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Bruins Post-Game Recap: ECF Game 4: Boston at Carolina

/ Max Mainville / 4 Comments
ncgb106-515-2019-001607-jpg

PHOTO CREDITS: (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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

A trip to the Stanley Cup Finals is on the line for the Boston Bruins tonight in Game Four of their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Carolina Hurricanes. Due in part to the terrific play of Tuukka Rask, the Bruins possess a 3-0 series lead on Carolina and look to close the show here tonight.

Pre-Game Notes:

Arena: PNC Arena – Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

Home: Carolina Hurricanes (8-6)

Away: Boston Bruins: (11-5)

Last Game Result: Bruins won 2-1

Bruins Gameday Lineup:

Bruins Captain Zdeno Chara is not in the lineup for Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury. Matt Grzelcyk moves up to replace him alongside Charlie McAvoy and John Moore comes into the lineup beside Connor Clifton on the third pairing. Tuukka Rask will be, without previous doubt, the starting goalie for Boston. For the second consecutive game, Curtis McElhinney will start for the Canes.

First Period:

Starting off right away, just over a minute into the game, Matt Grzelcyk gets his stick caught in the skates of a Hurricane forward, resulting in a two-minute minor. Boston’s penalty-kill, even without Chara, did a great job preventing zone entries and even got a shorthanded bid with a Joakim Nordstrom partial breakaway that gets stopped by McElhinney. Penalty killed off successfully.

Early on, Carolina’s shot attempts came often from the point. The Bruins were being fearless on a lot of these shots, getting their bodies in front of the puck and making sure Rask didn’t have to see anything. Good start defensively by the Black and Gold here.

Just around 12 minutes to go, the Bruins get the best chance of the game so far. Brad Marchand’s missed pass goes right to Charlie McAvoy who blasts one to the net. The shot creates a large rebound that goes to Bergeron and then to Marchand again. Marchand’s quick wrister gets gloved by an extended McElhinney.

In a tightly-contested opening frame, the Hurricanes go the penalty box for the first time in Game Four, a slashing call against Nino Niederreiter on Brad Marchand. Marchand may have helped the call by dropping his stick, but there was a clear slash on his hands. Regardless, Boston off to power-play for the first time tonight.

Boston had some really great chances to bury one on the power-play. The best chance came with less than a minute remaining on the man-advantage. Somehow, Patrice Bergeron is wide open in the slot with the puck. Instead of shooting, he fakes the shot and feeds it to Pastrnak who tried to pass him the puck right back but McElhinney’s diving stop prevents it from entering a gaping net.

Charlie Coyle gets whistled down on a weak “interference” call, ending the power-play and forcing the game to briefly go to 4-on-4, followed by a shorter man-advantage for the Canes. Thanks to some solid saves from none other than Tuukka Rask, Boston kills off that call and we return to 5-on-5.

Boston’s top line of Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak get many opportunities to strike in the opening frame but all too often make an extra, unnecessary pass and the play is dissolved from there. More shots on net and the Bruins could very well be up 2-0 here. Nonetheless, we are scoreless after the first twenty minutes of action.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 10 CAR: 13

Score: 0-0

Second Period:

Five minutes into the middle period, the Hurricanes appear to be controlling the play more than Boston. The B’s failed to get the puck out of the zone on numerous attempts and the Canes returned with shots off the rush. However, the Hurricanes get caught with six skaters on the ice at the same time and now face a minor penalty for too-many-men.

On Boston’s second man-advantage of the night, Brad Marchand races into the zone with his head up the entire time, tossing a lead pass for a reaching David Pastrnak and the Bruins get on the board first. McElhinney was convinced that Marchand was going to rip the shot and that expectancy resulted in him being slightly out of position for Pastrnak’s deflection.

Carolina’s edge that they possessed early in the frame was not as evident after the Bruins tally. Boston has had a lot more zone entries and scoring threats on the ice compared to the Canes. The frustration of the Hurricanes may be rising too, as captain Justin Williams shows frustration on a close icing call that he lost. His frustration levels have been on display all series long and he has continually said that he needs to be better. That seems to still be a work in progress.

Late in the period, Carolina has the best zone control of the game by far, passing the puck around the offensive zone but not a single shot made it’s way to Tuukka Rask. The fourth line of Nordstrom, Kuraly and Acciari were on the ice for a really long time and Carolina had their best chance to equal the score. Torey Krug was on the ice for a remarkable 2:57 and Carlo for 2:48.

Greg McKegg takes a hard rush into the zone with the exhausted Krug still on the ice, but the mobile defenceman pokes the puck before it gets to Rask. The cut from McKegg leads to him colliding with Rask in the head and he gets penalized with goaltender interference. On the ensuing power-play, Pastrnak and Bergeron exchange a beautiful give-and-go passing play to strike again, 2-0 Boston. That goal is the 17th goal on the man-advantage throughout the 2018-19 postseason for the B’s.

With that, the second period ends and the Boston Bruins are twenty minutes away from the Stanley Cup Finals.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 19 CAR: 18 (8-4 BOS in 2nd)

Score: 2-0 Bruins – Goals: Pastrnak (7) PPG Assists: Marchand (11), Krug (11); Bergeron (7) PPG Assist: Pastrnak (7)

Third Period:

It is quite clear that with a two-goal lead in a possible elimination game for Boston, they are willing to play a defensive final regulation period to close this thing out. Nearly eight minutes in, neither team had a single shot on net. Carolina has taken numerous shots, although, all of their shots are coming from the point and are getting blocked or deflected wide by the bodies in front of Rask.

The best defensive forward in the National Hockey League, Patrice Bergeron creates a scramble in front of McElhinney off of a brilliant forechecking effort, stealing it from the Hurricanes defender and tossing the puck into the slot where Pastrnak hung around. The shot didn’t reach the Carolina goalie, but definitely causes frustration for Carolina.

Just past the halfway mark of the period, the Bruins know that another goal could spell the end of Carolina. With that said, the Bruins stay ferocious on the forecheck, forcing a Carolina turnover in their defensive zone, passing the puck directly to David Pastrnak who makes a clean pass over to Patrice Bergeron for his second of the game, extending Boston’s lead to three.

Justin Williams was visibly upset at the goal, as he felt that the Bruins had iced the puck just seconds before the turnover. However, the replay shows that the puck bounced off of Pastrnak’s stick after he crossed the red line meaning no icing would have been called. In addition, the linesman was right by Pastrnak and he waived off the icing. Just another case of Williams showing frustration after the goal.

Carolina’s Head Coach, Rod Brind’Amour pulled McElhinney with over five minutes left to go and following too many whistles for many different reasons, Brad Marchand races down the ice to bury the empty-net goal, 4-0 Bruins. The Boston Bruins advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2013.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 23 CAR: 24

Final Score: 4-2 Bruins

Max’s Three Stars

1st Star: BOS G Tuukka Rask – 21 Saves, Shutout

2nd Star: BOS F Patrice Bergeron – 2 Goals, 1 Assist, 6 Shots, 16:42 TOI

3rd Star: BOS F David Pastrnak – 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 2 Shots

For the 20th time in franchise history, the Boston Bruins advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Bruins are Eastern Conference Champions.

Boston Bruins vs Carolina Hurricanes: In-Depth Series Preview

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

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

Following Monday’s Game Six shutout win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Boston Bruins officially move on to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since their Stanley Cup Finals run in the 2012-13 season. Boston now has a combined 8-6 record in the 2019 postseason and they prepare for a third-round match-up with the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes entered the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the second wild-card team, but courtesy of a Brock McGinn overtime winner in Game Seven, the Canes eliminated the Washington Captials who were the defending Stanley Cup Champions. Carolina then faced the New York Islanders in the second round, a team who had swept the experienced Pittsburgh Penguins in their first round match-up. The ‘Bunch of Jerks’ dominated the Islanders, winning four straight – sweeping New York to meet at that time, either the Bruins or Blue Jackets.

For the second consecutive series, the Bruins will have to face a team who has had plenty of time to rest after their previous round ended while they have to deal with minimal rest in comparison to Carolina. However, the Bruins do have a few more days than they had between the Toronto and Columbus series which should be a great break for the team to regroup with only two rounds left to go.

