Panthers Frustrate, Beat Bruins (10/14/24)

Its one thing for the Boston Bruins to get frustrated by a borderline olympic diving team like the 2004-11 Montreal Canadiens, its another thing to get beat at your own game. The Florida Panthers once again got the Bruins to lose their composure and beat them on the scoreboard anyway in tonight's game. The Bruins were baited into taking NINE penalties as the Panthers poured it on. The Bruins scored first when John Beecher scored his first goal of the season but after that it was all Panthers. Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart scored to end the period although Brandon Carlo tied the game. The Bruins back broke when Reinhart scored a shorthanded goal followed by another Lundell goal. Mason Lohrei managed to score his first of the season to bring the Bruins within one but all the Bruins did in the third period is get frustrated. A scrum with one minute left with the Panthers laughing at the Bruins all added up to a 4-3 defeat at the TD Garden.

                                                            Panthers beat the Bruins....again

The Panthers got the first chance one minute into the first period when Jeremy Swayman had to stop a Sam Bennett shot from point blank range. Sergei Bobrovsky denied a Morgan Geekie shot and Brad Marchand overskated the rebound three minutes into the period. Thirty seconds later Matthew Poitras set up Trent Frederic but Trent failed to score. The Bruins finally hit paydirt 4:53 into the period when Mason Lohrei passed it to Mark Kastelic. Kastelic fired on net and it was tipped in by John Beecher to put the Bruins on top. Swayman robbed Bennett again but they bagged Pavel Zacha for hooking on the play. Swayman denied both Carter Verhaeghe and Evan Rodrigues on the power play before Adam Boqvist was nabbed for tripping. Then on the four v four, Anton Lundell bullied Hampus Lindholm off the puck and whacked it behind Swayman to tie the game. Nikita Zadorov was robbed by Bobrovsky once play resumed and Brandon Carlo failed to score as well. Andrew Peeke tried to set up Justin Brazeau but he couldn't get his stick on it. Then 11:23 into the period, old pal AJ Greer looked to have cross-checked David Pastrnak into the boards but the refs didn't call it. Instead, Pavel Zacha resorted to fisticuffs with Greer. Worse, just 22 seconds later the refs called cross-checking on Charlie McAvoy to the dismay of the disgruntled fans. To cap it all off, Adam Boqvist dumped it to Sam Reinhart who scored easily to give the Panthers the lead. Then with 7:06 remaining, Pastrnak was whistled off for interference while Nate Schmidt and Marchand had a chinwag worthy of matching roughing penalties. The Bruins killed off the power play and got one of their own when Niko Mikkola was sent to the box for holding with 4:37 left. The Panthers killed that off and Zadorov flipped the puck out of the arena with 1:55 left. The Bruins managed to kill off the penalty to end the period trailing 2-1.

                                                                  Panthers pour it on

The Panthers got the first big chance of the second period on a one timer by Aaron Ekblad but Swayman saved it. Just five minutes into the period Cole Koepke dumped it to Kastelic who threw it to the point for Carlo. Carlo's slapshot went through and the Bruins had tied the game. Things looked good when Greer was sent off for interference eight minutes into the period, but disaster struck on the Bruins power play. Pastrnak was robbed by Bobrovsky then Poitras was stripped of the puck by Reinhart. Reinhart skated in and his first shot dropped Swayman, scoring on the rebound for the shorthanded goal. Swayman claimed interference but the refs once again dismissed the claim. The Bruins failed to score on the power play and the Bruins then made a huge mistake. Both defenseman went for a line change with 7 minutes left in the period and Gustav Forsling passed it to a wide open Lundell. Lundell scored on the breakaway to put the Panthers up by 2. The Bruins refused to give up as with just under six minutes left in the period, John Beecher passed it to Kastelic. Kastelic dished back to the point to Lohrei. Lohrei shoots....HE SCORESSSS! Lohrei's first of the season pulled the Bruins within one. No further shenanigans occurred and the Bruins went into the break trailing 4-3.

