Third period, 19:23, Bruins 5-4: This game is not over yet.
Matt D’Agostino just jammed home a loose puck in front that followed a frantic push in the Boston zone, and the Devils are within a goal with under a minute to play.
Third period, 16:21, Bruins 5-3: The Bruins are just a few minutes from getting out of New Jersey with a win, but it might not be easy.
Tyler Seguin just earned his second penalty of the period, as he was called for elbowing.
Third period, 13:00, Bruins 5-3: The Bruins were able to kill off the Tyler Seguin penalty.
Third period, 10:26, Bruins 5-3: Blink and you might miss something in this one.
If you just blinked, you might have missed the latest Bruins penalty. Tyler Seguin gets sent off this time, and it’s for slashing Marty Brodeur.
Third period, 9:00, Bruins 5-3: The Bruins have announced that Brad Marchand will not return to this game.
Third period, 7:33, Bruins 5-3: Just like that, the Bruins were just able to slow the Devils’ comeback.
Tyler Seguin checks in with (what’s been lately) a rare goal. He banged home a centering pass from Daniel Paille, and the Bruins have their two-goal lead back.
Third period, 5:58, Bruins 4-3: This is getting ugly for the Bruins. The Devils have all the momentum now, and it’s even worse after Andy Greene just scored.
The Devils are now within one.
Third period, 6:00, Bruins 4-2: There’s now video of the Anton Volchenkov hit on Brad Marchand. You can see that by clicking here.
Third period, 0:15, Bruins 4-2: The third period is underway.
End second period, Bruins 4-2 : The second period comes to an end, and the Bruins are holding the two-goal lead.
Second period, 18:12, Bruins 4-2: It’s become a pretty forgettable second period for the Bruins.
Travis Zajac scored a shorthanded goal (the Devils’ first of the night after the Bruins got two in the first), and New Jersey is right back in this game.
Second period, 15:11, Bruins 4-1: Scary moment for the Bruins and Brad Marchand in just his second shift after returning from his first apparent injury.
Marchand took a nasty elbow to the head from Anton Volchenkov. The dirty hit gets Volchenkov a 5-minute major and a 10-minute misconduct.
Second period, 14:40, Bruins 4-1: Good news for the Bruins: Brad Marchand has returned to the game and just skated a shift, so he’s apparently good to go.
Second period, 11:07, Bruins 4-1: The shutout is gone, and the Bruins may be down a man.
First, the goal. Patrik Elias took advantage of a Bruins turnover in the Boston zone, and he immediately fires a snap shot from the right boards that beats Anton Khudobin.
Just a few seconds earlier, Brad Marchand got tangled up in the neutral zone and appeared to suffer an injury. He’s now in the Bruins locker room.
Second period, 10:38, Bruins 4-0: The Bruins weren’t able to score on the penalty kill, but they did kill off their sixth penalty of the game.
Give credit to Chris Kelly, who has been very good in the two games he’s returned from his injury. He’s logged 4:40 of PK time, and he broke up what could have been a Patrik Elias power-play goal.
Second period, 6:45, Bruins 4-0: The parade to the penalty box continues. Zdeno Chara was just called for a head-scratching tripping penalty, which may mean the Bruins are about to take a 5-0 lead.
Second period, 3:06, Bruins 4-0: The Bruins’ power play is getting in on the fun now.
Jaromir Jagr and David Krejci did some brilliant playmaking, and it leads to Zdeno Chara’s seventh goal of the season. The Bruins are cruising at this point.
Second period, 2:24, Bruins 3-0: The Bruins are now going back on the power play. David Clarkson gets the holding penalty.
Second period, 2:17, Bruins 3-0: The Bruins’ power play lasts all of 6 seconds. Johnny Boychuk was called for high-sticking.
Second period, 2:11, Bruins 3-0: After a first period in which the Devils got all the power plays, the Bruins get the first man-advantage of the period. The Devils were called for too many men on the ice.
Second period, 0:30, Bruins 3-0: The second period is underway with the Bruins holding the commanding 3-0 lead.
First period reaction: The first period had just as much to do with the Devils playing horribly as it did the Bruins playing well.
That being said, you have to give the Bruins credit for taking advantage of the chances they got in what was kind of an uneven first period. It’s certainly not every day that you see a team score two shorthanded goals and almost add a third (the Johnny Boychuk penalty shot) in one period. The B’s actually scored their two shorthanded goals within 3:21 of each other. Boston’s two shorthanded tallies equals the amount of power-play goals they had scored in their last 13 games entering this one.
Other than that, it’s kind of tough to judge that first period. A lot of that just comes from the Devils’ play. They look lethargic, and there’s no doubting the fact that they desperately need Ilya Kovalchuk back in the lineup. They just can’t score right now, and it’s clear they’re lacking a spark at the moment.
End first period, Bruins 3-0: The first period comes to an end with the Bruins holding their 3-0 lead over the listless Devils.
First period, 14:10, Bruins 3-0: It’s obviously been a real dominant period for the Bruins (and that has a lot to do with the Devils, too), and that might be overshadowing what’s been a nice start from Anton Khudobin.
The backup goalie has made a couple of big saves early on, especially on the power plays in the opening minutes. He’s already made 12 saves.
First period, 8:12, Bruins 3-0: OK, so this is getting out of hand early.
