of the final regulation period. For the third-straight period, the Bruins strike early on as Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen put hard pressure on Thomas Chabot, allowing Heinen to attack a loose puck and bury it – 3-2 Bruins.

Within the next few minutes to follow the go-ahead goal, Mark Borowiecki takes his third minor penalty of the game – giving Boston yet another power-play to now extend their lead to two goals. And extend the lead is what they would do. Ottawa’s defense found themselves chasing Pastrnak who made it seem as if he was heading behind Craig Anderson, but Pasta magically slides the puck through the traffic to a wide-open Marchand – 4-2 Boston.

Boston has taken over the game since those two rapid-fire goals. The entire team has been playing at a great level, on all levels, and that continues when Jake DeBrusk does a fantastic job on the forecheck, poking it free for Heinen who feeds it back to DeBrusk for a slapshot one-timer. 5-2 Bruins final score.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 32 OTT: 32

Final Score: 5-2 Bruins

Max’s Three Stars:

1st Star: BOS F David Pastrnak – 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 3 Shots, 17:03 TOI

2nd Star: BOS G Tuukka Rask – 30 Shots, .938 SV%

3rd Star: BOS F Danton Heinen – 1 Goal (GWG), 1 Assist, 14:08 TOI

Bruins now have won five-straight games and look ahead to their first game of a back-to-back against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday in Boston.

Check out the new Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast episode 151 that we recorded below! You can find our show on many worldwide platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

Please subscribe to our new Black N’ Gold Hockey YouTube channel! We’d really appreciate the continued support. Click HERE for exciting Black N’ Gold online content!!

Report: Bruins Place F Nordstrom on IR, Recall F Cehlarik From AHL

/ Max Mainville / 1 Comment
joakim-nordstrom-1.jpg

PHOTO CREDITS: (Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images)

By: Max Mainville | Check me out on Twitter @tkdmaxbjj

While most Boston Bruins fans were asleep, the CapFriendly Transactions Twitter page, (@CF_Transactions) announced that forward Joakim Nordstrom has been placed on the injured reserve and forward Peter Cehlarik has been recalled from the American Hockey League affiliate, the Providence Bruins.

Joakim Nordstrom, 27, has missed the last two games for the Bruins with what is being determined an “infection in his elbow” and he needs to allow it to “cool down” according to numerous sources. On October 29th, Bruins Head Coach Bruce Cassidy said the following in a press conference about Nordstrom.

“He [Nordstrom] had an infection in his elbow. I don’t know what the timeline is, to be honest, but they have to let it calm down, so I’ll doubt we see him Saturday. After that, I’ll probably be able to give you a better update.” Cassidy goes on to say that he won’t necessarily rule Nordstrom out, “I shouldn’t even rule him out for Saturday, but I think that it was similar to what [David] Backes went through a few years ago.” – Bruce Cassidy via @nhlbruins on Twitter

Nordstrom has only played in four games so far in the 2019-2020 campaign after missing the first few games due to a broken foot sustained in the Stanley Cup Finals against the St. Louis Blues back in June. In those four games, the Stockholm, Sweden native has one goal and an even plus/minus rating averaging 13:33 minutes-per-game.

In practice on Friday, defenceman Connor Clifton was skating as the third-line right-wing while forward Brett Ritchie was absent. Cassidy later revealed that Ritchie’s absence in Friday’s practice was due to a maintenance day and he believes that the 26-year-old will play against Ottawa on Saturday, although, there was “some level of concern” with him missing practice.

Also on Friday, freelancing writer, Mark Divver (@MarkDivver on Twitter) tweeted that forward Peter Cehlarik had been recalled by Boston on a loan to the National Hockey League according to the AHL Transactions. The report of Nordstrom being placed on IR makes Divver’s report of Cehlarik’s arrival in Boston more understandable.