                                                        Lohrei scores

The Bruins blew their best chance to tie the game 6:44 into the third period when Zacha was robbed point blank by Bobrosvky and Pastrnak failed to score on the rebound. Ekblad took a tripping penalty with 9:58 left in the game but Brazeau failed to put the puck in the net. The Panthers pretty much played keep away the rest of the game with the Bruins not getting many good chances. With the game all but lost, things went haywire with 50 seconds left in the game. Pastrnak got called for slashing as Marchand and Verhaeghe got matching double minor roughing penalties. That was it and the Panthers had won the game 4-3.

                                                            Panthers win

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The Panthers have the Bruins number real bad. In today's era with the "Adams" division format, the Bruins might have to play the Panthers in the playoffs in the first round or second depending on how the Toronto Maple Leafs finish. The Panthers know how to push buttons and they have the talent to put out your lights. The fact they did this one without Aleksander Barkov and Matt Tkachuk is frightening as well. The Bruins had their chances in the third period to tie the game but they couldn't crack Bobrovsky. Its only four games into the season but they have no answers for Florida right now. They're going to need to do something at the deadline if they want to outmuscle or outshoot the Panthers because right now, they can do neither. Amazing with 100 years of Bruins history and they're the ones losing their composure these days. The Bruins need to put the loss behind them because up next, they have a date in Denver with the Colorado Avalanche this Wednesday Night. The game begins at 9:30 PM Eastern time at Ball Arena.

Bruins Dethrone Kings in Overtime (10/12/24)

He's baaacckkkkkkk. Jeremy Swayman missed most of training camp with the Boston Bruins and looked shaky in his season debut on Thursday. Today he was his old self against the Los Angeles Kings in a Saturday matinee. He faced 34 shots and managed to stop 33 of them, including the ones in overtime. The Bruins defense also looked a lot better as they held the Kings to just one goal in regulation as well. Trevor Moore scored the first goal of the game for the Kings five minutes into the second period but Elias Lindholm tied it with just over three minutes into the second period. The Bruins and Kings plunged into overtime after a scoreless third period and who else but David Pastrnak scored the game winning goal. The Bruins survived to win the struggle 2-1 over the Kings in overtime at TD Garden.

                                                            Pasta wins it in OT

The Bruins got the first power play just 3:31 into the game when Alex Laferriere got sent to the penalty box for hooking. Brad Marchand gave the puck away to Trevor Moore who damn near put it past Jeremy Swayman, luckily Sway saved it. Pavel Zacha dished it to Charlie McAvoy but his blast was saved by Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper. That was the Bruins only shot for the first 14 minutes despite them getting a power play after Brandt Clarke was whistled for high sticking 7 minutes into the period. The Bruins missed a golden chance when Matthew Poitras shot it on net and Kuemper had to dive to rob Trent Frederic of a rebound goal. David Pastrnak also couldn't get it past Darcy in that sequence. Mason Lohrei found Charlie Coyle wide open but Kuemper saved that too. With four minutes left in the period, Laferriere walked in alone but Swayman made the save. With 45 seconds left, Marchand dished it to Morgan Geekie but Kuemper saved Morgan's shot attempt. The period ended scoreless 0-0.

                                                              Tough game so far

Just one minute into the second period, Coyle found Nikita Zadorov open but his slap shot was saved by Kuemper. Nikita Zadorov then got bagged for boarding just 3:19 into the period and the Kings went on the power play. Swayman made a big stop on Kevin Fiala and another on Adrian Kempe before Laferriere was also denied. Just as the power play was expiring, Quinton Byfield passed to Phillip Danault. Danault fired and the rebound went right to Moore with a wide open net. Moore scored to put the Kings on top just like that. Less than two minutes later, McAvoy was then whisked off for tripping but the Bruins killed off the penalty. Jordan Spence got tagged for interference with 8:03 left in the second period but the Bruins failed to score on the power play. Clarke got called for holding with 3:52 left but just nine seconds later, Zacha was hauled off for interference to make it four on four. Then Mikey Anderson turned over the puck right to Marchand. Marchand skated in alone but Kuemper stopped the shot. The rebound went to Lindholm who fired it in for the goal to tie the game with 3:10 left in the period. The Bruins killed off the nine second power play and with ten seconds left in the period, Poitras passed to a wide open Lohrei who clanged a shot off the post to end the period. The Bruins and Kings went into intermission tied 1-1.