Skaters To Look Out For

Boston Bruins:

  • F Brad Marchand: 13GP – 5G – 8A – 13P
  • F David Pastrnak: 13GP – 6G – 5A – 11P
  • F David Krejci: 13GP – 4G – 6A – 10P
  • F Charlie Coyle: 13GP – 5G – 3A – 8P
  • F Patrice Bergeron: 13GP – 5G – 3A – 8P
  • D Torey Krug: 13GP – 1G – 7A – 8P – 21:25 TOI
  • D Charlie McAvoy: 13GP – 1G – 5A – 6P – 24:46 TOI

The first-line trio of Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron had some early struggles in the 2019 postseason, but near the end of the best-of-seven series against the Blue Jackets, the top line started to heat up. In the crazy Game Five, Pastrnak tallied a pair of goals and his linemates of Bergeron and Marchand have been on the scoresheet numerous times as well.

David Krejci and Charlie Coyle have been the two best point-producing forwards aside from that line and Coyle himself has had some big goals including the game-winner in Game One’s first overtime session. Marcus Johansson and Sean Kuraly (not listed above) are also having themselves a big postseason. Both of them scored the insurance goal in each of the first series (Kuraly vs TOR in Game 7, Johansson vs CBJ in Game 6) and have been finding their game all over the ice.

On defense, Torey Krug and Charlie McAvoy have arguably been the names seen the most, with them both having large time-on-ice numbers throughout the 13 games thus far, but players such as Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk have also been huge for Boston on the back-end. Going back to Game Five against Columbus, Carlo shut down Artemi Panarin in the defensive zone before passing it up to Marchand and then to Pastrnak for the game-winning goal in the dying minutes of the third period.

The experience of the Bruins roster is something to watch out for as they have been able to battle through a lot of adversity throughout their years together as a core group, especially in 2018-19.

Carolina Hurricanes:

  • D Jaccob Slavin: 11GP – 0G – 11A – 11P – +8 Rating – 26:36 TOI
  • F Teuvo Teravainen: 11GP – 6G – 3A – 9P – +8 Rating – 20:20 TOI
  • F Warren Foegele: 11GP – 5G – 4A – 9P
  • F Jordan Staal: 11GP – 4G – 5A – 9P
  • F Sebastian Aho: 11GP – 4G – 5A – 9P 21:25 TOI
  • D Dougie Hamilton: 11GP – 3G – 4A – 7P 20:11 TOI
  • F Justin Williams: 11GP – 3G – 3A – 6P

Surprisingly, Jaccob Slavin leads the Hurricanes in points during the post-season with 11 assists in the same number of games. Three of those assists came in the Game Seven win over the Capitals. The 25-year-old defenceman averages the most minutes-per-game on the entire Hurricanes roster, with D Justin Faulk behind him, averaging 25:54 on the ice per game.

Behind Slavin, four Carolina forwards have nine points, putting their display of depth scoring on the max setting. Teuvo Teravainen led the team with 3-2-5 numbers in the four-game sweep of the Islanders. Seven players had three or more points in that same time span,

If the series goes to the do-or-die seventh game, then the Hurricanes will have a strong asset in captain Justin Williams. Williams holds the NHL record for most points in Game 7 with 15 throughout his career and boasts an 8-1 record in those crucial games. Williams was named the captain of Carolina in September 2018 and he has been the embodiment of leadership for the young locker room, having won the Stanley Cup on three occasions (’06 with CAR, ’12 & ’14 with LAK).

Goaltenders in the Between the Posts

BOS: Tuukka Rask – 8-5 .938 SV% – 2.02 GAA

Before the second-round battle with the Columbus Blue Jackets even started, one of the biggest concerns was how good Sergei Bobrovsky is and was most likely going to be for the duration of the series. Bobrovsky was good, but Tuukka Rask was outstanding for the Bruins for all six games, especially in the final three wins for the B’s.

In Game 4, Rask made 39 saves on 40 shots with the only goal going in creating controversy after the puck clearly hit the netting above the end boards. In Game Five, Rask was solid for the majority of the game, before allowing three third period goals in what was an insane final frame. Blue Jackets Head Coach John Tortorella claimed Rask was “dented” after Game Five, but Tuukka came back even stronger with a 39-save shutout to eliminate Columbus.

One could very well argue that the reason that the Boston Bruins are prepping for Conference Finals, is Tuukka Rask’s elite play in net.

CAR: Curtis McElhinney – 3-0 .947 SV% 1.56 GAA OR

Petr Mrazek – 5-3 .913 SV% 2.22 GAA

Petr Mrazek was the starting goaltender throughout the regular season and was to begin the playoffs as well, eliminating the Washington Capitals and taking Game One against the Islanders. However, in Game Two, Mrazek suffered a lower-body injury that is being listed as a groin injury and did not play for the remainder of the series. Former Maple Leafs goalie, Curtis McElhinney, stepped in and won three straight to complete the sweep.

The eight-day break for Carolina allowed Mrazek to improve with his injury and it seems like he will be the goaltender that starts in Game One, but as of 1:00pm EST, Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour would not directly release who that starting goaltender is. If it is McElhinney, the Bruins can expect Mrazek to be back in the lineup maybe as soon as Game Two on Sunday.

Either way, both netminders in the red and black sweaters for the Canes will be at the top of their game as they have shown throughout the postseason so far. Boston is used to playing against a hot goaltender, dealing with both Frederik Andersen and Sergei Bobrovsky in the opening two rounds.

Season Series

The Bruins and Hurricanes played in three games during the 2018-19 campaign, with Boston finishing the season series with a 2-1-0 record.

  • October 30th/18: Bruins 3 – Hurricanes 2
  • December 23rd/18: Hurricanes 5 – Bruins 3
  • March 5th/19: Bruins 4 – Hurricanes 3 OT

Both of Boston’s wins over Carolina this season were only by a lone goal when the final buzzer sounded, including an overtime win to close out the season series on March 5th. Carolina won their only game of the series by a final score of 5-3. Tuukka Rask allowed five goals on 37 shots against while Petr Mrazek stopped 27 of 30 shots that faced him.

Throughout the NHL history, both franchises have had some legendary playoff moments as well. That dates back to the days of the Hartford Whalers before the relocation to Raleigh, North Carolina for the 1997-1998 season. For more on that history, check out fellow BNG’s teammate Evan Michael’s article regarding the Bruins/Hurricanes before their 2019 clash.

Projected Lines for Game One

Boston Bruins:

Forwards:

Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak

DeBrusk-Krejci-Backes

Johansson-Coyle-Heinen

Nordstrom-Kuraly-Wagner

Defence:

Chara-Clifton

Krug-Carlo

Grzelcyk-Kampfer

Goaltender:

Rask

Scratched: Noel Acciari (upper-body), Karson Kuhlman (healthy), Charlie McAvoy (suspended for an illegal hit to the head), Zane McIntyre (healthy), John Moore (healthy).

Carolina Hurricanes (per @NHLCanes on Twitter):

Forwards

Svechnikov-Aho-Teravainen

Niederreiter-Staal-Williams

Foegele-Wallmark-McGinn

Ferland-McKegg-Martinook

Defence

Slavin-Hamilton

Pesce-Faulk

Fleury-de Haan

Goalies

A starting goaltender has not been announced.

Scratched: Bean (healthy), Brown (healthy), Maenalenen (upper body), van Riemsdyk (upper body).

Puck drop for Game One is scheduled for tonight, May 9th at 8:00pm EST in Boston, followed by the remaining possible six games:

*if required

Game Two: Sunday, May 12th – 3pm EST in Boston

Game Three: Tuesday, May 14th – 8pm EST in Carolina

Game Four: Thursday, May 16th – 8pm EST in Carolina

Game Five*: Saturday, May 18th – 7:15pm EST in Boston

Game Six*: Monday, May 20th – 8pm EST in Carolina

Game Seven*: Wednesday, May 22nd – 8pm EST in Boston

With that, let the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals begin!

Bruins Post-Game Recap: EQSF Game 5: Columbus at Boston

/ Max Mainville / Leave a comment
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PHOTO CREDITS: (JAMIE SABAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)

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

The Boston Bruins are once again in the middle of a tight, best-of-seven series for the second time in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Tonight, the Bruins face the Jackets in Game Five in what is now a best-of-three series. A win on home ice for the Bruins gives them a chance to eliminate Columbus in Game Six.

Pre-Game Notes:

Arena: TD Garden – Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Home: Boston Bruins (6-5)

Away: Columbus Blue Jackets (6-2)

Last Game Result: Bruins won 4-1

Bruins Gameday Lineup:

Noel Acciari was not present at the morning practice or the pre-game warmup for the Boston Bruins. Replacing Acciari is forward Chris Wagner, who will make his way back into the lineup for the first time since Game Two in Boston.

First Period:

Due to the Kentucky Derby, the game was delayed slightly. Early on, both teams started off cautiously but the Bruins third-line had some quick shots on Bobrovsky with Danton Heinen getting a couple of them. David Backes also had some hard hits in the first few minutes of this pivotal Game 5.

