Jim Montgomery FIRED (11/19/24)

Well the inevitable happened a day after another brutal, lifeless loss. The Columbus Blue Jackets spanked the the Boston Bruins 5-1 last night and finally, FINALLY it was too much for Bruins upper management to take. Montgomery was fired this afternoon and assistant coach Joe Sacco will be the interim coach for the rest of the season.

                                                             Jim's expression says it all

So what happened? How can a franchise that came two wins short of the East Finals last year suddenly can their coach before Thanksgiving? Here's why.

Following the 2022 season, a group of Bruins players came to General Manager Don Sweeney and begged them to get rid of head coach Bruce Cassidy. Cassidy had made the playoffs every season since taking over in 2017 including Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 2019. The fact the Bruins kept the players over the coach was a bad sign, but they needed a new coach. Jim Montgomery was a formerly disgraced coach of the Dallas Stars before alcoholism got him fired. Now sober, Montgomery took over the Bruins for the 2022-23 season. The 23 Bruins would be getting David Krejci back from temporary retirement along with Pavel Zacha. The 23 Bruins were a complete wagon during the regular season, winning 65 games and setting the NHL regular season point record with 135. As well all know, the season ended with an ignominious defeat at the hands of the Florida Panthers. The Bruins not only blew a 3-1 series lead but the lead in Game 7 before losing in overtime.

                                                     A record regular season WASTED

Montgomery won the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year for the 2023 season but his best work was arguably last season. The Bruins were gutted as Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired for good, Taylor Hall, Connor Clifton, Tyler Bertuzzi, Garnett Hathaway and Dimitri Orlov left in free agency and the Bruins made the playoffs with a rag tag bunch including aging James Van Reimsdyk, Pat Maroon, Morgan Geekie, Justin Brazeau, 19 year old Matt Poitras and John Beecher. The Bruins stomped their perennial bitch in the Toronto Maple Leads with a David Pastrnak OT game winner in Game 7 before running into the Panthers again. The Bruins did win the first game but lost the next three straight. They did manage to win Game 5 in Florida but a late goal in Game 6 won it for the Panthers. Still, Montgomery managed to coach this team of rag tags to coming two wins short of the East Finals.

                                             Jim can't bear to watch....see what I did there?

So what went wrong this year? Quite frankly, it wasn't even his fault. The main reason the Bruins got as far as they did was their tag team in the net. Linus Ullmark the 2023 Vezina winner and Jeremy Swayman strong armed the Bruins the past two seasons. Then before the season the Bruins made an idiotic trade, sending Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators for a first round pick, cement head Mark Kastelic and the worst goalie contract in the league, Joonas Korpisalo. Korpisalo is on the books for 3 million dollars a year the next four years. After that, Jeremy Swayman held out for a better contract throughout training camp. Swayman signed a superstar contract just before the season started, but he was clearly not ready for prime time. The Bruins looked lost, lifeless and fightless most of the start of this season as Swayman was playing himself into shape and Korpisalo was exactly what the perssimistic Bruins fans thought he'd be. Most everyone in the lineup is underachieving and not only were they losing, they were getting beat badly. They got shutout 4-0 by Nashiville on October 22nd then got smashed 5-2 by the Dallas Stars the very next game. The kiss of death was when they got demolished 8-2 by Carolina on Halloween night. Two games later they got blasted by the Maple Leafs 4-0 in a game Steve Dangle would be proud of. People began calling for Montgomery's head when they got spanked 7-2 by the Stars on November 14 and after losing in overtime to the Blues this past Saturday. Last night the Columbus Blue Jackets pounded the Bruins 5-1 and that was it for Montgomery. Swayman is clearly not ready and the castoffs and rag tags came back to earth. The sad part is the roster construction isn't his fault. He got stripped of hall of famer Patrice Bergeron, Krejci, Hall, etc and had to make due with Beecher, Brazeau, Geekie, etc. The problem is upstairs in the GM box, but with owner Jeremy Jacobs turning a profit, Sweeney's job is safe.

                                                         Bye bye Jim

So who is Joe Sacco? He's a local star from Medford High that went to college at Boston University. He was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1987 and played 16 years, making his name with the Anaheim Ducks and Washington Capitals mostly. He coached the Lowell Lock Monsters for two years before spending 4 years as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche for four years. The bad news is they sucked in that time period. He's been a Bruins assistant coach for 10 years getting passed up by Bruce Cassidy and Jim Montgomery before being named as head coach this morning. The good news is he has head coaching experience, bad news is he didn't light the world on fire. 