                                                         Lindholm ties it up

The Kings got the first power play of the third period when Brandon Carlo went off for tripping 3:52 into it. Laferriere hit the post with the shot but otherwise the Kings couldn't cash in. With 6:16 left in the period, Pastrnak went off for slashing to give the Kings another power play. Moore was robbed point blank by Swayman and the final power play went to the Bruins with 3:03 left in the period. Byfield went off for holding the stick but the Bruins failed to capitalize on the power play again. That was it for the period and we headed to overtime.

                                                     On to OT we go

Fiala got robbed by Swayman just nine seconds into OT but ninety seconds into it, McAvoy and Zacha had a two on one. McAvoy passed it to Zacha but Kuemper made the save. Down the other end, Swayman robbed Byfield point blank. Matthew Poitras passed the puck to Mason Lohrei with 2:16 left and he gave it to Pastrnak. David passed it back to Lohrei but Pasta got stripped. Lohrei beat the Kings to the puck and swiped it over to Poitras. Poitras passed to Pastrnak who gave it to Lohrei. Lohrei gave it back to Pastrnak who shoots....HE SCORESSSSSSSS! Bruins win 2-1 in overtime!

                                                            Pasta wins it in OT

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That was a damn good win in a tough, gritty game where offense was hard to come by. Pastrnak is the Bruins best player and he stepped up when the Bruins needed it the most in OT. Lindholm got the only goal the Bruins scored in regulation and Swayman stopped 33 of 34 shots to give the Bruins a chance. This is the Bruins defense fans were banking on with Swayman getting back into shape. The Bruins need to cut down on the damn penalties but other than that, they played a near flawless game defensively. They're not going to be able to outslug teams every night but they sure as hell grinded out this one. One thing's for sure, for a team that lost Jake DeBrusk, James van Riemsdyk and Pat Maroon, they seem to be rolling right along with the return of Poitras, Mark Kastelic and Elias Lindholm....for three games anyway. Now let's see if the Bruins can go on a nice winning streak. Their next test is a rematch at home with the Florida Panthers this Monday night. The game begins at 7:00 PM at TD Garden.

Bruins Win Gunfight With Montreal (10/10/24)

Its only been two games in the 2024-25 regular season so far for the Boston Bruins but defense apparently is optional. After allowing six goals to the Florida Panthers in the season opener, they allowed four goals tonight to the Montreal Canadiens. The good news was the Boston Bruins offense showed up tonight to score six of their own. Brendan Gallagher opened the scoring for Montreal in the first period on the power play but Charlie McAvoy answered with a power play goal of his own. Cole Caufield scored to put Montreal ahead but goals from Mark Kastelic and Elias Lindholm put Boston on top. David Pastrnak and Cole Koepke scored in the second period but Montreal rallied in the third. Josh Anderson and Gallagher both scored to pull the Canadiens within one but Kastelic scored his second with four minutes left to effectively end the game. The Bruins survived a high octane game with the Canadiens 6-4 at TD Garden.