The first-line of Boston, including Torey Krug blasted some shots and Bobrovsky allowed some large rebounds in the process. Bruins should look to take advantage of that idea and continue to fire shots on the net. One of Krug’s shots blasted Werenski in the ankle, causing him to fall on top of his own goaltender at the same time.

With 10:57 remaining in the opening period, the first penalty of the game gets called against the Blue Jackets. After some borderline hits from both teams, Marcus Johansson brings the puck up the ice 1-on-4, taking a slash on the hand by Cam Atkinson who heads to the box for two minutes. Boston’s power-play looked much better than the six they had on Thursday, allowing zero chances against, something that happened often in Game Six. Nonetheless, the penalty is killed off and back to 5-on-5.

Not long after the Columbus penalty-kill, Boone Jenner comes into the zone and as he goes to take a shot, Charlie McAvoy takes a slashing penalty as well. Boston gets their first chance on the penalty-kill with 8:25 left to go in period number one. Boston’s PK looked great, even taking the puck into Columbus’ zone to skate around a bit and kill off the clock. Only one true chance for Columbus on the penalty, back to even-strength.

Immediately after, the Blue Jackets are caught with six players on the ice. John Tortorella argued the call, but there was a time where six players were clearly on the ice for the Blue Jackets, tough break for them. Boston right back to the power-play with a chance to get on the board first.

The Bruins had some hard chances that either missed or were blocked, but the opportunities were indeed there. Definite improvement for Boston’s power-play going back to last game but we are back to 5-on-5.

In the concluding minutes of the period, the Blue Jackets started to get some chances to shoot off the rush into the zone, but the Bruins do a great job shutting down the extra passes, blocking shots, and when it does get to the net, Rask has been solid and calm to make the save. A solid defensive effort so far for the B’s as the first period ends.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 9 CBJ: 8

Score: 0-0

Second Period:

Only 1:39 into the second period, the Bruins strike first. David Backes picks off a Columbus turnover and heads down the ice. Backes drops the puck off for Jake DeBrusk who tosses it across the zone to Krejci. Krejci originally has issues handling the rolling puck and barely touches it, narrowly beating Bobrovsky under the pad. Boston takes a 1-0 lead early on in the middle frame.

Boston used that goal as some serious momentum to start controlling this hockey game. They are forcing turnovers in the neutral zone and are doing a great job limiting chances when Columbus finds themselves in the offensive zone. The Blue Jackets are just trying to dump the puck behind Rask, but the B’s are winning the board battles, proceeding to get the puck back up the ice.

Boston’s third-line gets in on the action as well when Marcus Johansson’s one-timer from the faceoff circle gets robbed by the left leg of Sergei Bobrovsky. Charlie Coyle was the one to get the pass through the middle of the zone across to Johansson, proving that the combination of those two are getting some serious chances to score. The athleticism and flexibility of Bobrovsky continue to be on display in this series.

After some more incredible chances by the Bruins by seemingly everyone, the Blue Jackets get their best chance of the hockey game when Brandon Carlo turns the puck over in his own zone, leading to Cam Atkinson on a partial breakaway. Tuukka Rask, however, follows Atkinson all the way and makes a large save. On the play, Torey Krug is called for a holding penalty but Rask looks great nonetheless.

Right off on the power-play, the Blue Jackets’ captain Nick Foligno somehow gets around Zdeno Chara in on Rask, but again, Rask stays strong with the pad save. He is looking great once again for the Bruins. On a clear attempt, Joakim Nordstrom falls twice and then holds his shoulder in some discomfort. Nordstrom heads down the tunnel as a result but manages to return not long after. Boston kills off the penalty though, 1-0 lead still in tact.

The Bruins did not record as many shots in the second half of the second period but they also didn’t give up many either. Great net-front battles right down to the final seconds of this frame helped the Bruins end the period with a one-goal advantage heading into the final twenty minutes. Another goaltender’s dual.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 21 CBJ: 23

Score: 1-0 Bruins – Goals: Krejci (3) Assists: DeBrusk (2), Backes (3)

Third Period:

Again, early in the period, the Bruins get some great zone time on Columbus. The Blue Jackets did get some offensive control of their own, but both shots were blocked. David Pastrnak and his linemates had some shots on goal and some that missed as well, however, the B’s start the third off well.

Less than three minutes in, David Krejci uses the stick in the neutral zone to hand it off to DeBrusk. DeBrusk keeps his legs moving and gets a contested backhand on Bobrovsky, following it by colliding into Bobrovsky’s pads, causing the net to come off. Great net drive by DeBrusk and that would be great to have more often in this game and the remainder of the postseason.

Columbus gets a chance of their own on a 2-on-1 scenario with Atkinson being the pass-receiver. Just as he is about to get the pass, Joakim Nordstrom hustles back and makes a great stick check to prevent what may have been a game-tying chance. Right back the other way, on an offensive zone faceoff win, Connor Clifton pushes up the zone, feeding Marchand who gets robbed again. However, the rebound goes right to his stick and he buries that one past Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky shows evident frustration after the goal against, knowing now the Bruins are up 2-0.

Just over halfway into the period, the Blue Jackets rip a shot tight on Rask who hugs the post immediately. The play seems normal, but the refs decide to look at the play. The puck looked to have crossed the line but the puck was not seen on any of the replay angles provided. Regardless, the officials, after a lengthy review process, rule it a good goal and it becomes a 2-1 hockey game.

Less than one minute after the goal, the Boston Bruins escape on a 3-on-1 play with David Pastrnak as the puck-holder. The defenceman allows Bobrovsky to take Pastrnak as he takes the passing options but Pastrnak just rips a Pastrnak-esque wrist shot past a standing Bobrovsky and it is right back to a two-goal Boston lead. Pastrnak with the patent hand-to-ear celebration afterwards and he is finally feeling himself these playoffs.

But, again, the goals somehow come everywhere. 51 seconds after the Pastrnak insurance goal, Matt Duchene makes a quick pivot that gets Chara out of position, then feeds it across to Ryan Dzingel who shoots it top shelf past Rask with just around seven minutes to go in the third period. Three goals in 1:23.

And it doesn’t stop there. Artemi Panarin gets the puck, almost fakes the shot and passes it to Dean Kukan in the high slot. Kukan’s bomb beats Rask high and the Blue Jackets tie this hectic hockey game with six minutes left to go in this game.

Boston gets a close chance when Bobrovsky is on his stomach when Krejci drives wide and throws it in front, but right back the other way Atkinson gets a contested breakaway that goes right into the chest of Tuukka Rask. Neither team is backing down.

With 1:28 remaining in the third period, Brandon Carlo shuts down Artemi Panarin, eventually forcing an odd-man rush going the other way. Brad Marchand makes a clean pass directly to the tape of David Pastrnak who just barely squeaks the puck past Bobrovsky and the Bruins once again take a one-goal lead. Pastrnak’s second of the game.

With the goalie pulled, Matt Duchene tips a puck that would have beat Tuukka Rask but bangs right off of the post. Then, with 14.6 seconds to go, Cam Atkinson gets yet another chance in tight but thanks to the sprawling Rask and pretty much every Bruin on the ice, the puck does not cross the red line.

After Columbus’ timeout, the Bruins cannot clear the puck and Panarin’s one-timer gets blocked hard by Charlie McAvoy but the Bruins hold on and win. Game-saving block by McAvoy.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 36 CBJ: 36

Final Score: 4-3 Bruins – 3-2 Series Lead

Max’s Three Stars

1st Star: BOS F David Pastrnak – 2 Goals, 7 Shots, +3 Rating, 17:48 TOI

2nd Star: BOS F Brad Marchand – 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 2 Shots, 20:56 TOI

3rd Star: BOS G Tuukka Rask – 29 Saves, .917 SV%

The series now heads back to Columbus, Ohio and the Boston Bruins have a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals with a win in Game Six. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm EST on Monday, May 6th.

Charlie McAvoy’s Game Three Is Exactly What He And The Bruins Want Moving Forward

/ Max Mainville / 1 Comment
620-marchand

PHOTO CREDITS: (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

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

The Boston Bruins now trail their Eastern Conference Semi-Finals series with the Columbus Blue Jackets two-games-to-one and there are many different theories and ideas as to why the Bruins have lost two of the three games to the second wild-card team in the Eastern Conference.

Some suggest that the lack of production from David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand is the reason while others may think that secret or unspecified injuries are the reason. After the loss in Game Three on the road, one player was one-hundred-percent not blamed (and he really shouldn’t be if he is), defenseman Charlie McAvoy.