                                              "What have I got myself into?" - Sacco

This seems like putting a band-aid on a gushing wound as its really the fault of upper management that put this team together. There's no high end talent apart from Pastrnak and Swayman is still not in shape. The Bruins are stuck with Korpisalo for 4 years and if anyone deserves to be fired, its Don Sweeney. The Bruins are back in action this coming Thursday night at home against the Utah Hockey Club. The game begins at 7:00 PM at the TD Garden.

Bruins Trade Ullmark To Ottawa (6/24/24)

It was bound to happen but the Boston Bruins finally found a buyer for goalie Linus Ullmark and his $5 million dollar contract. Tonight the Bruins sent Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators for goalie Joonas Korpisalo, Ottawa's first round pick 25th overall and forward Mark Kastelic.

                                                                           OUT

                                                                      IN

So what did the Bruins give up? The 2023 Vezina winning goalie who was just as good as Jeremy Swayman last year. Ullmark was everything they could have asked for after Tuukka Rask retired and more. He was 88-26 with a .924 save percentage in his 3 years in Boston and the goalie hug will forever be remembered by Bruin fans.

Now what did they get? Quite frankly Joonas Korpisalo might be the absolute worst contract in the NHL as his current stats are 115-107 with a .901 save percentage. He was the backup goalie to Sergei Bobrovski in Columbus and was Ottawa's starting goalie for most of this year, going 21-26 with a .891 save percentage. The worst part is he signed a 5 year deal for $20 million which was completely absurd. Ottawa retains 25 percent of the cap hit but the Bruins now must pay $3 million a year for the next four years. They essentially get $2 million in cap relief by taking on this contract. Sweeney is either a genius or a complete moron depending on how this plays out.

They also got 25 year old cement head Mark Kastelic who had 102 penalty minutes for Ottawa in 2023 and 63 last year. He's 6'3, mean and nasty, exactly what you want on your fourth line. With Pat Maroon near retirement and doubtful Milan Lucic comes back, they needed a new goon and Kastelic fits the bill perfectly.

The final piece of the puzzle is the 25th overall pick in the upcoming draft which was originally Boston's to begin with. They sent the pick to the Detroit Red Wings in 2023 in the Todd Bertuzzi trade and Detroit sent it to Ottawa in the Alex DeBrincat trade. Pundits and experts say this is going to be a pretty bad draft class but ironically whoever they pick at 25 is automatically going to be better than anyone they got in Providence not named Fabian Lysell. The Bruins have been trading their first round picks like candy almost every year and they've had to rely on lower round picks not only in Providence but in Boston as well. Hope Sweeney knows what he's doing.

Bruins Spank Leafs in Game 1 (4/20/24)

Some Boston Bruins fans were worried when the Bruins gagged in succession the President's Trophy then the Atlantic Division in the final weeks of the season forcing them to play the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round. So far those fears are postponed because the Bruins smacked the Leafs around in Game 1 of their NHL Eastern Quarterfinal series. Despite this not being the Zdeno Chara/Patrice Bergeron/David Krejci/Tuuka Rask Bruins that tortured the Leafs for more than half a decade, the ones that played tonight still dominated the defensively challenged Torontonians. Jake DeBrusk was the big hero with two goals and an assist as the Bruins broke out to a 4-0 lead by the end of the second period. Goals by John Beecher and Brandon Carlo put the Bruins up but the DeBrusk goals were the dagger. The Leafs did get one back on a David Kampf wrist shot but Jeremy Swayman stopped 35 of 36 shots. Trent Frederic provided the empty net goal and the Bruins opened the salvo in Game 1 with a 5-1 victory at TD Garden.