Cehlarik, 24, has one game under his belt for the NHL Bruins this season, playing 12:05 against the New York Rangers on Sunday night. Cehlarik finished the night with zero shots and a -2 rating before being sent back down to Providence due to the return of Chris Wagner against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

With the P-Bruins, Cehlarik has been lighting it up, scoring six goals and four assists for ten points in six games played. Cehlarik’s last game was a two-assist night against the Rochester Americans on Wednesday – a game Providence won by a final score of 4-3. Cehlarik re-signed with the Bruins organization this past offseason on a one-year, two-way contract worth $700,000 ($125,000 in minors) and will need a new deal come July 1st, 2020.

As of 2:00 am EST on Saturday, November 2nd, the Boston Bruins have not officially confirmed these transactions, they are strictly from the sites and sources provided above. The Boston Bruins play the Ottawa Senators in Boston. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm EST from the TD Garden.

Check out the new Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast episode 151 that we recorded below! You can find our show on many worldwide platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

Please subscribe to our new Black N’ Gold Hockey YouTube channel! We’d really appreciate the continued support. Click HERE for exciting Black N’ Gold online content!!

Bruins Game 13 Preview: Ottawa Senators

/ Max Mainville / 1 Comment
IMG_7869-640x427.jpg

PHOTO CREDITS: (primetimesportstalk.com)

By: Max Mainville | Check me out on Twitter @tkdmaxbjj

Following one of their best months to start a season in franchise history, the Boston Bruins are setting themselves up to start November off right against the Ottawa Senators. The Bruins have a 9-1-2 record in October, tied for the second-best start in the 95-year history of the organization. As of October 31st, the Bruins are second in the overall league standings, behind only the Washington Capitals – largely due to their four-game winning streak.

Undergoing a noticeable rebuild, the Ottawa Senators are not expected to be a good team in 2019-20 and after the first month of the season, they sit in the basement of the Atlantic Division with a record of 3-7-1. Heading into Saturday’s game against Boston, the Senators have come out victorious in two of their last three games with a 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday being the most recent result.

Starting Goaltenders:

BOS: Tuukka Rask 6-0-1 1.42 GAA .951 SV% Last Game: 16 Saves in 5-1 win vs SJS

OTT: Craig Anderson 2-4-0 2.80 GAA .909 SV% Last Game: 34 Saves in 5-2 win vs SJS

Who’s Hot:

Bruins forward David Pastrnak is one of the hottest players in the National Hockey League right now averaging a goal-per-game with twelve goals in as many games. In addition, Pastrnak has twelve assists for twenty-four points on the year. The 23-year-old winger has scored a point in each of his last ten games including seven games with more than one point. Against the Sharks on Tuesday, Pastrnak buried the game’s opening goal on the power-play with a bomb from the face-off circle.

Surprisingly, former Toronto Maple Leafs forward, Connor Brown, is having himself a great first season with the Senators since joining the team as apart of the trade that sent Cody Ceci to Toronto. In eleven games thus far, Brown has one goal and nine assists for ten points – good enough for the team-lead in assists and points. To go along with that, the 156th-overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft has points in each of his last four games including a two-point night in the win over San Jose.

Typically when one player on a team has 24 points in the first 12 games, he has another teammate that is not too far behind doing the scoring and for the Boston Bruins, that is exactly the case with David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand. While Pastrnak has the 12-12-24 numbers, Marchand has 7-14-21 numbers during his 11-game point streak to begin the ’19/’20 campaign and he is showing no signs of slowing down. The 31-year-old tallied one assist and five shots on goal in Tuesday’s game versus the Sharks.

Who’s Not:

Since the 2013-14 regular season, forward Bobby Ryan has been one of the most recognizable players on the Ottawa Senators, even though he started his NHL career with the Anaheim Ducks. Through these tough times in Canada’s capital, Ryan has remained on the team, however, with only 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in ten games, that time could be coming to an end. On Sunday, Ryan was made a healthy scratch by Head Coach D.J. Smith and there are now rumors circulating about a potential move from Ottawa. Whether or not he plays on Saturday is still up in the air, but if he does, the Senators will expect a lot from the 32-year-old.

If there was a game for Jake DeBrusk to break out for the Bruins, it would be on Saturday. The 6-foot, 188-pound, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada native has only one goal and three assists on the entire season so far and he has not been his usual goal-scoring self. It is fair to note that DeBrusk has been a hard-worker on the power-play, but his depth scoring at 5-on-5 is needed as we head further into the regular season. With Krejci back in the lineup for the second-consecutive game, now is the time to start tallying those goals again.