Before Game Three, McAvoy has had a pretty solid 2019 postseason for the Bruins and he is truly showing that he can handle the big minutes that top-two defencemen in the NHL need to be able to handle. In the opening best-of-seven series against the Maple Leafs, the 21-year-old averaged 24:04 of ice-time, scoring one goal and adding two assists for three points in the seven games.

Between Games One and Two in the Second Round against Columbus, McAvoy averaged 27:33 minutes, highlighted by a 30:39-minute game in the double-overtime loss back in the second game. McAvoy trailed only Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo for the most minutes in that game, but his play was something to note heading into Tuesday’s contest in Columbus.

In Game Three, Charlie played in a team-high 24 minutes, led the team in recorded hits with five, and had the third-most shots on goal by defencemen on the Bruins roster. In addition to all of that, McAvoy’s skating and puck handling was on full display, often joining the rush as almost a fourth forward, setting up high-quality scoring chances because of it. During the third period of play with Boston down 2-1 on the scoreboard, McAvoy made a slick, no-look pass to Noel Acciari that beat Sergei Bobrovsky, but rang off of the post and went into the corner.

If Acciari buries that beautiful play, the game is tied and the two teams would have most likely made their way to a third-consecutive overtime session. It was a hard break for a Boston team that let the Blue Jackets come out on home ice with a two-goal lead, but made an effort near the end of the second period and the entirety of the third to even up the score and force that overtime period.

Regardless of the outcome of the game and regardless of how the series currently stands, Charlie McAvoy did everything in his power other than scoring goals to give Boston the lead in the series. Former Bruin Riley Nash has been on the wrong end of some heavy hits by the B’s and McAvoy was yet another contributor to that. In the dying seconds of the second period, not long after DeBrusk’s tally, the Long Beach, New York native sent Nash to ice in exploding fashion with a clean, shoulder-to-shoulder collision.

Charlie McAvoy was a crucial part to the small successes that Boston found in the Game Three defeat. As previously stated, McAvoy handled the puck with ease around oncoming defenders and managed to help the Bruins secure some offensive zone time – a feat that seemed difficult to accomplish at numerous times in not only this game, but the first two meetings as well. His zone entries were clean, feet were always moving, and his passes were clean – turning the puck over on only one occasion compared to the four turnovers he committed in Game Two.

Boston Bruins Head Coach Bruce Cassidy praised the efforts of McAvoy in the post-game press conference as well, as this quote taken from Shawn Hutcheon (@ShawnHutcheon) suggests.

“Excellent. He was all over the ice. Dominant. He wanted to be a difference-maker without being reckless. Really, really good. Charlie was a big reason why we were in the game.”

A topic that was often included in these conversations about McAvoy’s stellar performance on Tuesday night was that McAvoy usually does not play like this consistently and if he does, could be a strong asset to Boston as this series progresses further and further. Bruins Network (@BruinsNetwork) included that perfectly in a Tweet below.

Similar to Acciari’s post shot, McAvoy ripped one off of the red iron as well in the game. His speed and skill with the puck allowed a clean entry into Columbus’ zone, but his solid wrist shot hit the post behind a standing Bobrovsky. Just another digressive attack that demonstrated his confidence that he possessed throughout the sixty-minute hockey game.

Even in a losing effort, the end result for Charlie McAvoy could be a winning one in the long run. On July 1st, the young defender’s contract officially expires and he will become an unrestricted free-agent. As of the end of the 2018-19 regular season, McAvoy has played in 117 career NHL regular season games, amassing 14-46-60 numbers within that time span as well as 13 points in 28 NHL playoff games.

Following a recent poll on my Twitter page, 51% of voters predict McAvoy’s contract to be anywhere from $4.1 to $6 million annually, with many people suggesting that the length of the deal plays a role in that annual salary as well. The next highest percentage, at 35%, suggested a $6.1 to $7 million price gap.

On CapFriendly’s “comparable” tool on their website, I took a look at players similar to McAvoy when he will sign his new contract. Such parameters included a 21-year-old, right-handed defenceman with 60 points in 117 games making $5.5 million on a six-year contract. Of course, those numbers are going off of the Twitter results and do not result in a definite, expected number.

The best match for McAvoy according to CapFriendly is Arizona Coyotes d-man, Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Ekman-Larsson signed his deal back in March of 2013 when he was 21 years of age. At the time of signing, OEK had only 56 points in 157 games played. The website’s tool has both players matching at 97.1%.

Now, my first issue with this was the idea of the points scored. With the statistics provided above, Charlie McAvoy possesses a 0.51 points-per-game average while Ekman-Larsson had only averaged 0.35 points-per-game when he signed for $5.5 million for six seasons. In response, I re-adjusted my sliders for the attributes that I wanted to be considered the most, including career games played, points, and age. Below were my top 5 results. You can also CLICK HERE for the official CapFriendly table.

  • 98.1% – ARI D Jakub Chychrun – 21yrs – 118GP – 34pts – $4.6 million/6yrs in 2018
  • 97.1% – MIN D Jonas Brodin – 21yrs – 127GP – 31pts – $4.1 million/6yrs in 2014
  • 96.7% – NJD D Adam Larsson – 21yrs – 128GP – 27pts – $900,000/1yr in 2014
  • 96.6% – MIN D Brent Burns – 21yrs – 108GP – 22pts – $825,000/2yrs in 2006
  • 96.2% – ARI D Oliver Ekman-Larsson – 21yrs – 157GP – 56pts – $5.5 million/6yrs in 2013

Taking a look at the annual salaries, clearly the contracts of both Adam Larsson and Brent Burns are highly unlikely for McAvoy at this point in his career, but they do have a strong resemblance to McAvoy’s current situation. Jakub Chychrun, to me, makes the most sense. However, due to McAvoy having a significantly higher career point total as well as having a larger role on the Bruins team than Chychrun did, I personally see his contract around Ekman-Larsson’s.

For Charlie McAvoy, if his Game Three performance can be continued out for the remainder of the postseason, he can truly have some bargaining power on General Manager Don Sweeney and the rest of the Bruins management. For the Boston Bruins, even if they have to pay more than possibly expected at the start of the season, it is a win for them because they will have another young, solid defenceman of the future to build around once the likes of Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug move on.

Tonight, the Bruins are back on the ice against the Blue Jackets in Game Four. Puck drop is currently scheduled for 7:30pm EST. Can Charlie McAvoy play as dominantly as he did only two nights ago? Will the Bruins tie the series at two, heading back to Boston? They’re all just questions, but soon, they will become answers.

Something’s Gotta Give: Pastrnak Bumped To Third Line

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photo credit: USA Today sports

By: Mandi Mahoney | Check me out on twitter @phoneymahoney

Bruce Cassidy needs to get his team going in order to prevent having their backs against the wall as they did for two games straight in the first round versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yesterday, the Bruins tweeted their practice lines, and to the surprise (and even dismay) of many, right wing David Pastrnak was playing on the third line alongside trade deadline acquisitions Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson. Pastrnak’s playoff stats may not quite show it, but anyone who has watched even a period of Boston Bruins hockey this postseason can tell as plain as day that Pastrnak is seriously struggling to play at the level we are all used to seeing from him.

Since the beginning of the playoffs, Pastrnak has been turning the puck over constantly, taking weak shots, and totally missing the mark when passing. Even worse, he has passed the puck instead of taking shots on many scoring opportunities While this has been a problem through the Bruins’ top six, Pastrnak has looked to be struggling more than most.  In fact, his travails have led many people to assume he is concealing some sort of upper body injury, as his skating appears to be fine. This gluten-free Pasta is not getting it done, and the Bruins’ coaching staff must address the issues with his game.

Pastrnak has notched three goals and assisted on four for a total of seven points in nine playoff games. That’s a respectable number, but it’s not what the team or its fans have come to expect from Pasta. Typically, when the Bruins need a big goal, Head Coach Bruins Cassidy can put his top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and Pastrnak on the ice and have a reasonably good chance to get the goal he needs out of them. The problem this postseason is that all three of them are struggling, and it’s been brutal to watch.

With Pastrnak skating on the third line instead of the first, two-way wing Danton Heinen will be skating in his place with Bergeron and Marchand. Some fans are wondering what playing on the third line will do for a guy who is having trouble finding his game, and the answer typically is that it will get him back to basics and help him simplify his game. If a scorer is having trouble putting the biscuit in the basket, then he needs to at least be playing strongly otherwise, and at the moment, Pastrnak is not. Playing with Coyle and Johansson will likely give Pastrnak a chance to do so.