                                                    Charlie Coyle says "That's 1"

The Bruins struck first just 2:27 into the game when Jesper Boqvist carried the puck in on a two on one rush and fired it to John Beecher, scoring past Ilya Samsonov to make it 1-0 Bruins instantly. The Bruins picked up the hitting with Pat Maroon leading the charge. The Leafs took the first penalty 5:22 into the period when Simon Benoit hooked Charlie Coyle but the Bruins could do nothing on the power play. Old friend Tyler Bertuzzi high sticked Hampus Lindholm 15:28 into the period but once again the Bruins couldn't score. Finally with two seconds left in the period Charlie McAvoy and Max Domi got in a chinwag and both were sent to the box. Unfortunately as time expired, Lindholm drove Mitch Marner into the ice in front of the net for a cross-checking penalty. The Bruins would start the second period down four on three but with a 1-0 lead.

                                                  Boqvist to Beecher SCORE!

The most important sequence of the game occurred at the start of the second period when the Bruins managed to kill off the four on three penalty. Then the Bruins took over the game. Just 5:37 into the period Jake DeBrusk zipped the puck to Brandon Carlo who fired it past Samsonov for a 2-0 lead. Auston Matthews high sticked Charlie McAvoy with 6:22 remaining and the Bruins made him pay. Brad Marchand passed it to McAvoy who passed it to Jake DeBrusk. DeBrusk fired it in for a power play goal to increase the lead. Then with 4:42 left in the period Domi went off for a foolish slashing penalty on Marchand right in front of the referee. This time McAvoy passed it to Marchand in the slot, who fed it to DeBrusk for the one timer in front of the net for the dagger. With 1:54 left, Coyle went off for tripping Matthews but the Bruins defense held on to end the second period up 4-0.

                                                          DeBrusk makes it 3...then 4-0

The Leafs came out like a house of fire in the third period and got one back almost immediately. Just 1:39 into the period Ryan Reaves passed down to Connor Dewar. Dewar found David Kampf wide open for the goal to put the Leafs on the board. The Leafs continued to pin the Bruins down until Pat Maroon laid a big hit on Nick Robertson that seemed to spring the Bruins to life. The vaunted defense led by McAvoy, Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk stifled the Leafs the rest of the way. Jeremy Swayman didn't have to make any extraordinary saves but he still stopped the shots that were in front of him. The Leafs also screwed up when Jake McCabe got called for interference on Jakub Lauko. The Bruins didn't score on the powerplay but that took two crucial minutes off the clock. Later Carlo dumped the puck over the glass with 4:48 left for a delay of game penalty. For some odd reason Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe waited until the end of the power play to pull Samsonov to make it 6 on 4. The Bruins killed it off and with Samsonov out, Trent Frederic did the honors with an empty net goal to seal it. The Bruins had taken Game 1 of the series with a 5-1 win.

                                                          Game 1 Goalie Hug

Reaction:

That was a damn good win but let's not get too excited here. William Nylander didn't play for Toronto and the Bruins were almost too flawless in this one. Still, the weakness of the Leafs...for pretty much 6 years now is their defense and the Bruins took advantage of it. Nylander will make a big difference in Game 2 so don't expect the Bruins to mop the floor with them the way they did tonight. Also, the Bruins won Game 1 decisively in 2013 and 2018 and both series went to Game 7. The Leafs are definitely going to come out with more fire in Game 2 but there are positives for the Bruins. Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak were relatively quiet and should be able to bust out some time during the series. The last thing on the list is Bruins coach Jim Montgomery being very clear that he intended to rotate the goalies throughout the playoffs. He all but assured Linus Ullmark will be starting Game 2 but hats off to Swayman tonight for his performance. He didn't have to make any earth shattering saves but he stopped everything but a wide open pass to Kampf. Winning Game 1 is never a bad thing and the Bruins look to drive some doubt into the Leafs when they play Game 2 right back here this Monday night at the TD Garden.

Bruins Beat Leafs in Shootout (11/2/23)

Before the game it was announced Derek Forbort wouldn't play tonight, meaning all three defenseman call-ups would play in tonight's game. The D corps was spread pretty thin but at least Mason Lohrei would make his NHL debut with Parker Wortherspoon making his Bruins debut.

