Live Blog: Predators at Bruins

by

Oct 21, 2009

Live Blog: Predators at BruinsEnd of game, Bruins win 3-2: The Bruins have completed their come-from-behind victory here, winning 3-2 on a Steve Begin goal.

It was a solid effort by the Bruins as they twice came back from a one-goal deficit. Tim Thomas came up with some big saves and Patrice Bergeron really stepped up and showed his leadership. We saw a few mental lapses after they killed off the first two Nashville power plays, but after the week they had, that can be understood.

It was a good win for the Bruins and they will be right back at it tomorrow in Philadelphia when they face the Flyers. Check us out here at NESN.com for the Live Bruins Blog and be sure to watch the action live in HD on NESN. As they say in Nashville, "Elvis has left the building!"

Third period, 5:55, Bruins 3-2: Do they have Centre Ice in Aruba? Just kidding! I actually am waiting until later to scratch. In fact since it's my wife's birthday tomorrow, I'll let her do the honors.

An insurance goal here for the Bruins would be nice. You have to like their resilience tonight. It's something they have lacked this season.

Third period, 8:35, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins' great PR staff just handed out free Bruins scratch tickets. If this blog suddenly ends, it means I won and moved to Aruba!

Third period, 11:27, Bruins 3-2: Steve Begin has given the Bruins their first lead of the night on his first goal as a Boston Bruin. Newly acquired Daniel Paille had the assist.

I'm really liking the energy from that combo. It's something to watch going forward.

Third period, 11:44, 2-2: The Bruins failed to light the lamp on that last power play and are now 0-for-2.

They really need their defensemen and the point man to get more shots through and have guys like Mark Recchi in front for the tips. That is Recchi's specialty, so take advantage of it.

Third period, 14:03, 2-2: Boston is on their second power play of the game.

The Bruins failed to score on their first power play and are 0-for-1 on the night. The penalty kill seems to be better, maybe the PP can do the same.

Third period, 17:30, 2-2: The Bruins are on their first power play of the game here.

Third period, 18:00, 2-2: We're underway here in the third period. It will obviously be the deciding period here, but a win for either team will be a big momentum boost after the injuries and setbacks they've had to deal with this week.

End of second period, 2-2: A lot more intensity by the Bruins in the second period. They outshot Nashville 11-10 and shots are tied 17-17 now. Good effort all around.

The only negative, once again, would be the mental lapse after killing off a power play that again led to a Predators goal. But thankfully the penalty kill has looked much better and has killed off all three Nashville power plays.

Second period, 5:05, 2-2: The Bruins just killed off another Nashville power play. On the previous two kills, the Predators scored within a minute of the power play expiring. Let's hope the pattern doesn't continue.

Second period, 7:08, 2-2: Patrice Bergeron just tied the game for the Bruins on a rebound of a Zdeno Chara blast. Begeron's hustle created the play, though, as he was buzzing into the zone beforehand.

The Bruins also took another penalty right after the goal. Mark Stuart is in the sin bin for interference.

Second period, 13:43, Predators 2-1: Colin Wilson just got his first NHL goal and Nashville is up 2-1.

Once again, the penalty-killing crew did its job and once again the Predators get an even-strength goal immediately after.

Patric Hornqvist and Ryan Suter had the assists.

Second period, 16:20, 1-1: The Bruins just got a bench minor for too many men on the ice. Ryder is serving the penalty. Not the penalty to get if you're a Bruin (as older Bruins fans can attest to)!

Second period, 19:34, 1-1: That was quick! Twenty-six ticks in and the Bruins have tied the game on a Michael Ryder back-hander. Brad Marchand got his first NHL point on the play with the primary assist. Derek Morris had the secondary assist.

End of first period, Predators 1-0: The Bruins trail by one goal after the first period in what really has been a not-so-exciting game thus far. Both teams have gone through some major lineup changes in the last few days, but the intensity needs to pick up, especially on the Bruins' side.

Yes, they had changes, but they were playing this way before this crazy week began. Five shots? C'mon boys, pick it up a notch!

First period, 5:05, Predators 1-0: Not much action thus far here. Former BU star Colin Wilson just got into it a bit with David Krejci. Wilson is pointless in his young NHL career.

The Predators are hoping he starts finding the net soon. Wilson has the size and talent.

First period, 9:16, Predators 1-0: Tim Thomas just made a nice glove save on Shea Weber. Thomas needs to get on a nice run here as he's been inconsistent so far.

First period, 10:20, Predators 1-0: The Bruins are 1-for-1 on the penalty kill so far. They were 2-for-4 in their last game. Newcomer Daniel Paille was out there killing off the Nashville power play. Based on what I've seen of him in Buffalo, he will bring a lot of versatility to the Bruins.

First period, 14:05, Predators 1-0: Jerred Smithson just gave the Predators a 1-0 lead only nine seconds after the Bruins killed off the Morris penalty. David Legwand and Cody Franson had the helpers.

First period, 16:14: Bruins defenseman Derek Morris just took a tripping penalty.

First period,19:41: We're underway here at the TD Garden on a rare Wednesday night home game for Boston. The Bruins will try for their second home win of the season tonight.

The Bruins are 1-3-0 at home while Nashville is 1-1-0 on the road.