                                                          This is the Sway

The Bruins wasted no time drawing a penalty when Cayden Primeau, the Montreal goalie, got called for tripping just 24 seconds into the game. It looked like Hampus Lindholm fired one past Primeau for a power play goal but Montreal coach Martin St. Louis challenged that Primeau was interfered with. Sure enough, the refs bowed to Montreal and said no-goal. Then 6:26 into the period Nikita Zadorov got called for holding. Brad Marchand blasted Alex Newhook but Lane Hutson passed it to Joel Armia. Armia fired it on net and Brendan Gallagher tucked in the puck for a goal against Jeremy Swayman to put Montreal on top. With 9:02 left in the period, Armia went off for tripping to put Boston on the power play. With "Kingdom" by Downstraight playing, Charlie McAvoy was so inspired he shot the puck past Primeau for a power play goal right off the faceoff. Just over a minute later Hutson passed the puck to Kaiden Guhle who threw it to Cole Caufield. Caufield tucked the puck past Swayman to put Montreal back on top. With 6:36 to go, Cole Koepke drilled the puck in, Zadorov passed it to Mark Kastelic who shot the puck in to tie the game for his first goal as a Bruin. With 5:34 to go, Trent Frederic was kicked to the penalty box for hooking. The Bruins killed off the penalty and the Bruins got another chance with 1:37 remaining. David Pastrnak passed it to Zadorov who fired on net, tipped in by Elias Lindholm for his first goal as a Bruin. That ended the first period with the Bruins up 3-2.

                                                     Marchand sets the tone

Swayman and the defense kept the lead intact throughout the first half of the second period and the Bruins got a powerplay four minutes into the period. Hutson got called for holding but Boston did nothing on the power play. Charlie Coyle got nabbed for high sticking 9:38 into the period but the Canadiens failed to score. Mike Matheson got called for tripping with 8:53 left in the period to put the Bruins on another power play. Marchand set up Pastrnak but Primeau stopped the slap shot. With 4:04 left in the period, Elias Lindholm passed it behind the net to Pavel Zacha. Zacha threw it in front where Pastrnak sniped the puck past Primeau to put the Bruins up by two. Less than a minute later, Carlo passed it up to John Beecher. Beecher threw it on net and Koepke dunked it in for his first goal as a Bruin. Then with 1:59 left, McAvoy took a tripping penalty. The Bruins managed to kill it off and went into the break up 5-2.

                                                         Bruins go up by three

The Bruins opened the third period killing the last second off the McAvoy penalty then went on the power play 4 minutes into the period when Caufield got called for hooking. The Bruins couldn't score and two minutes later, McAvoy flipped the puck out of the zone for a delay of game penalty. Just after killing it off, Oliver Kapanen passed to Guhle who fired it on net. Josh Anderson tipped it in for a goal to put the Canadiens down by two. With 4:17 left in the game Armia passed it down low to Jake Evans. Evans threw it in front of the net and Gallagher pumped it in to put the Habs down by one. Just seventeen seconds later, Carlo passed it to Koepke along the boards. He threw it down ice where Kastelic picked it up. Kastelic saw Beecher in front of the net and threw it towards him....but it just happened to bounce off Primeau and in for a goal to essentially end the game. A minute later, Marchand took a delay of game penalty but the Bruins were able to kill it off. The Canadiens pulled Primeau but couldn't score. The Bruins had won the game 6-4.

                                                              Bruins win

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Swayman looked rusty as hell but the offense peppered the Canadiens in this one. Swayman only faced 24 shots and 4 of them went in. Still, the positives were everywhere like Koepke getting his first goal and Kastelic getting two. Kastelic is going to be popular with Bruin fans, just wait. That was a team effort on offense down the line with assists to set up the goals. Its only been two games but they've scored 10 goals already, hopefully they can keep that up. The defense needs a little work but Zadorov is still adjusting to a new scheme and Swayman has to essentially play himself into shape after missing most of training camp. Still, a win is a win, doesn't matter who its against. The Bruins now prepare to go for two wins in a row when they're back in action this Saturday afternoon at home against the Los Angeles Kings. The game begins at 1:00 PM at TD Garden.