                                                                   OUT

As for the game, can't say it wasn't entertaining. The Boston Bruins played the Toronto Maple Leafs in arguably the game of the year so far in a back and forth encounter that needed a shootout to decide it. Mason Lohrei made his NHL debut for the Bruins opening the game on the first defensive pairing and Parker Wortherspoon played his first game as well. The Bruins took the lead early thanks to Lohrei assisting on a Pavel Zacha goal with just over a minute left in the first period. Jake DeBrusk scored in the first 96 seconds of the second period but the Leafs rallied with goals by Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews a minute apart. Controversy erupted when it looked like Brad Marchand dropped Timothy Liljegren right in front of referee Wes MaCauley but there was no penalty called. The third period and overtime solved nothing but in the shootout, both Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle scored on Ilya Samsonov of the Leafs while Jeremy Swayman stopped William Nylander and Matthews to end it. The Bruins had survived 3-2 in the shootout over the Leafs at TD Garden.

                                                    Bruins win

Swayman was the unquestioned star of the first period although David Pastrnak set the tone early by drilling Morgan Reilly 4:12 into the game. Maple Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov made a big save on Oskar Steen 6:20 into the period and Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman had to make a stop on a William Nylander shot following a turnover by Hampus Lindholm. Swayman had to make another save on John Tavares 8 minutes in then another stop on John 11:02 into the period. Noah Gregor of the Leafs got denied with 7:33 left in the period. Finally the Bruins broke through when Danton Heinen fell down getting the puck to Mason Lohrei. Mason dished it to Brandon Carlo who passed to Pavel Zacha in front of the net for Pavel's 4th goal of the year with 1:09 left in the period. Controversy erupted when it looked like Captain Brad Marchand stuck his stick between the legs of Timothy Liljegren and crashed him into the boards but referee Wes MaCauley decided it wasn't a penalty with 45 seconds left. Nothing else happened and the Bruins went into the break up 1-0.

                                                           Dirty or clean?

The Bruins almost scored 57 seconds into the second period when James van Riemsdyk gathered the puck behind and passed to a wide open Morgan Geekie in front of the net, but Samsonov made the save. The Bruins struck 1:36 into the period when Jake DeBrusk banged home a rebound after a Marchand shot after a pass from Coyle. The Leafs got the first powerplay when David Pastrnak got whistled for tripping TJ Brodie 2:38 into the period. The Bruins killed it off and six minutes into the period, the Bruins almost made it 3-0 but Samsonov made a great save on a Zacha blast. The Leafs then exploded into the game when Mitch Marner completely deeked out Brandon Carlo and scored with 13:29 left in the period. Just a minute later, William Lagesson passed it to Calle Jarnkrok who found Auston Matthews for the one time blast to tie the game just like that with 12:27 left in the period. Things didn't look good when Carlo got called for holding Pontus Holmberg just over a minute later. The play of the game came when Tavares had Swayman down on the ice with an open net but somehow Swayman got his glove up just in time with 10:39 remaining. Just seconds later, Marner, Nylander, Matthews and Tavares had essentially a 4 on 1 in front of the net but Swayman somehow stopped Nylander to bail out the defense. With 6:29 left Jarnkrok skated in alone but Swayman made another great save. With 30 seconds left Swayman made another great play to rob Matthew Knies. The Leafs had tied the game with all the momentum 2-2 going into the third.

                                                   Marner deeks out Carlo

With 3:26 gone in the third period, Nylander walked in alone but Swayman made the save. With 5 minutes gone, Lohrei was absolutely robbed of his first NHL goal by Samsonov. The Leafs took a penalty 8:24 into the period when Holmberg interfered with DeBrusk leading to a Bruins powerplay. Pastrnak blasted one but somehow Samsonov caught it 9 minutes into the period. With 2:40 left in the period Danton Heinen walked in alone and fired....off the post. Bad luck for Heinen on that one. That was pretty much it for the period as we headed to OT with both teams getting a point tied 2-2.

                                     "Overtime again?" - Swayman  "Yup" - Marchand

The Bruins had a chance to win in overtime when Nylander held Pastrnak with 2:35 left to put the Bruins on a 4 on 3 powerplay. Samsonov made a great save to rob Marchand point blank. The Leafs didn't really get a good scoring chance spending half the OT on the penalty kill so we went to the shootout. Jake DeBrusk went first for the Bruins and he scored on Samsonov. Nylander went for the Leafs and Swayman was ready for the backhand deek, blocking the shot away. Coyle did almost the same move and scored to put the pressure on Toronto. Matthews was Toronto's last hope and he did deek Swayman out of his skates and put the puck past him.....it just happened to go wide of the net and the Bruins were victorious 3-2 in the shootout.