This should not be looked at as a punishment in any way — coaches need to move players around the lineup when things aren’t working — and the top line isn’t working right now, so here we are. If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got, right? As a fan base, we cannot complain about a coach’s unwillingness to change his lineup or move players from line to line (this was a gripe often heard about former Bruins Head Coach Claude Julien), and then complain about where those players end up at the same time. That’s a total double standard, so let’s give this a chance.

Another thing to consider here is that if Pastrnak plays on the third line and things aren’t clicking, Cassidy can always move him back to skate alongside one of the centers he’s used to, whether that center be Patrice Bergeron, or David Krejci. This is not permanent, nor is it a punishment. Cassidy has to make changes to his lines, or he’s cutting off his nose to spite his face. He cannot worry about players’ and fans’ feelings during a playoff run. Furthermore, Pastrnak will still be playing on the power play (and scored during a power play drill in practice), so the Bruins are still going to rely on him offensively. Third line duty will hopefully help him get his groove back, though.

Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson will likely benefit from having such a speedy, skilled wing on their line, as well. With Coyle’s defensively responsible grinding game, and Johansson’s silky-soft hands, putting the three together could turn out to be a match made in heaven. It will also make the lineup deeper and give the Bruins a more balanced attack, especially since that leaves energetic rookie Karson Kuhlman playing right wing on the second line, with Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci, who are not producing to their standards lately, either.

If the Bruins come out of the tunnel flying like they didn’t during game one, and Pastrnak can settle his nerves a bit and get back to basics, the Bruins can absolutely win game three against the Blue Jackets in hostile territory… even if there’s a cannon involved. Of course, if the Bruins don’t want to hear the cannon, they could always shut Columbus out. Hopefully these line changes help the offense get moving again tonight.

Bruins Post-Game Recap: EQSF Game 1: Columbus at Boston

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PHOTO CREDITS: (NHL.com)

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

After eliminating the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals, the Boston Bruins are right back in action after a short, one-day break to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets in Round Two of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Blue Jackets are coming off of a four-game sweep of the President’s Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning in their first-round matchup.

Pre-Game Notes

Arena: TD Garden – Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Home: Boston Bruins (4-3)

Away: Columbus Blue Jackets (4-0)

Last Game Result: Bruins won 5-1 in Game 7

Bruins Gameday Lineup:

Defenceman John Moore is out of the lineup for tonight’s Game One with an upper-body injury and is considered to be day-to-day with the injury. Connor Clifton will enter the lineup in replace of Moore. In addition, forward Chris Wagner will come back into the forward core and Karson Kuhlman will be the scratch. Tuukka Rask is the starting goaltender for Boston.

First Period:

Less than a minute into round two and the Boston Bruins are bringing back the physical style of hockey that we saw in Game Two against the Maple Leafs. The fourth line of Boston, as well as Torey Krug, had some huge hits on the Blue Jackets early on and that could be a big storyline throughout this series.

About four minutes into the game, the intensity level rises just a bit. Blue Jackets d-man Scott Harrington sticks the knee out on Sean Kuraly as Kuraly enters the zone, getting called on a two-minute tripping minor in the process. Right after, Nordstrom gets into a scuffle with some opposing players, showing what kind of series this will be.

The Bruins thrive on the early power-play with some great chances, headlined by a highway robbery by Sergei Bobrovsky – a split save on a bouncing puck right in front of the net and it stays scoreless. With 43 seconds left, Boston gets caught with six players on the ice and the power-play becomes  4-on-4 play for too-many-men. Bobrovsky makes another huge stop on Charlie McAvoy as well. Fortunately, Columbus fails to get a shot on the man-advantage and we go back to 5-on-5.

The B’s forecheck has been great in the early portions of this game, but Charlie Coyle goes a bit too far, getting called on a hooking minor about halfway through the first period. Columbus has a chance on a full power-play session for the first time this series. Boston’s PK did a great job shutting down offensive chances in the neutral zone and the Blue Jackets cannot get anything going.

Continuing a great penalty-kill, Noel Acciari stands up strong on the blueline, picking up the puck off of a McAvoy poke check, turning around and heading on a 2-on-1 with Nordstrom. Instead of passing, Acciari rips one shorthanded underneath Bobrovsky’s blocker to put the Bruins up 1-0.

Brad Marchand makes a slick move to get around the defender, takes a shot that gets stopped by Bobrovsky, but the Bruins stay hard on the puck. At the other end, Cam Atkinson steals the puck off of Zdeno Chara in the Bruins defensive zone, then passes it to Ryan Dzingel in the slot. Tuukka Rask makes only his second save of the game with three minutes to go in the period on a solid chance.

Columbus closed out the first period with the best zone control they had all game, quite honestly the only time they had such pressure in the offensive zone, but the Bruins deal with the chances and not many shots end up reaching Rask. With that, Boston ends the period with a 1-0 lead. Columbus ties a franchise record for fewest shots on goal in the first period of a playoff game with four.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 14 CBJ: 4

Score: 1-0 Bruins – Goals: Acciari (1) SH Assists: McAvoy (3)

Second Period:

Just shy of three minutes into a slower-paced second period, former-Bruin Riley Nash trips up Matt Grzelcyk and Boston once again goes to the power-play. Early on, Columbus shows great improvement on the penalty-kill, but a small cycle play causes a Pastrnak one-timer that shatters his stick. The puck somehow gets to Marchand who has an open net but rings it off the crossbar and it goes up out of play. Blue Jackets kill off the penalty on Nash.

Not long after Nash leaves the box, David Krejci gets his stick on the skates of Nick Foligno at the end of his shift and the officials wave him to the penalty box. Columbus heads to the power-play for the third time already. Tuukka Rask has to make a couple solid saves – which he does so and Boston successfully makes their third kill of the night.

Midway through the game, the Blue Jackets have clearly found their game that was absent in the first frame. Already more shots in the second period than the opening period for Columbus and they have begun to start the cycle on a couple occasions. Boston forced to ice it a few times in the process.

With 5:30 remaining in the frame, Patrice Bergeron is called on a hooking call when he makes a play to shut down a David Savard chance on Rask. Yet again, Bruins off to the 5-on-4 penalty-kill tonight. Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson has a wide open net on a rebound but the bouncing puck goes over the blade of his stick and no shot comes off. Marchand gets a contested breakaway shorthanded but with the good defence by Bjorkstrand, he is unable to get the shot off. The chance is enough to kill off the penalty, though.

Brad Marchand, who has been all over the puck since hitting the crossbar, gets the puck on a short 2-on-1 with Pastrnak. Pastrnak gets interfered with by Zach Werenski and with around one minute left in the second, Boston goes to the power-play. Off of a terrific diving play to keep the puck in by Torey Krug, Bruins get numerous high-quality chances, but the period ends before a goal goes in. B’s will have 48 seconds on the power-play to start the third.

Columbus out-shot the Bruins 10-to-6 in that middle frame and Boston has allowed them to get their legs in this game. Boston needs a goal early in the final regulation period to give them the momentum back in this Game One contest. It should be an entertaining upcoming twenty minutes of action.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 20 CBJ: 14

Score: 1-0 Bruins

Third Period:

Unable to strike on the short power-play to begin the period, the Bruins get a full one 1:20 into the third on a holding minor against Boone Jenner. Just seconds beforehand, Jenner took a shot on the rush that hit Rask’s glove and then the post but stayed out. Marchand again gets the best chance on the power-play, a deflection on a slap pass from Pastrnak that just goes wide. Blue Jackets block a few hard shots including one off of Zach Werenski’s hand. He has been the top minute-eating defenceman for Columbus and losing him would hurt. Boston, though, can’t score again on the man-advantage.

In a game that felt like a regular season game at times results in a Seth Jones point shot that gets deflected by former-Bruin Riley Nash and Brandon Dubinsky, tying the game at one. Only thirteen seconds after that, Artemi Panarin takes a hard slapshot towards Rask and it hits Pierre-Luc Dubois’ leg, beating Rask. All of a sudden, the Blue Jackets have a 2-1 lead in the third.

Looking for a response, Joakim Nordstrom takes a spinning shot and somehow Sean Kuraly gets his stick on a loose puck but his attempt gets stopped by with a desperation save by Bobrovsky. Boston’s fourth line continues to have the best chances for the team and that usually does not win you consistent playoff games.

A slower period than expected, Marcus Johansson comes down the right-wing side with head up all the way and he makes a slick backhand pass to Charlie Coyle and his bomb of a one-timer goes in and out so fast that it almost seemed like a post shot, but Coyle and the official behind the net saw that it went in short-side and the Boston Bruins have tied this game with just under five minutes in regulation.