Panthers Outgun Bruins on Opening Night (10/8/24)

The 2024-25 NHL season started for the Boston Bruins the same way the 2023-24 season ended, with a loss to the Florida Panthers. For most of the game it was utter domination by the defending Stanley Cup champions as the Panthers scored four goals in the first period to put it away early. Not only that, new goalie Joonas Korpisalo got roughed up, allowing six goals on thirty-five shot attempts. To add insult to injury, one of them was a shorthanded goal by Sam Reinhart. Jonah Gadjovich scored to make it 5-1 in the second period but Charlie McAvoy kept the Bruins in it with a goal. Trailing 6-2, Trent Frederic scored with just over 3 minutes left and David Pastrnak scored on the powerplay to make it 6-4 with 1:45 left. That was it as the Panthers mauled the Bruins 6-4 at Amerant Bank Arena.

                                              Opening night belonged to the Panthers

The Panthers set the tone early that this was going to be their night when Carter Verhaeghe sniped one off of Joonas Korpisalo just 67 seconds into the game on a breakaway. Four minutes later, Korpisalo made another save off a Verhaeghe shot. Fireworks erupted just 5:55 into the game when new Bruin Mark Kastelic rumbled with ex-Bruin AJ Greer. Thirty seconds later Evan Rodrigues blasted a slapshot off of Korpisalo and Sam Bennett poked the puck in to put Florida on top 1-0. Just over a minute later Anton Lundell passed it to Sam Reinhart for a one timer. Korpisalo left a rebound and Eetu Luostarinen jammed it in for another goal to put the Panthers up 2-0. Things looked bleak when Trent Frederic took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty 9:18 into the period but the Bruins were able to kill it off. With 6 minutes left in the period, Verhaeghe beat Korpisalo clean but it rang off the post and out. Then new Bruin Nikita Zadorov took a cross-checking penalty with 5:10 left to put the Panthers on the power play. Andrew Peeke grabbed the puck, passed it ahead to new Bruin Elias Lindholm who dished it to Pavel Zacha. Zacha fired it past Sergei Bobrovsky to cut the lead in half with a short handed goal. The Panthers then served the humiliation back when Greer was sent to the box for hooking with 2:38 left. Brad Marchand was robbed by Bobrovsky and Charlie McAvoy's pass was stripped by Alexsander Barkov. Sam Reinhart took the pass, shot it over the stick of McAvoy past Korpisalo to break the Bruins back. One minute later, Greer came out of the box and fired on the net. Korpisalo saved it but left the rebound, Bennett punching it in for the goal to make it 4-1 Panthers heading into the second period. Brutal!

                                                        All Panthers in this one

The Panthers suffocated the Bruins in the second period and making them lose their composure. New Bruin Cole Koepke got bagged for hooking 3:32 into the period but somehow the Bruins killed it off. Just over nine minutes into the period, Uvis Balinskis passed it to old pal Jesper Boqvist. Boqvist drew Korpisalo out of the net then passed it to Jonah Gadjovich who scored easily to put Florida up by four. The Bruins did fight back when Hampus Lindholm passed it to John Beecher. Beecher shot it on net but the puck was kicked out by Bobrosvky. McAvoy dumped in the rebound for the goal to inch the Bruins closer with 7:28 left in the period. The Bruins went shorthanded when new Bruin Max Jones got called for unsportsmanlike conduct with 3:44 left in the period. The Bruins killed it off and Lundell got sent to the box for high sticking with 1:20 left in the period. The Bruins did nothing on the power-play and went into intermission down 5-2.