                                                                  Bruins win

Carson Cooper Award for first Bruins assist - Mason Lohrei

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Toronto fans once again are blaming officiating for the loss rather than the fact Swayman played a great game and they lost in a shootout. Nope, if that dirty no good Marchand got a rightful game misconduct, got thrown out of the building and arrested, the mighty Leafs would have won! Or that's what they want you to think. Yes, Marchand might have gotten away with one at the end of the first but to put the entire blame on Wes Macauley and not the Leafs for allowing the goals to Zacha & Coyle is typical Toronto fan behavior. The bottom line was Swayman played out of his mind and sometimes there's nothing you can do against a hot goalie. Even if Marchand was assessed a penalty, there's no guarantee Toronto cashes in on it. Toronto fans aren't happy with their team as Marchand and the Bruins went untouched after Liljegren got hurt. The Bruins are without Grzelcyk and Lucic yet Ryan Reaves and Max Domi never touched anyone. They did try to beat them on the scoreboard with that flurry in the second but after that, the Bruins locked it down. For a hilarious take on the game, here's Steve Dangle:

LFR

All in all it was a damn good win and improves the Bruins to 9-0-1 on the season. The Bruins hit the road and stop in Detroit on Saturday night. The game begins at 7:00 PM at Little Caesars Arena.

Off-Day News: Lohrei Called Up (11/1/23)

As expected, the Boston Bruins will be out their top defense pairing as Matt Grzelcyk has been placed on Long Term Injury Reserve and he won't be back until at least Thanksgiving. The NHL also dropped the hammer on Charlie McAvoy, suspending him for four games. Jakub Lauko was also placed on LTIR and to replace them, the Bruins called up three defensemen. Ian Mitchell who we saw earlier along with former New York Islander Parker Wotherspoon. The big call up is 22 year old Mason Lohrei, the second round pick from the 2020 draft. 

                                                                         OUT

                                                                             IN

Coach Jim Montgomery made it clear right away they didn't call up Lohrei to sit in the press box, he's going to start tomorrow night's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs opposite Brandon Carlo. Wotherspoon and Mitchell will compete for McAvoy's spot until he comes back on November 11th. Best case scenario is Lohrei plays so well that he stays when McAvoy comes back and can contribute until Grzelcyk comes back. Injuries and illness are part of the game, so the fact that the Bruins have depth to count on will go a long way come the winter months. Hope Lucic, Lauko and Grzelcyk gets well soon.

Bruins Rally To Beat Panthers in Overtime (10/30/23)

Most coaches brush off "Game 8" a year after a grueling seven game deathmatch series in the playoffs, but not Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery. Montgomery this morning flat out admitted tonight's game with the Florida Panthers was personal after last year's humiliation. For the first 20 minutes of the game, it looked like the Panthers were going to run away with this one. Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart scored to make it 2-0 going into the second period. Suddenly the Bruins woke up as Brad Marchand scored to cut the lead 2-1 going into the third. Charlie McAvoy tied the game with a goal before getting rightfully thrown out of the game for a dirty hit. The game went into overtime where Pavel Zacha was the hero with the OT goal. The Bruins had come from behind to defeat the Florida Panthers 3-2 in Overtime at TD Garden.

                                                          Bruins win

The first period was all Panthers as Sam Bennett walked in alone just 20 seconds in but Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark made the save. Evan Rodrigues also broke in alone but Ullmark stopped him too. 6 minutes into the period Morgan Geekie passed it to Matt Grzelcyk for a one timer but Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made the save. After a Matt Poitras blast that Bobrovsky happened to kick directly to Sam Reinhart, Sam passed it to Aleksander Barkov going the other way and he scored on a bomb to give the Panthers the lead 6:13 into the period. The Panthers got the first powerplay when Hampus Linholm manhandled Matt Tkachuk for a roughing call 9:23 into the first. It got even worse after Grzelcyk got hit in the chest and had to leave the game, although the Bruins killed off the penalty. Then with 4:52 left in the first, Matthew Poitras lost control of the puck and Barkov gathered it. He spotted Reinhart streaking and dished it to him for another goal. The Panthers had 17 shots in the first period and led 2-0.