In the final minutes, Charlie McAvoy gets absolutely levelled behind Tuukka Rask by Josh Anderson. McAvoy returned the favour to Boone Jenner later in the shift as Jenner tried to cross the Bruins blueline. High intensity in the concluding moments with some hard pushes by Boston but we head to overtime for the first time in the playoffs for the Bruins.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 33 CBJ: 21

Score: 2-2 – Goals: Dubinsky (1) Assists: Nash (1), Jones (3); Dubois (2) Assists: Panarin (4), Jones (4); Coyle (4) Assists: Johansson (1), Krug (4)

Overtime:

In the first few minutes of the overtime session, it is apparent that David Krejci is not on the bench nor the ice for the Bruins. Talks are that Krejci took a hard hit at the end of the third period, but no clear play of injury is present.

Leave it up to the third line. Marcus Johansson tosses the puck high up for Danton Heinen who just barely gets into the zone onside. Zach Werenski pauses to protest for a possible offside, which allows Charlie Coyle to get around him. In the meantime, Johansson feeds a perfect pass to Coyle for a deflection goal. Bruins win Game One, 3-2 in overtime.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 37 CBJ: 22

Final Score: 3-2 Bruins

Max’s Three Stars:

1st Star: BOS F Charlie Coyle – 2 Goals, OT Winner, 2 Shots, 3 Hits,

2nd Star: CBJ G Sergei Bobrovsky – 34 Saves, .919 SV%

3rd Star: BOS F Marcus Johansson – 2 Assists, 2 Shots, 16:20 TOI

Game Two is currently scheduled for 8:00pm EST on Saturday, April 27th in Boston, Massachusetts.

Bruins Post-Game Recap: ECQF Game 7: Toronto at Boston

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PHOTO CREDITS: (NHL.com)

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

Tonight, it ends. The first-round matchup between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs see yet another Game 7. Both teams have had strong games, weak games, and everything in between. For one team, they move on to face the Columbus Blue Jackets in Round Two, the other heads home for the offseason.

Pre-Game Notes

Arena: TD Garden – Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Home: Boston Bruins (3-3)

Away: Toronto Maple Leafs (3-3)

Last Game Result: Bruins won 4-2

Bruins Gameday Lineup:

Everything remains the same for the Bruins after Sunday’s Game 6 victory in Toronto. Tuukka Rask and Frederik Andersen are the starting goaltenders for Boston and Toronto.

First Period:

Right out of the gate, the Bruins attacked the Leafs defence with some quick shots and a close wraparound shot by David Pastrnak. Frederik Andersen seemed a tad bit slow on the wraparound but makes the save nonetheless. Boston looking not too bad to start off this Game 7. Not too long after, Tuukka Rask makes a large save for himself on Auston Matthews right in the slot.

Later in the early stages to the period, the Bruins with some solid shots on goal or some that just miss by a hair. Torey Krug lightens up the crowd even more than they already are with a huge hit on Trevor Moore that knocks his helmet off. After a solid Game 6, Krug is looking to have another big playoff game tonight.

As the period continued, Boston seemed to relax a little or Toronto just had their legs more. Both teams commit numerous icings consecutively but the Leafs are the ones getting shots and pressure on the Bruins defence. Tuukka Rask has made some good stops including some huge saves on Mitch Marner but the B’s need to be better defensively.

With around five minutes to go in the opening frame, the Bruins fourth line strikes first. Noel Acciari picks off a breakout pass by the Maple Leafs just on the line, feeding it to Sean Kuraly. Kuraly drives the puck in deeper, getting a shot on, but it is Joakim Nordstrom that somehow beats Andersen right in front of him. The puck found the smallest gap imaginable and quite frankly, I’m not sure Nordstrom even saw that opening. No matter what, Bruins are up 1-0 late in the first.

With the crowd going crazy in the TD Garden, Jake Gardiner makes a terrible turnover behind his own net with Kuhlman close behind him, leading the puck to Marcus Johansson who spins and shoots the puck past Andersen. Johansson finally gets on the board for his first goal of the postseason and Boston takes a big 2-0 lead late in the frame. With the constant pressure on the top-six by the Leafs, the Bruins’ bottom-six needs to show up and so far, they are.

As the final seconds tick away, Boston nearly strikes again with some good chances by DeBrusk, (who is all over the puck tonight) and Pastrnak. However, Andersen makes a big toe save and we enter the first intermission.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 11 TOR: 12

Score: 2-0 Bruins – Goals: Nordstrom (2) Assists: Grzelcyk (4), Kuraly (1); Johansson (1) Unassisted

Second Period:

In the first five minutes, Bruins get some chances off a long airborne pass to Pastrnak but some fanned shots don’t result into anything. Exactly 3:54 into the period, John Tavares comes onto the ice, gets the puck, and snipes one far-side on Tuukka Rask to cut into Boston’s lead. Tyler Ennis does a great job taking the puck away from the Bruins player – resulting in the goal. 2-1 Bruins early in the second.

The goal for Toronto gave them tons of momentum as the Matthews line puts hard pressure on with some high-quality shots and chances but with the help of Rask’s play in net, Boston keeps it 2-1. The Bruins need a big hit or preferably, another goal to shift the momentum once again.

Eight minutes into the second, Zdeno Chara does a great job pinching to keep the puck in the offensive zone. As a result, Danton Heinen rips a wrist shot at Andersen’s chest, leaving a juicy rebound for Brad Marchand. Marchand shifts the puck to his backhand but cannot lift the shot over the sprawling Andersen. Extremely close opportunity to extend the lead to two goals again.

In a net-front battle, Brandon Carlo cross-checks the back of Andreas Johnsson and the officials are not going to have it and Carlo goes to the box for two minutes. I personally think it is a weak call, but it is called so Boston heads to the penalty-kill. The Maple Leafs get some close calls with the scary threats of Matthews, Marner, Tavares, and Rielly but a lot of missed shots keep it a one-goal game. Boston successfully kills off the penalty.

Even though the game is back to 5-on-5, Boston is allowing the Leafs to walk all around their zone and they fully rely on Tuukka Rask in the net. Fortunately, Rask has made some big saves but the five skaters on the ice wearing the Spoked-B are chasing the Maple Leafs and cannot form any sort of breakout whatsoever.

Eventually, the Bruins get some offensive control of their own and the team is able to make a successful line change while in Toronto’s zone. In the final six minutes or so, the B’s have been able to shut down a lot of the chances against Rask and they have looked a bit better since the goal by Tavares.

With all of that, the second period ends there – only twenty minutes remain in Game Seven. The Boston Bruins finished the frame with a lot better pressure and much better control. Not as many shots, but a good end to the period. Also, some post-whistle pushing and shoving before we head into the second intermission.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 19 TOR: 25

Score: 2-1 Bruins – Goals: Tavares (2) Assists: Ennis (2)

Third Period:

Twenty minutes to go… and the Bruins strike early. Noel Acciari leaves the puck for Sean Kuraly in the neutral zone. Kuraly weaves into the Leafs zone with slick hands and snipes it clean past Rask. The clutch play by Sean Kuraly in the playoffs continue with this massive insurance goal less than three minutes into the third period. He has been a key player for Boston in the two games that he has returned.

With 14:41 to go in the third, the linesman catches the Bruins with six players on the ice – too-many-men – a bench minor that will put Boston to the penalty-kill for the second time tonight. Boston kills off the penalty will almost ease and it is back to 5-on-5, impressive to be honest.

As the minutes go by, the Bruins play gets better and better. All of a sudden, the Maple Leafs are having trouble entering the zone, especially Mitch Marner and John Tavares. Boston is not laying back, but not taking risks either. It is a calm style of game for the Bruins right now and it is exactly what they want.

Toronto did not have many great opportunities to score in the final regulation period, except for a close call that took a weird bounce off of the post. Mike Babcock pulled Andersen with roughly three minutes to go in the game and Sean Kuraly makes a nice play to allow Krejci to find Charlie Coyle who buries it in the open cage. Bruins take a 4-1 lead and are only minutes away from round two. Bergeron added an empty-net goal in the final seconds to make it 5-1.

And with that, the Boston Bruins eliminate the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games and advance to the second round against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Shots on Goal: BOS: 32 TOR: 33

Final: 5-1 Bruins – BOS wins series 4-3

Max’s Three Stars

1st Star: BOS G Tuukka Rask – 28 Saves, .970 SV%

2nd Star: BOS F Sean Kuraly – 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 3 Shots, 50% Faceoffs

3rd Star: BOS F Joakim Nordstrom – 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 3 Shots

Bruins Post-Game Recap: ECQF Game 5: Toronto at Boston

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PHOTO CREDITS: (NHL.com)

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

On Wednesday night, the Boston Bruins tied up their Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals series against the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 6-4 victory in Toronto. With the win, Boston regains home-ice advantage in what is now a best-of-three series. The winner of tonight’s Game 5 will have the opportunity to end the series on Sunday in Game 6.