If Craig Anderson does indeed get the start in between the pipes for Ottawa against the Bruins, it will be the seventh time that he gets that call this season. So far in 2019-2020, the 38-year-old netminder has a record of 2-4-0 with a goals-against-average of 2.80 and a save percentage of .909%. Anderson did, however, make 34 saves on 36 shots in the 5-2 victory over San Jose, but before that, he allowed four goals on 22 shots in his last start against the Arizona Coyotes back on October 19th.

Milestone Watch:

Boston Bruins:

  • F Patrice Bergeron is one assist away (499) from 500 career NHL assists
  • D Torey Krug is three points away (297) from 300 career NHL points

Ottawa Senators:

  • There are no notable milestones that can be reached for Ottawa in Saturday’s game versus the Boston Bruins.

Bruins vs Senators Outlook:

Being in the same division, the Bruins and the Senators lock horns four times a year during the 82-game regular season. In 2018-19, the Bruins won all four games over the Sens, taking wins by scores of 6-3, 4-1, 2-1 OT, and 3-2. Boston averaged 3.75 goals-for-per-game in the four meetings while only allowing an average of 1.75 goals-against-per-game.

Saturday’s game is the second-straight game at home for the Bruins, who have a 5-0-1 record in the TD Garden this year. Their only defeat at home was a 4-3 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on October 17th. Ottawa, on the other hand, is 0-3-1 on the road and they have not shown any signs that they can erase that zero off of that record.

Boston’s power-play will most likely be, once again, the biggest factor in the game. The Bruins have the best power-play percentage in the National Hockey League has of October 31st, scoring on 30.9% of their man-advantages. In turn, the Senators have 56 penalties this season – the 5th-most of any other team in the league. Ottawa also has an 81.6% success rate on the penalty kill, good for 14th in the NHL.

Flipping the roles around, the Senators have the worst power-play in the entire league according to NHL.com, ranking 31st with a power-play percentage of 5.4%. The Sens have only two goals on the power-play on 37 opportunities. Boston has been short-handed 51 times so far this season, 12th-most in the league, but have successfully killed off 83.8% of those penalties – ranking them in the top-ten.

Puck drop for Saturday’s game is scheduled for 7:00 pm EST from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Projected Lines:

Boston Bruins:

Head Coach Bruce Cassidy said that forward Brett Ritchie was given a maintenance day and believes that he will play Saturday, however, there was a “level of concern” with him missing practice.

Ottawa Senators:

Craig Anderson is getting the start for the Senators.

Check out the new Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast episode 151 that we recorded below! You can find our show on many worldwide platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

Please subscribe to our new Black N’ Gold Hockey YouTube channel! We’d really appreciate the continued support. Click HERE for exciting Black N’ Gold online content!!

Bruins Game 12 Preview: San Jose Sharks

/ Max Mainville / Leave a comment
BNG-L-SHARKS-0219-17.jpg

PHOTO CREDITS: (Randy Vazquez/Bay Area News Group)

By: Max Mainville | Check me out on Twitter @tkdmaxbjj

The first month of the 2019-20 NHL season is just about to finish and the Boston Bruins will look to come out victorious in the final game tonight against the San Jose Sharks. This past weekend, the Bruins won both games in their first back-to-back of the season, defeating the St. Louis Blues 3-0 on Saturday and the New York Rangers on Sunday. Boston is now second in the Atlantic Division with an 8-1-2 record.

San Jose made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals last season before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues, but have come off to a slow October start, performing at a record of 4-7-1 through the opening twelve games. The Sharks have lost two straight games and have an abysmal 2-5-1 record on the road.