                                                   Didn't look good after 20 minutes

Suddenly the Bruins sprang to life in the second period. The Bruins attacked the net and Charlie McAvoy dished it to James van Riemsdyk but Bobrovsky stoned him 2:34 into the period. Then with 3:38 left, Charlie Coyle passed it to Jake DeBrusk. Jake no-look backhanded it to Brad Marchand who stuffed it to cut the lead in half. The 4:49 into the period Morgan Geekie plowed into Bobrovsky for an interference penalty. The Panthers failed to score on the powerplay and the Bruins got one when Oliver Ekman-Larsson tripped up David Pastrnak with 7:40 left in the period. The Bruins failed to score and Ullmark had to make a great save with 3:11 left in the period when Rodrigues was open in front of the net. Nothing else happened in the period and the Bruins went into the break down 2-1.

                                                       Marchand brings the B's back

The Panthers almost got one 20 seconds into the period when Carter Verhaeghe backhanded the puck past Ullmark but the alert Brandon Carlo swiped the puck just in time down to center ice. With 7:20 gone in the third period, Pavel Zacha dished an outlet pass to David Pastrnak who drew a double team. He found McAvoy streaking to the net and passed it to him who scored to tie the game. Unfortunately, McAvoy went from the hero to the goat as at 9:28 into the period he blasted Larsson right in the head for a 5 minute match penalty. With Grzelcyk already out with injury and McAvoy done for the night, the Bruins now had to kill a 5 minute penalty with just four defensemen. Somehow the Bruins killed it off and kept out of the box the rest of the period. The Bruins went from down 2-0 to tie it 2-2 headed to OT.

                                                      Great goal, terrible hit

The Bruins almost won it 2 minutes into OT when Marchand skated in alone but Bobrovsky stoned him cold. With 1:35 left in OT Eetu Luostarinen shot in on Ullmark but the puck deflected right to Zacha. Zacha skated the entire length of the ice and fired the game winning goal past Bobrovsky to win it for the Bruins 4-3 in Overtime.

                                                            Bruins win

Reaction:

That was a big comeback win in a game that meant something for coach Montgomery. He had this one circled and the Bruins played like garbage for the first twenty, but recovered in the end to get the OT win. The real story is the Bruins are starting to drop like flies on the injury front. First Milan Lucic and Jakub Lauko went down and now Matt Grzelcyk could be out a while. The worst part is McAvoy will most likely be suspended on his unnecessary hit on OEL. They may need to call up three guys from Providence just to field a competitive D corps until at least when McAvoy comes back. As for the game, winning a game like that is composure you just can't teach. Its a new year with new players so it'll be interesting to see how they'll perform come April. The Bruins are now 8-0-1 on the season for 17 out of 18 possible points. The Bruins now come home on Wednesday night to take on the high powered Toronto Maple Leafs. The game begins at 7:30 PM at TD Garden.

Pastrnak, Bruins Crush Red Wings (10/28/23)

Before the game the Boston Bruins made another roster move. Jesper Boqvist was sent back to Providence and Oskar Steen was called up to take his place. With Milan Lucic placed on Injured Reserve, the Bruins figure Steen knows the system so he'd be more valuable than Boqvist.....in theory. Fourth liners are always coming and going so may as well give Oskar a chance.

                                                                   OUT

                                                               IN

As for the game, that was a good bounce back win for the Bruins over the Detroit Red Wings after being humiliated by the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night. Tonight the Bruins played hard to the very end, possibly learning from their mistake. Boston bolted out to a lead when Pavel Zacha scored his second goal on the season on the powerplay. Late in the period, Charlie McAvoy pulled a Bobby Orr by skating right to left and scoring on a backhander. The score remained 2-0 until the third when Joe Veleno fired one past Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman to cut the lead with 13 minutes left. Unlike the last game, the Bruins bore down and got another goal when David Pastrnak buried another penalty shot. Pastrnak got his 8th goal on the season with an empty netter to seal it. The Bruins had won the game 4-1 at TD Garden.