                                                       McAvoy scores

The Bruins failed to score with the time remaining to begin the third and Florida essentially ended it with 13:34 left in the game. Aaron Ekblad passed it to Matt Tkachuk who sent it up the boards to Rodrigues. Rodrigues scored but Sam Bennett took Korpisalo out with an unintentional clothesline. A scrum ensued and both Trent Frederic and Tkachuk joined Bennett in the penalty box. The Bruins did nothing on the power play and Jones got sent off for roughing with 10:23 left in the game. The Bruins killed it off but Zadorov was whistled for slashing with 5:44 left. The Bruins killed that one off too and finally struck with 3:09 left. Justin Brazeau won a puck battle behind the net and sent it in front for Frederic who scored to cut the lead in half. Twelve seconds later, Balinskis was called for tripping to put the Bruins on the power play. With 1:45 left, McAvoy dished it to Pastrnak who threw it in front looking for Lindholm. Instead, the puck bounced off the skate of Dmitry Kulikov and in for a Pastrnak goal to suddenly pull the Bruins within two. The Bruins pulled Korpisalo but couldn't get any further as the Panthers won the game 6-4.

                                                     Panthers win

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Meet the new Bruins, same as the old Bruins. With Jeremy Swayman missing the entire training camp, the Bruins essentially HAD to start Korpisalo in this one and he proved why he never deserved the gigantic contract he has. Not only that, the defense totally sucked out there. Brandon Carlo was a -2, Mason Lohrei was a -3 and both Peeke & Zadorov were -1. The defense letting Boqvist & Gadjovich just walk in was inexcusable. Still, no need to overreact after the first game of the season but the talent discrepency between the two teams is appalling. The Bruins are trotting out Max Jones, Cole Koepke and Justin Brazeau mostly because Jake DeBrusk, James Van Riemsdyk and Pat Maroon are gone. They shed talent for the second year in a row and they paid for it tonight. Hopefully its not a trend for the rest of the season because we got a long way to go. The Bruins look to bounce back on Thursday night in the home opener against their century old rivals the Montreal Canadiens. The game begins at 7:00 PM at 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 Edge Panthers in Game 5 (5/14/24)

The season ain't over yet for the Boston Bruins. After falling behind 3 games to 1 the Bruins refused to give up and stuffed it up the Florida Panthers' collective asses in front of their home crowd in Game 5 of the NHL East Semi-Finals. Playing without Brad Marchand, the Bruins defense stepped it up as well as Jeremy Swayman, holding the Panthers to just 1 goal on 29 shot attempts. Morgan Geekie put one past Segrei Bobrovsky 4:49 into the first period and then did everything they could to keep the puck out of their net. It didn't work as Sam Reinhart scored just over six minutes into the second period to tie the game. Fear not! Charlie McAvoy picked a fine time to score his first of the playoffs on a dish from Charlie Coyle to put the Bruins back on top halfway through the second. The Bruins took two penalties in the third period but the penalty kill was flawless, shutting down the Panthers even with the extra attacker to end the game. The Bruins delayed their date with a guillotine by taking Game Five 2-1 at Amerant Bank Arena.

                                                          Not dead yet

With just under five minutes gone in the first period Charlie McAvoy sent the puck around the boards to Jake DeBrusk who found Morgan Geekie alone in front of the net. Geekie scored his fourth goal of the playoffs to put the Bruins on top. Less than a minute later, David Pastrnak came in alone but Sergei Bobrovsky stoned him cold. Charlie Coyle then got sent to the box for hooking to put the Panthers on the power play. The Panthers couldn't muster anything on the man advantage as the Bruins sat on the puck for the next ten minutes. Geekie then cross-checked Anton Lundell who got up and managed to get two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct to put both teams on a 4 on 4. Nothing happened the rest of the period as the Bruins took a 1-0 lead to go along with their 11-4 shot advantage into the second period.