Starting Goaltenders:

BOS: Tuukka Rask 5-0-1 1.48 GAA .952 SV% Last Game: 26 Saves in 3-0 win vs STL

SJS: Martin Jones (Likely) 2-5-1 3.39 GAA .892 SV% Last Game: Pulled after 1 Goal on 7 Shots vs OTT

Who’s Hot:

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand was awarded the First Star of the Week for this past week for his 3-5-8 stat-sheet over the past three games. At the moment, Marchand is in the midst of a career-high ten-game point streak where he has scored seven goals and thirteen assists for twenty points on the campaign. The Bruins winger dominated in Boston’s last time out, scoring two goals and adding three assists in a 7-4 on Sunday night.

Brent Burns may be one of the only bright spots of the San Jose Sharks so far this year, scoring 2-10-12 totals in the opening twelve games including a three-game point streak. Burns has four multi-point nights this season and in his most recent game against the Ottawa Senators, piled up two assists in the loss.

David Pastrnak’s five-game goal streak came to an end in Sunday’s win over the New York Rangers, but instead, the 23-year-old force dominated with five assists to help add to the first-line’s 13-point night. Pastrnak’s night boosted his season to 11-12-23 numbers in only eleven games, giving him the league-lead in goals and points.

Who’s Not:

Martin Jones, believe it or not, was apart of the Boston Bruins for just about four days back in 2015 when he was sent from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Milan Lucic. Only days after the move, Don Sweeney flipped Jones to the Sharks for Sean Kuraly and a 2016 1st Round Pick (Trent Frederic). Now, in the last five years in San Jose, Martin Jones has been their number one netminder. However, this season, he is off to a terrible 2-5-1 start with a 3.39 goals-against-average and a .892 save percentage. Jones has not done well enough to help give the Sharks wins early on.

Jake DeBrusk will be getting his center, David Krejci, back on his line tonight after Krejci missed numerous games over the past week or so due to an upper-body injury. This season, DeBrusk has not been the same DeBrusk that nearly hit the 30-goal mark in 2018-19. In 11 games, Jake only has 1-3-4 numbers and has just not been able to find his groove. The hope is that with Krejci back, the young winger can come back to life.

Joe Thornton is another former Bruin that is returning to Boston tonight, but he isn’t having the very best October, either. The 40-year-old forward has zero goals and four assists in twelve games and is bringing along a -6 rating as well. Thornton is averaging around the 14-minute mark of time on ice, as rumors begin to surface that this may be his final season as an NHL player. Only time will tell, but right now, he needs to be better in order for San Jose to be better.

Milestone Watch:

Boston Bruins:

  • F Patrice Bergeron is two assists away (498) from 500 career NHL assists
  • D Torey Krug is four points away (296) from 300 career NHL points
  • F Patrice Bergeron is one shot away (3087) from passing John Bucyk (3087) for sole possession of 3rd-most shots in Bruins history

San Jose Sharks:

  • No notable milestones can be reached tonight

Bruins vs Sharks Outlook:

With the Boston Bruins atop of the NHL’s power rankings to start the year, they are continuing right from where they started in regards to last year’s Eastern Conference Championship. The Bruins are one of the top teams in the league’s standings and a win over San Jose tonight will bring their record to an impressive 9-1-2.

In 2018-19, the two teams played twice over the course of the 82-game season, with the Bruins coming out victorious in both outings. Within the span of just over a week, Boston defeated the Sharks in an electric, 6-5 win in San Jose – a game where Joe Thornton scored a hat-trick, and then went on to win 4-1 on home ice the very next week.

The Bruins’ power-play is still near the very top of the National Hockey League and for a Sharks penalty-kill that ranks number one, (93.2%), they will need to be perfect tonight in order to cool down Boston. This is one of those games that specialty-team coaches dream of. The winning side of the specialty team battle could win the momentum and possibly win the game.

David Krejci (upper-body) returns to the lineup while Joakim Nordstrom (infection in elbow) and Par Lindholm (upper-body) are out.

The Bruins are also hosting Hockey Fights Cancer presented by Beth Israel Lahey Health. “Mighty Quinn”, the three-year-old boy that struck the hearts of Charlie Coyle and Bruins fans will drop the ceremonial puck before the official faceoff. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm EST from Boston, Massachusetts.

Check out the new Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast episode 151 that we recorded on 10-27-19 below! You can find our show on many worldwide platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

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