Pre-Game Notes

Arena: TD Garden – Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Home: Boston Bruins (2-2)

Away: Toronto Maple Leafs (2-2)

Last Game Result: Bruins won 6-4

Bruins Gameday Lineup:

Sean Kuraly makes his long-awaited return to the lineup after dealing with a hand injury since late March while Joakim Nordstrom is the healthy scratch to allow Kuraly back in the forward lines.

First Period:

The first period for this critical Game 5 was back and forth for all twenty minutes but at no time did either team “dominate” the other. Bruce Cassidy went with the Wagner-Kuraly-Acciari against that top line of the Maple Leafs off the opening draw, but as the period went on, we began to see more of a Bergeron/Tavares matchup on the ice.

The Leafs did have a lot of pressure in the offensive zone, putting some good shots on Tuukka Rask in the first half of the period, but the Bruins managed to get the puck out of the zone most of the time. On too many occasions, Toronto had possession of the puck and winning the battles along the boards.

Regardless, Rask made the saves he needed to make and Boston did get a few opportunities on some rushes of their own. Both Toronto and Boston stayed firm in the defensive zone, protecting the middle of the ice and forcing the offence to use the outside of the zone to get their chances. Neither team is making many mistakes and it made for a tight frame.

With three minutes to go, Zach Hyman gets called on a tripping minor that many people think was a light call, however, Boston is going to the first power-play of the game. On the man-advantage, both David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk get close chances, but either the shot missed the cage, or was stopped by Frederik Andersen. Bruins cannot score and the buzzer sounds for the first.

After the whistle, Auston Matthews took some shots at Zdeno Chara to try and get under the skin of the captain but to no avail. It was much better last six minutes for the Bruins than Toronto and that momentum needs to be used heading into an important second period.

Shots On Goal: BOS: 6 TOR: 7

Score: 0-0

Second Period

Toronto opens the second period with some good shots but Tuukka Rask looks a lot calmer and relaxed at this stage of the game compared to Wednesday in Toronto. Auston Matthews took some shots at the chest of Rask as well as some slight deflection shots but score stays scoreless.

Less than five minutes into the frame, Boston begins to make some passes around the Maple Leafs’ zone, resulting in a hooking minor against Patrick Marleau on David Krejci. Some of the best chances so far on the end of either team came from that man-advantage, including a Pastrnak one-timer that bounced off of Andersen’s pads. Other than that, the Leafs kill the penalty off and we return to 5-on-5.

Nearing the halfway mark of the middle regulation period, the Bruins get a chance off of  Brad Marchand wrist shot that leaves a sneaky rebound to David Pastrnak. Pastrnak’s rebound is batted off of the iron and the side of Andersen and remains out of the net. The Bruins continue the strong offence, but the Leafs are exhausted. A bouncing puck around the boards leads to Mitch Marner who golf swings his stick, hitting the puck up and over the glass – delay-of-game penalty and B’s are back to the power-play.

A weird bouncing rebound off Andersen somehow sets up Kasperi Kapanen on a shorthanded breakaway. Fortunately, Kapanen misses the net high and wide. Bruins, still on the man-advantage, turn it over in the neutral zone, leading Hyman to drive into the zone. Hyman is cut off but crashes hard into the end boards. He is slow to get up to his feet, similar to Game 4. Ultimately, Hyman remains on the bench in some discomfort and the Bruins’ terrible power-play ends there.

Easily the best chance of the game so far comes from David Krejci’s stick. Marchand left the puck for Krejci who took a quick shot and it appeared to cross the line. Even Pastrnak thought it went in, but the call on the ice was no goal by the official by the net. After seeing the replay, the shot rifled where the crossbar and the post meet, cleanly beating Andersen but the game remains nodded at zero.

Late in the frame, still 0-0, Tyler Ennis makes a strong move to the net around Matt Grzelcyk, curling in front of Rask but Tuukka stays strong and firm, stopping the chance cleanly. About a minute following, Kapanen takes a rip at Rask as well and cannot find the back of the net. Game 5 heads into the third and final period with a 0-0 tie.

It has been a very tight, defense-first type of hockey game with neither team giving up a chance to score or even get high-quality shots on goal. Only a combined 31 shots have hit the goaltenders and that is due to the lack of shots hitting the net and the high traffic in the slot area. In addition to the middle-heavy defence, shots are coming from the point. It really seems like the next goal scored with be the game-winning tally.

Shots On Goal: BOS: 15 TOR: 16

Score: 0-0

Third Period:

In a game where it truly seems like the next goal will win it, both teams come out with Boston taking the best chances early. A few icing calls against Toronto led to some shots against the tired Leafs unit. Sean Kuraly also got a short rush and ripped a quick wrister that hit Travis Dermott and then fell over top of Dermott. Good chances but still nothing.

Not long after, the Leafs try to get a rush of their own with Connor Brown, who has had a great game all over the ice, takes a shot that hits the side of the cage and gloved down by Rask. At the same time, Brown gets absolutely levelled by Chris Wagner with a hard collision. Charlie Coyle came right back with one of his own as well. Not many hard hits, but Boston may look to go that route at this stage.

With around 12 minutes left to tick away in the third, right before the TV timeout, the Bruins are called on a too-many-men call. A tough call to hear – sending Toronto to their first power-play of the night. Toronto blasted some bombs and got some solid shots on net too, but Boston holds on to kill the entire two minutes off.

With 8:27 remaining, Jake Muzzin makes a brilliant feed to Auston Matthews on the opposite side of the zone who blasts it past Rask to finally put a goal on the board. However, Cassidy challenges for goalie interference on Zach Hyman. On the screen, it appears that there was some contact with Rask in front of the net, but the call on the ice stands – good goal. 1-0 Toronto.

The game started to open up following that goal and it showed. Some intelligent passes by the Leafs lead to a 3-on-2 rush for Toronto – leading to a Kapanen goal past Tuukka Rask. After a tight forty minutes, Toronto takes a 2-0 lead in the game and the Bruins are looking in a tough spot.

The trio of Coyle, McAvoy, and Johansson had some fantastic chances in the dying three minutes with Rask on the bench but somehow the puck never crossed the goal line. Every time it appeared to be close, Andersen or a defenceman somehow got a piece of the puck.

With the goalie pulled, amazing patience by Pastrnak to fake a shot and pass it to Krejci on the other side of Frederik Andersen leads to the first goal for Boston with 43.4 seconds to go. There is some life in not only the players but the fans as well.

The Boston Bruins had a few shots, including one off the faceoff with one second remaining, but too little way too late and the Toronto Maple Leafs win Game 5 on the road, taking a 3-2 series lead heading back to Toronto on Sunday.

Shots On Goal: BOS: 29 TOR: 27

Final Score: 2-1 Maple Leafs

Max’s Three Stars

1st Star: TOR G Frederik Andersen – 28 Saves, .966 SV%

2nd Star: TOR F Kasperi Kapanen – 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 3 Shots, 15:56 TOI

3rd Star: TOR F Auston Matthews – 1 Game-Winning Goal, 5 Shots, 17:44 TOI

With Boston’s season on the line, the series goes back to Toronto on Sunday for Game 6. Puck drop scheduled for 3pm EST.

NHL Player Safety Suspends Leafs Nazem Kadri For Cross-Check on Bruins Jake DeBrusk

/ Max Mainville / Leave a comment
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PHOTO CREDITS: (Mary Schwalm/The Associated Press)

The National Hockey League’s Player Safety has officially suspended Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri for the remainder of the first-round series against the Bruins for a brutal cross-check to the head of Boston Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk in the third period of Saturday night’s Game Two win over the Maple Leafs.

“This is not a hockey play. Instead, this is a player retaliating against an opponent by using his stick as a weapon to make forceful and direct head contact.”

At the 14:03 minute of the final regulation period, already down 3-1 on the scoreboard, Kadri delivered the cross-check heard by everyone watching to an unsuspected Jake DeBrusk. Just seconds prior, DeBrusk laid a borderline dirty hit on Leafs forward Patrick Marleau, hitting him into the curved glass by the benches. Kadri was looking for retaliation but took his actions to another level.

It was not just that play from DeBrusk that drove Kadri to make that hit. All throughout Game Two, both DeBrusk and Kadri were involved in quite a bit of rough play with a lot of hits, battles, and pushing before, during, and after whistles. Part of the reason could be because of the style of game the Bruins came out playing.