6:52 p.m.: Based on pregame warmups, we were on target with the lines and defensive pairings and Tim Thomas will indeed start in net.

A quick note before we get ready for faceoff here. I asked Brad Marchand, playing his first NHL game tonight, if he had anyone grabbing a memento or if he would save something himself. A program, lineup sheet, etc.? His answer:

"Yeah, the puck after I score my first goal!"

Congrats Brad. You'll never forget this night. Welcome to the show!

5:59 p.m.: John Glennon of the Nashville Tennessean and one of the better hockey scribes around has an educated guess on the Predators' lines tonight over in his blog "Predators Insider."

Here's what they look like:

Forwards
Steve Sullivan-Cal O'Reilly-J.P. Dumont
Martin Erat-David Legwand-Joel Ward
Dave Scatchard-Colin Wilson-Patric Hornqvist
Ryan Jones-Marcel Goc-Jerred Smithson

Defensemen
Bouillon-Weber,
Suter-Klein
Sulzer-Franson

Goalie
Dan Ellis will start in net.

So we look to be ready to go for the Predators and Bruins tonight. Hopefully you'll join us here for the live Bruins blog during the game and watch the game in HD live on NESN. As always, Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley will have the call and Naoko Funayama will be rinkside.

If any other bombshells drop here, we'll have it covered for you. See you for faceoff at 7 p.m.

4:09 p.m.: The Predators also got some tough injury news last night when they placed captain and leading scorer Jason Arnott on injured reserve after he hurt his arm Saturday. Arnott is expected to be out for at least two weeks. Nashville also recalled former Bruin Dave Scatchard, who is back in the NHL after more than a year away.

Scatchard battled a groin injury and "lost" his game halfway through the 2006-07 season. He attempted to play again in the AHL during the 2007-08 season, but decided to take some time away from the game and ponder his future. Following the game-day skate today, he told the media that the time off was well worth it. He got to spend time with his three-year old son and newborn daughter and realized that he still had the passion for the only job he's ever known and the game he's played since age 4.

"It was the right thing for me to do, it turned out," the always upbeat Scatchard said. "I got to raise my kids more and realize how much I love this game. I've been on a hockey team since I was 4 or 5 years old. When all your buddies are still playing and you're sitting at home, it's not as fun as it could be. So I thought I might as well go back and see if I can play again," he said.

Nashville head coach Barry Trotz, who spoke to the media wearing former Predators defenseman Kimmo Timonen's gloves and held Peter Forsberg's old stick as he addressed the scrum, said his lines are a "crap-shoot" at this point and will change throughout the game. As for the gloves and stick?

"We're a frugal team," Trotz dead-panned.

Trotz has worked closely with former BU star Colin Wilson and said the highly touted rookie is learning that the NHL is a lot faster and tougher than NCAA hockey.

"He [Wilson] went to the BU game last night and I asked him, 'What did you see?'" Trotz said. "He told me, ‘I can't believe how slow it was compared to the NHL level.' I told him with young players, you end up watching the game a lot more than moving your feet. You have to move you're feet and think at the same time and the game comes at you really quick."

Overall, Trotz is happy and confident in Wilson's learning curve.

2:15 p.m.: The Bruins will also be without enforcer Shawn Thornton tonight. Thornton, who had missed the last two practices with an undisclosed injury, skated this morning but is still unlikely to play, according to head coach Claude Julien. Also of note, the team recalled forward Trent Whitfield on an emergency basis after placing Marc Savard on long-term injured reserve.

There was some good news this morning, though. Defenseman Dennis Wideman will be back in the lineup for the first time since he injured his shoulder Oct. 10 in the Bruins' 4-3 shootout win over the Islanders.

Since trading forward Chuck Kobasew, recalling forwards Brad Marchand, Vladimir Sobotka and Guillaume Lefebvre and placing Lucic on the long-term IR Sunday night, the Bruins have been in a state of flux. Lefebvre was sent back to Providence, Thornton has been out, the team traded for Paille, Savard joined Lucic on LTIR, Whitfield was recalled and Wideman is back. Needless to say, the lines and defensive pairings are anyone's guess but here's what you may see out there tonight.

Forwards
Marco Sturm — David Krejci — Mark Recchi
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Michael Ryder
Vladimir Sobotka — Trent Whitfield — Blake Wheeler
Daniel Paille — Steve Begin — Byron Bitz

Defensemen
Zdeno Chara-Derek Morris
Andrew Ference-Dennis Wideman
Mark Stuart-Matt Hunwick

Goalies
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

11:55 a.m.: It has already been a very busy day at the TD Garden. We're still seven hours from faceoff between the Predators and Bruins but there has been plenty to report on for both teams, specifically the Bruins. Of course last night the team made its second trade in two days acquiring versatile forward Daniel Paille from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Boston's natural third-round pick in the 2010 draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2010.

Here's my take on that and what Paille could bring to the team.

Then this morning, only three days after finding out they will be without rugged forward Milan Lucic — who is out four to six weeks with a broken right index finger — the Bruins announced they will also be without leading scorer Marc Savard, who will be out for the same duration with a broken left foot. Yikes! Not the way the struggling, 3-4-0 Bruins wanted to start their day, eh?

The Bruins are obviously disappointed in the latest injury news but they're planning on using it as a rallying cry to turn things around, as they told me earlier in the day.

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