Bear With Me

Someone please change the record, because Boston loses another game, and another player, yet again.  Goaltender Linus Ullmark only played the opening twenty-minutes, possibly being taken out due to concussion protocol, though his status is still unknown.  Not in the line-up for Boston were injured players David Pastrnak, Hampus Lindholm, Brandon Carlo, and as a healthy scratch, Trent Frederic.  Frederic’s bump from play was a direct result of his momentum throwing run in with St. Louis Blues player Vladmir Tarasenko during Tuesday night’s game.  His sentence to the top deck served not only as a call out for his own performance, but as a message to the rest of the Bruins roster: Shape up, now.   ____________________________ Marc McLaughlin opened the scoring 6:36 into the first period at the end of a strong shift from the fourth line, as Foligno made a pass towards the top of the crease where McLaughlin was able to deflect the puck past Senators’ goaltende...

     The Boston Bruins fall to the St. Louis Blues 4-2 while losing defenseman Brandon Carlo.  Needless penalties, a disorganized power play, and an AHL D-core have the Bruins fumbling into the end of the regular season.  Jeremy Swayman, while at least looking better than he has in recent games, was unable to be the difference maker in the face of an evaporating list of Bruins defensemen, and four St. Louis power plays.  The Bruins had the opportunity to clinch a playoff spot so long as they took away at least one point (and Pittsburgh beat the Islanders in regulation) but fell short with their regulation loss.  The issue at hand is not that the Bruins haven’t officially clinched a playoff spot, as it’s just a statistical formality at this point, but that neither their play nor their lineup reflects that of a Stanley Cup contender.   ____________________________________ The scoring broke open almost immediately.  A two-on-one with R...

  The Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 on Sunday afternoon, completing Boston’s four game road trip.  Heading into the match, Washington looked to further themselves in the standings from the New York Islanders and secure their playoff spot.  Boston, Toronto and Tampa Bay continue to fight for better positioning, more favorable matchups, and home-ice advantage where possible as the season comes to a close.  Currently, the Toronto Maple Leafs hold a five point lead on the Boston Bruins who in turn hold a tentative one point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning; Tampa also holds one game in hand over Boston.  Based on recent play, it’s likely, though not certain, that the current standings will resemble those at the end of the season, matching Boston up against the booming Toronto Maple Leafs and their generational talent in Auston Matthews.   Linus Ullmark was back in net coming off a great performance against Tampa Bay, and was far and a...

          In an instant classic, the Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in overtime to take sole possession of third place in the Atlantic Division - for now.  With David Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm absent from the lineup, the Boston Bruins entered Tampa Bay to take on the 2-time reigning Stanley Cup champions.  The Lightning have struggled in this last stretch of the season, entering Friday’s game on a three game losing streak, going 4-5-1 in their previous ten games.  Prior to play, the Bruins and Lightning both held 93 points, putting them at third and fourth in the division respectively; the Bruins held a better goal differential, pushing them past Tampa in the standings despite sharing the same points total.   ______________________________________________ Returning to the lineup was Trent Frederic, who had missed Boston’s previous game against Detroit after sustaining an upper-body injury when playing the Columbus Blue...

Snapping their six game losing streak, the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Boston Bruins 5-3 in what was a spirited, albeit frustrating, game for Boston.  David Pastrnak and Trent Frederic were not available to play, and by the end of 60 minutes Hampus Lindholm joined the growing list of injured Boston Bruins.    ____________________________________________ Erik Hau la continued his hot streak, scoring roughly five minutes into the game off a pass from Taylor Hall.  Filling in for Pastrnak alongside the pair was Tomáš Nosek; typically found on the Bruins’ fourth line, Nosek has been crucial for Boston’s penalty kill this season, averaging 1:49 a game short handed, and in second place on the team in faceoff percentage at 53%.  Guess who’s in first.  While killing a Marc McLaughlin high sticking penalty, Brandon Carlo extended Boston’s lead with his second career shorthanded goal, beating Alex Nedeljkovic from the high slot.  In light of recen...

With a 3-2 overtime victory, the Boston Bruins kicked off a four game road trip, finishing out their home-and-home series against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night, handing the Blue Jackets their seventh consecutive loss.  Coming off a 5-2 victory against Columbus, the Bruins looked to maintain momentum and stay in step with their divisional opponents the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning.  After defeating Tampa Bay 6-2 on Monday night, Toronto now sits at second place in the Atlantic Division with 95 points, leaving Boston tied with Tampa Bay in third place with 93 points each.  While these three teams have all but secured a playoff spot, their final positioning - and therefore their first round matchups - remains to be seen.    Two-time all star defenseman Zach Werenski returned to the Black Jacket’s lineup Monday night after missing three games due to an upper-body injury.  Through 60 games Werenski has put up 42 points while averaging ...

            With the return of Craig Smith, Nick Foligno, and Derek Forbort to the lineup, the Bruins returned to full strength on a Saturday evening home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team on the brink of playoff elimination. Despite a promising performance from Marc McLaughlin and a “you weren’t a liability” showing from Anton Blidh on Thursday’s 8-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils, there was little doubt that both Smith and Foligno would slide back into their regular positions provided their health allowed it. Josh Brown, who left the game Thursday night following a crushing hit during the second period, was unavailable to play but was seen skating earlier that morning. Stay-at-home defenseman Derek Forbort played alongside Mike Reilly as Boston’s third defensive pairing. While far from perfect, Reilly’s ability to move the puck, eat up minutes, and his readiness to stick up for teammates (illustrated by his tussle with Miles Wood...