The Bruins have had to kill off a handful of penalties already, and they now have their second shorthanded goal of the game.
The B’s were able to gain possession in the New Jersey zone after a Travis Zajac turnover, and Andrew Ference scored through a screen with a wrist shot from the slot.
First period, 7:02, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins, despite the two-goal lead early on, have been up against it here in the first period.
The Devils were just awarded yet another power play as Nathan Horton was called for hooking.
First period, 4:51, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins were down 5-on-3 again after a questionable penalty call on Dennis Seidenberg. No worries for the Bruins, though.
They killed off the final few seconds of the first penalty, and they ended up working a 2-on-1 with Rich Peverley and Daniel Paille that led to Paille scoring his eighth goal of the season.
First period, 3:59, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins killed off the first penalty, and they almost took the two-goal lead.
Johnny Boychuk took a loose puck as he came out of the penalty box, and he was hooked on a breakaway, so he was awarded a penalty shot.
However, the defenseman was stopped by Martin Brodeur.
First period, 2:22, Bruins 1-0: The Devils are now on a 5-on-3 for about a minute and a half.
First, it was Johnny Boychuk who got a tripping penalty. Just a few seconds later, Zdeno Chara got a delay of game penalty.
First period, 1:10, Bruins 1-0: Jaromir Jagr continues to make his presence felt, and it’s his teammates who are benefiting the most.
Jagr just showed some more incredible strength on the puck, winning a puck battle in the slot. He then put a shot on net, and Gregory Campbell was left alone in front. He banged the rebound by Martin Brodeur, and the B’s take the 1-0 lead.
First period, 0:14, 0-0: The first period is under way in New Jersey.
7:25 p.m.: Faceoff in Newark is just a few moments away. Before we get to that, though, let’s take a look at the links from today, shall we?
It sounds like it’s just a matter of time before Carl Soderberg is a Bruin.
Patrice Bergeron is making progress in his recovery and potential return from a concussion.
7:10 p.m.: The Bruins have taken the ice for pregame warmups in New Jersey. According to pregame line rushes, the lines will remain the same as they were in morning skate.
Those are also the same lines the Bruins used Monday night against Carolina.
But if your memory is lacking and somehow no longer possess the ability to scroll down the page, here’s how the B’s will start.
Lucic-Krejci-Horton
Marchand-Campbell-Jagr
Paille-Kelly-Seguin
Caron-Peverley-Thornton
3:10 p.m.: Future Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur is getting the start for the Devils against the Bruins in this one. He also started last week and looked pretty good in New Jersey’s 1-0 loss to the Bruins.
It will be Brodeur’s 58th career appearance versus the Bruins. He comes in sporting a 24-21-10 record against Boston with a 2.52 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.
We mentioned the Devils’ offensive woes earlier, and it’s no coincidence that this offensive shortage has come in the absence Ilya Kovalchuk. The Russian sniper has missed seven games since suffering a shoulder injury on March 23 against Florida. He practiced with the team Tuesday and took part in morning skate, but he’s still a few days away from returning. That’s obviously a huge piece of the puzzle for the Devils, especially given their inability to put the puck in the net this season. Kovalchuk had 10 goals and 17 assists in 32 games before going down with the injury.
2:35 p.m.: All games are important this time of the season, but this game with the Devils could prove to be a big one for the Bruins. They can thank Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals for that one.
The Caps defeated the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, and in the process, they opened the door for the Bruins. If the B’s take care of business Wednesday against the Devils, they’ll return home leading the Northeast Division. The B’s enter this game just one point behind the idle Habs.
That would also make Thursday night’s Bruins-Islanders a potential playoff preview. A win Wednesday would push the Bruins into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, which would set them up to play the Isles if the playoffs were to start.
2 p.m.: Anton Khudobin will get the start in goal for the Bruins against the Devils, Claude Julien revealed following morning skate.
12:13 p.m.: According to the Bruins Twitter account, Daniel Paille will be on the third line with center Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley will be centering the fourth line.
Here are the rest of the forward lines, as of morning skate:
Lucic-Krejci-Horton
Marchand-Campbell-Jagr
Paille-Kelly-Seguin
Caron-Peverley-Thornton
–JB
8 a.m. ET: Another night and another struggling opponent await the Bruins. After steamrolling the lowly Hurricanes on Monday night, the B’s head out on the road Wednesday to take on the Devils.
New Jersey is still in the playoff hunt, but the Devils are on the outside looking in at the moment. That’s thanks to a recent skid that has seen them go just 2-4-4 in their last 10 games. The Devils’ issues continue to stem from the offense. Only two teams have scored fewer goals than Jersey, and they enter Wednesday’s game having scored just six goals in their last five games, a stretch that has produced a 0-3-2 record.
Among those games was a 1-0 loss to the Bruins last Thursday in Boston. The Devils peppered Tuukka Rask with 40 shots, but he was able to turn away all of them in a game that featured Jaromir Jagr scoring the game’s lone goal in his Bruins debut.
The B’s have had some offensive issues of their own lately, but they took a big step forward in curing those ailments Monday night against New Jersey. Eleven Bruins had at least one point, and six of those players had multipoint games in the club’s 6-2 win over Carolina. They’ll look to carry that over Wednesday night in New Jersey, where they’ll play their first game of the final back-to-back set this season.
Puck drop in Jersey is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