For the first time in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Boston was hitting everything in sight, making hard strides on the forecheck, and getting into numerous scuffles in front of both Tuukka Rask and Frederik Andersen. Right in the middle of a lot of these war of pushing and shoving, was Jake DeBrusk and Nazem Kadri.

Later in the game, Kadri skates out of the box after receiving a two-minute minor late in the second-period for hooking Brad Marchand, stealing the puck from David Krejci who was about to shoot the puck towards the goal. As soon as Kadri pickpockets Krejci, he collides hard with DeBrusk. In full speed at that time, it appeared to be a clean body hit, but slowed down the knee of DeBrusk was the point of contact and sent Kadri flying in the air.

Kadri stayed on the ice for a while, clearly shaken up by the collision, but also possibly looking for a penalty. Unfortunately for him and the Maple Leafs, no penalty was handed to DeBrusk whatsoever, ensuring some justifiable outrage by the Toronto fan base. Kadri ended up returning to the game for Toronto, scoring their only goal on a slick deflection off of a Travis Dermott point shot, beating Rask in the third period.

Being it 3-1 in the third period, the Leafs were putting on some great control on Boston, gaining some in-zone chances and looking the best they looked all night long. For a moment in time, Toronto had a true chance at making a push for a comeback. We all know that a three-goal lead is not 100% safe in today’s NHL, even more so in the playoffs.

With six minutes left in the third period, Leafs forward Patrick Marleau attempts to bring the puck into the Bruins defensive zone along the boards right beside the bench area. The veteran forward is met by DeBrusk who finishes his check into the stanchion, (where the boards become smaller for the benches). The hit had similarities to the infamous hit by Zdeno Chara to former Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty.

Thankfully, Marleau was not injured on the play, but Kadri just happened to see the play from the view of the ice and quite possibly had the memories of seeing Pacioretty go down as did everyone else. Additionally, when Kadri saw the #74 on DeBrusk’s sweater, the anger of the missed knee-on-knee call as well as the frustration of the game could all have been motivating factors. However, NHL Player Safety said the following regarding the retaliation aspect, also noting the Marleau hit was legal:

“While we understand that Kadri took offense to DeBrusk’s hit against Marleau, players are simply not permitted to flagrantly violate league playing rules because they feel that retribution is justified.”

The Maple Leafs will be without Nazem Kadri for the remainder of the first round but will have his services back if they eliminate the Bruins in their best-of-seven series. Therefore, his suspension is a minimum of three games and a maximum of five games. Do you agree? Let me know via Twitter @tkdmaxbjj.

Interested in going to any Boston Bruins 2019 Stanley Cup Playoff games or the last regular season contests for the Providence Bruins? Take a look at the upcoming schedule and ticket availability from SeatGiant. Click the links below and use discount code BNGP to save a little cash!

—–> Click Here To Get Your Boston Bruins First Round Stanley Cup Playoff Tickets From The Great Folks at SeatGiant! <—-

—> Click Here To Get Your Providence Bruins Regular Season & Calder Cup Playoff Tickets From The Great Folks at SeatGiant! <—

Boston Bruins Playoff Preview: Round 1 – Game 3

/ Max Mainville / Leave a comment
image

PHOTO CREDITS: (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)

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

After a pair of games in Boston, the first-round matchup between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs officially makes its way to Toronto, Canada for Game Three. The Bruins tied the series on Saturday with a 4-1 victory after losing Game One by the same score on Thursday.

Game Three Information:

Arena: Scotiabank Arena – Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Home: Toronto Maple Leafs

Away: Boston Bruins

Series: 1-1

Starting Goaltenders:

BOS: Tuukka Rask 1-1-0 .937 SV% 2.02 GAA Last Game: 30 Saves in 4-1 win vs TOR

TOR: Frederik Andersen 1-1-0 .937 SV% 2.50 GAA Last Game: 37 Saves in 4-1 loss vs TOR

Projected Bruins Lineup:

Marchand – Bergeron – Pastrnak

DeBrusk – Krejci – Kuhlman

Heinen – Coyle – Backes

Nordstrom – Acciari – Wagner

Chara – McAvoy

Krug – Carlo

Grzelcyk – Kampfer

Per reports from Head Coach Bruce Cassidy, forward Jake DeBrusk and defenceman Torey Krug will be in the lineup for Game Three. DeBrusk took a cross-check to the head by Nazem Kadri, who is facing an in-person hearing today and left the game while Krug left Game Two after taking a massive hit from Jake Muzzin. Connor Clifton (upper-body) is out, Kampfer to replace him and Marcus Johansson remains out with an illness.

Who’s Hot

Charlie Coyle scored the game’s first goal on Saturday, ultimately giving the Bruins the confidence to continue out the game, but his play has been consistent throughout the series so far. Even in the loss in Game One, Coyle had numerous chances and opportunities to score but just could not bury one and he continued that in the second game. With the loss of Leafs’ third line centre, Nazem Kadri, Coyle’s role could be all the more important.

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PHOTO CREDITS: (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Frederik Andersen may have allowed four goals on Saturday night, but he was one of the only good things that came from Toronto in their Game Two loss. Andersen stopped 37 of the 41 shots Boston threw at him, making some big saves throughout the entire game in order to keep it within reach for the Maple Leafs. If Andersen can continue to be hot in the net at home in the Scotiabank Arena, then the Leafs could have the momentum moving forward.

Jake DeBrusk does not have a point in either of the two games, but his usual work-horse attitude and play were present in both games, but especially in Game Two. DeBrusk managed to get under the skin of Kadri, resulting in the terrible cross-check by the Leafs forward. Jake had four hits on the night and was a beast on the forecheck, as he often is during gametime. It is only a matter of time for when that first goal comes.

Mitch Marner was held to zero points in Game Two, but in Game One, it was all him, scoring a pair of goals including a short-handed penalty shot past Tuukka Rask. Marner played 20:28 on Saturday night with over six minutes of speciality team time as well. Mitch could arguably be the biggest threat for the Bruins defence for the entirety of the series.

Who’s Not

William Nylander has had a rough 2018-19 season in general, with all the contract issues and then the lack of production once he started to play again, but that was only amplified on Saturday night in Boston, as he found himself on the wrong end of too many negative plays, including a terrible mishap that led to Heinen’s 3-0 goal for the B’s. The young forward also had a team-high three giveaways during his 13:56 TOI. Nylander was skating down the middle on the Leafs’ third line, replacing Kadri.

For all of the players that were struggling on the Bruins after the first game, did much better for the second. Every single player on the Bruins roster played their part and did their job to ultimately get the win and tie the series at one apiece. Boston will look to continue that ideology moving forward into Game Three.

Jake Muzzin had a terrible night on the Leafs blue line and only had one good play – a huge hit that injured Torey Krug. Other than that, Muzzin turned the puck over twice (on the statsheet), and made a crucial error that led to Marchand’s first-period tally. When Torey Krug lofted a puck up the ice, Muzzin tried to grab it with his hand, missing, leading to a 2-on-1 for Pastrnak and Marchand, leading to one of the best goals so far in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Muzzin is supposed to be the best defenceman on the roster for Toronto and he needs to be better.

Bruins vs Leafs – Game Three Outlook

The script was flipped on Saturday when the Bruins came back from a dismal Game One to dominate for a 4-1 final score. A change from Game One, the Bruins were aggressive on the forecheck and made a successful hit on every Leafs player that moved at any place on the ice. Even players like David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk were throwing the body.

The physical play of Boston kept the Leafs weary and afraid to push into the zone further, as a lot of their shots on goal came from the point and far along the boards. Their only goal came off of a deflection from one of these point shots and that strategy could be evident in Game Three.

Boston’s shots came right around the net of Frederik Andersen, mainly due to the turnovers on breakout passes by the Maple Leafs defenseman. One of the best chances that did not cross the red line came off of a turnover in the slot, leading to a David Krejci shot and a rebound from Heinen that was robbed by Andersen.

Regardless, the goaltenders of both teams will need to be on fire once again and the defence will need to prevent chances. No matter how far this series goes, that narrative will be the case for both franchises. Toronto will also have the home-ice for the first time this postseason, so expect an energetic Toronto crowd.

Game Three puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm EST from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Interested in going to any Boston Bruins 2019 Stanley Cup Playoff games or the last regular season contests for the Providence Bruins? Take a look at the upcoming schedule and ticket availability from SeatGiant. Click the links below and use discount code BNGP to save a little cash!

—–> Click Here To Get Your Boston Bruins First Round Stanley Cup Playoff Tickets From The Great Folks at SeatGiant! <—-

—> Click Here To Get Your Providence Bruins Regular Season & Calder Cup Playoff Tickets From The Great Folks at SeatGiant! <—