                                                       Pastrnak stays hot in the win

The game began evenly but it was Detroit who had the first real scoring chance 4:05 into the first period when Charlie McAvoy passed the puck right to Lucas Raymond of the Red Wings in front of the net but Jeremy Swayman made the save. Swayman made another save to rob Alex DeBrincat which led to a 3 on 2 for the Bruins, but that was ruined when McAvoy got tangled up with Raymond for an interference penalty. The Bruins managed to kill off the penalty then got their own powerplay when Michael Rasmussen boarded Matthew Poitras 8:50 into the period. McAvoy set up James van Riemsdyk for a one timer but Detroit goalie Ville Husso made the save. Husso made another save on the powerplay to rob Pavel Zacha point blank. The Bruins broke through when Brad Marchand passed to Van Riemsdyk who shot it off Husso. Zacha then blasted home the rebound to give the Bruins the lead with 9:27 left in the period. Then with 5:24 left McAvoy skated from the right side of the boards in front of the net and dumped the puck past Husso in a Bobby Orr like fashion to increase the lead. The Bruins went back to the powerplay seconds after the goal when Andrew Copp high sticked Hampus Lindholm but the Bruins failed to score. Zacha held David Perron stick's with 1:17 left in the period but Dylan Larkin high sticked McAvoy with 32 seconds left to end the period with the Bruins up 2-0.

                                                       Bruins take the lead

The second period began with a 4 on 4 but the Bruins had a short powerplay they failed to score on. With 5:51 gone the Bruins went on another powerplay when Justin Holl tripped Jake DeBrusk but the Bruins failed to score. Halfway through the period, new call-up Oskar Steen hooked Joe Velano but the Bruins killed off the penalty. With 3:20 left in the period, Trent Frederic high sticked JT Compher but the Bruins killed it off to end the period still up 2-0.

                                                        Stay out of the box, Steen!

The third period began with a Larkin blast off Swayman when everyone started to fall down 40 seconds in on the other end. Disaster struck when Charlie Coyle got stripped of the puck by Daniel Sprong who passed it to Veleno for the slapshot goal to cut the lead. With 9:30 left in the game, Klim Kostin hit the post on a slapshot that was three inches away from being a goal. Derek Forbort and Ben Chiarot then got into a shoving match and both were sent off for roughing. Then on the 4 on 4 David Pastrnak got open on a breakaway but Jake Walman slashed his stick, earning David a penalty shot. David buried it for his seventh goal of the season to put the B's up two with 8:41 left. Oskar Steen fired a puck off Husso but was denied the rebound chance with 6:12 left. The Red Wings pulled Husso with three minutes left and Pastrnak threw the puck off the boards and into the net for an empty net goal to seal it with 2:20 left. That was it and the Bruins had won the game 4-1.

                                                                   Goalie hug

Baby B's Bulletin:

Tonight the Providence Bruins fell to the Springfield Thunderbirds 5-2 during their game. Jayson Megna and the returning Jesper Boqvist scored for the Bruins while Mason Lohrei, Ian Mitchell, Anthony Richard and Reilly Walsh got assists. Unfortunately Michael DiPietro was tagged for four goals with the fifth coming on an empty netter.

Mariner Minute:

Tonight the Maine Mariners defeated the Adirondack Thunder in Overtime during their game in Glens Falls, New York. Curtis Hall scored in the first period assisted by Reid Stefanson and Gabriel Chicoine scored 44 seconds into the second period assisted by Alex Kile and Stefanson. The Thunder scored twice in the second period to tie it up but Chicoine scored again 4 minutes into the third period. Yushiroh Hirano scored for the Thunder to tie the game to send it to overtime. In overtime, Tim Doherty set up Owen Pederson for the game inning goal for Maine.

Bruins Reaction:

Literally if it wasn't for a collapse in the third period against Anaheim, the Bruins would be a perfect 8-0 this season rather than 7-0-1. 15 out of 16 points is still good, especially since the Las Vegas Golden Knights are equally red hot trying to defend their Stanley Cup title. The loss of Lucic long term means someone has to step up in his absence, maybe Steen will. Jesper Boqvist scored for Providence tonight so he may replace Steen if Oskar can't score. Hopefully the Bruins don't suffer many serious injuries this season because defensively they look like a wagon this year.....the last two minutes of Thursday's game not withstanding. Still, hopefully Bruins coach Jim Montgomery used Thursday's disaster to make sure something like that never happens again. The Bruins next game is going to be an important and personal one as the Florida Panthers are coming to the Garden for the first time since humiliating the Bruins with their Game 7 comeback victory to knock out the Bruins. Hopefully everyone still on the team remembers how bad it felt and takes their aggressions out on the Panthers this Monday night at 7 PM at TD Garden.