                                                     Geekie puts Boston on top

The Panthers couldn't get untracked to start the second period as Carter Verhaeghe got nailed for closing his hand on the puck 2:38 in to put the Panthers on the PK. Unfortunately, the Bruins did nothing on the powerplay as the Panthers had a 2 on 1 breakaway at one point. Charlie Coyle dished a pass to Danton Heinen who got stopped by Bobrovsky with 14:09 to play in the period. With 6:10 gone in the period, Aleksander Barkov took a slapshot but it was saved by Swayman. Then the Panthers closed in on the Bruins with Aaron Ekblad dumping it off Swayman but the Bruins failed to control the rebound. Sam Reinhart fired the puck past Swayman to tie it up 6:23 into the period. A minute later Verhaeghe got a two on one with Dmitry Kulikov but Swayman stopped Kulikov point blank. A few seconds later Charlie Coyle scooped up a loose puck and dished it to a wide open Trent Frederic, but Bobrovsky denied him for the save. Halfway through the period, Frederic passed it to Coyle who dumped it behind him to Charlie McAvoy. McAvoy fired it off the crossbar and in for his first goal of the playoffs to put Boston in the lead. Panthers coach Paul Maurice challenged that Bobrovsky was interfered with, only for the officials to uphold the call. This put the Bruins on the power play but they failed to cash in. Not only that, Swayman had to stop Eetu Luostarinen on a shorthand attempt. Reinhart then had a wide open breakaway but shot it over the crossbar. Ekblad then tried a wraparound but Swayman stopped it to end the madness. With 7:36 to go in the period, Mason Lohrei got called for hooking to put the Panthers on the power play. This time it was the Panthers that couldn't do anything right as Jake DeBrusk got a wide open breakaway. DeBrusk got denied by Bobrovsky and then Frederic failed to put the rebound in. With five minutes left in the period, Reinhart had a point break shot but Swayman stopped him. Then Barkov beat Swayman clean but it went off the post. The Bruins held on to end the period up 2-1.

                                                      McAvoy comes up big

It looked like Florida was running out of gas in the third period as DeBrusk found Pastrnak down load but Bobrovsky BARELY made the save. The Panthers caught a break as McAvoy was whistled for roughing just 1:23 into the third period, but it was the Bruins who had the first chance. Vehaeghe was stripped by Pavel Zacha but Bobrovsky stopped the breakaway chance. Later on Parker Wotherspoon gave the puck right to Verhaeghe but Swayman made the key save. The Bruins recovered to kill off the penalty and it was the Bruins who'd have the next power play when Ekblad was called for slashing 7:11 into the period. Justin Brazeau found Pastrnak who saw Geekie wide open, but Morgan missed the net on the shot attempt. With 8:32 remaining in the game, the Bruins took yet ANOTHER too many men on the ice penalty. The Bruins defense stepped up to snuff out the Panthers to keep the lead intact. With 2 minutes left in the game, the Panthers pulled Bobrovsky. Vladimir Tarasenko was robbed in front and Brandon Montour was also stoned by Swayman. With 75 seconds left, Barkov was denied by Swayman and the Bruins kept poking the puck out of the zone. With 9 seconds left, Montour passed through the legs of Wotherspoon to a wide open Reinhart but Swayman made the HUGE save to end the game. The Bruins live another day as they beat the Panthers 2-1 in Game 5.

                                                       Game 5 belongs to The Sway

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That took a lot of heart and guts for the Bruins to win this one without Marchand. After getting their teeth kicked in from Game's 2 through 4, they could have easily rolled over and died. Instead they fought hard and forced a Game 6 back in Boston. Its amazing after how last year's team had the all time choke in the first round and this year's team with half the offensive talent is now two wins short of the Conference Finals. McAvoy finally showed up on the offensive stat sheet and thank goodness for Swayman at the end. It would be unbelievable karma if the Bruins were to do what the Panthers did last year and come back down 3-1. The Panthers won Game 5 in Boston last year the same way the Bruins just won Game 5 in Florida. Not saying Game 6 is a guarantee, because it isn't, but that's the next step if they want to extend the season. No matter what happens in Game 6, this year's team deserves a lot of credit for making it this far after shedding so much talent after last year. Hopefully the Bruins can come out firing in front of their home crowd because the season is over if they don't. Also hopefully, Brad Marchand can play as well if he's healthy enough to contribute. Game 6 is this Friday night at 7:00 PM at TD Garden.

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

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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.

For a hilarious take on the game here's Steve Dangle - LFR Game 1