Final, Flyers 5-2:Â That’s a wrap in Philadelphia, as the Bruins drop an ugly 5-2 decision to the Flyers.
Third period, 15:02, Flyers 5-2:Â It’s time for some real talk, people.
This team looks dead right now, in this game at least. They look like they’re about ready to just get out of Philadelphia and move on, with Tampa Bay coming into Boston on Thursday.
Third period, 13:00, Flyers 5-2:Â Anton Khudobin has returned for the Bruins in between the pipes, for whatever that’s worth at this point.
Third period 8:33, Flyers 5-2:Â OK, so the Bruins are dead.
Just 13 seconds after Boston pulled within two, the Flyers made the B’s pay for sloppy play. Wade Redden tried to force the puck through the neutral zone, but that pass was broken up, sending the Flyers the other way.
That eventually led to a goal from Simon Gagne, as the veteran forward buried a shot by Tuukka Rask after a beautiful pass from Claude Giroux.
Third period, 8:20, Flyers 4-2:Â The Bruins aren’t dead yet apparently.
David Krejci just scored to pull the B’s within two.
Third period, 5:33, Flyers 4-1:Â There’s still plenty of time left, but that might do it.
The Bruins get ugly with the puck in their own zone, and the Flyers made them pay.
Jakub Voracek ends up getting behind the defense, and Claude Giroux hits him with a gorgeous pass. Voracek then deked a couple of times before sliding a backhander through Tuukka Rask’s legs.
Third period, 3:00 , Flyers 3-1:Â The Bruins have done some shaking of the lines.
Jaromir Jagr has moved up to a line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, while Tyler Seguin is skating with Milan Lucic and David Krejci.
Carl Soderberg is now with Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley, while the fourth line remains intact.
Third period, 0:20, Flyers 3-1:Â The third period is underway.
Second period reaction:Â Yeah, so that was not a good period for the Bruins.
The B’s took a major step back in the second period after a decent first period. They have also taken a couple steps back after turning in a few good games as of late. This is not what you want to see out of a team that’s trying to put things together down the stretch.
It looks like Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin may be in Claude Julien’s doghouse right now. As The Patriot Ledger’s Mike Loftus pointed out on Twitter, the duo didn’t see the ice for the final 8:36 of the second period. There was plenty of power-play time for both sides, but under normal circumstances, we would have seen both of them on the ice at some point. Maybe that will be a wake-up call for those guys.
End second period, Flyers 3-1:Â The second period comes to an end without any success on the power play for the Bruins.
They came close in the final seconds, though. Jaromir Jagr found a hustling Milan Lucic coming in the back door down the right wing, but Steve Mason was able to stop Lucic’s one-time tip attempt.
Second period, 18:01, Flyers 3-1:Â The Bruins won’t likely score on this power play (they’ve looked horrendous), but they’ll be able to add another two minutes.
With four seconds left in the first penalty, Simon Gagne flipped the puck over the ice and was called for delay of game.
Second period, 16:05, Flyers 3-1:Â This is a big chance for the Bruins to climb back into the game.
Danny Briere just caught Andrew Ference with a high-stick that puts the Bruins on the power play for two.
Second period, 15:07, Flyers 3-1:Â The Bruins can’t do anything on their own abbreviated power play, and it was another ugly one with not much in the way of chances.
What once looked like a promising offensive effort is slowly getting disheartening, as the Bruins are being held down by a Flyers team that doesn’t have much of a defense to speak of.
Second period, 12:54, Flyers 3-1:Â The Flyers’ power play is short-lived, thanks to Wayne Simmonds being strong.
The big Philly forward just slashed the stick out of Dennis Seidenberg’s hands, and he’s going to the penalty box to negate the power play.
Second period, 11:47, Flyers 3-1:Â The Bruins will now have to kill off a penalty.
Carl Soderberg was just called for high-sticking.
Second period, 11:31, Flyers 3-1:Â Things have gotten a little out of hand here in the second period.
Anton Khudobin has been yanked after he allowed two goals in seven seconds. Zdeno Chara tried to move the puck in his own end, and the puck went into the crease, hit Khudobin’s stick and went into the net.
Tuukka Rask comes on for the Bruins.
Second period, 11:24, Flyers 2-1:Â Matt Read just scored one of the nicer goals we’ve seen all season.
Wayne Simmonds took a shot from the top of the slot, which Read followed up. Read’s rebound attempt was knocked away at first by Anton Khudobin, but Read batted it out of the air by Khudobin.
Second period, Second period, 7:22, 1-1:Â The Bruins were able to kill off the penalty.
Brad Marchand got a shorthanded opportunity, but Steve Mason made an impressive kick save with his right pad to keep it 1-1.
Second period, 4:41, 1-1:Â It’s turning into a rough night for David Krejci.
His turnover led to Scott Hartnell’s first-period goal, and he was just called for a questionable tripping penalty. The Bruins are now back on the penalty kill.
Second period, 0:01, 1-1: The second period is underway in Philadelphia.
First period reaction:Â So far, so good for the Bruins, especially if you take out the early David Krejci turnover that led directly to Scott Hartnell’s goal.
The Bruins look to have a good amount of jump in the early going. They’re bringing the body, and they’re putting the pressure on the Flyers. You do kind of have to take that with a grain of salt, though. Philly is beat up and they don’t have much to play for right now. Even more, their defensive corps was suspect to begin the year, which was before they started to be ravaged by injuries. That doesn’t mean the Bruins can’t some offensive momentum going and try to get on a roll, but it is worth considering the opponent as well.
The Bruins’ goal was a thing of beauty, and it’s exactly what they need to do to be better offensively. It started with a good breakout to Carl Soderberg, and the center did a nice job of carrying the puck through the neutral zone and into the attacking zone. He then moved the puck to Jaromir Jagr, which is always a good idea. Jagr put the shot on net, and created the rebound opportunity for Wade Redden, of all people. The defenseman did a nice job of going to the net, and he was rewarded with the rebound goal.
Milan Lucic, who was scratched Saturday and played limited minutes Sunday, is getting a chance to earn back some of his coach’s trust. Only David Krejci saw more time in the first period among Bruins forwards, and Lucic has already played more than half of the minutes he played Sunday against Florida. The big forward is looking a little better, and he looks like he’s trying to throw his weight around some. He has two hits and a shot on goal so far.
End first period, 1-1:Â The first period comes to an end, and the game is tied 1-1. There’s plenty to go over, so I’ll be back in a few to do just that.
First period, 16:56, 1-1:Â The combination of Carl Soderberg, Jaromir Jagr and Chris Kelly has been a lot of fun to watch so far.
They obviously got the scoring going early on, but they’ve done a nice job of creating opportunities since then as well.
Interesting to note: Patrice Bergeron is 0-for-5 in the faceoff circle. No idea when the last time that happened, but it doesn’t happen very often.
First period, 14:48, 1-1:Â Gregory Campbell did not miss a shift, thanks in large part to the fact that he’s a hockey player.
First period, 10:51, 1-1:Â The Bruins were able to kill off the penalty, thanks to a big blocked shot from Gregory Campbell.
The forward went to the ice to block a wicked Kurtis Foster slap shot from the left point, and he may have paid for it. Campbell struggled to get off the ice, and he couldn’t put much pressure at all on his left leg. We’ll have to keep an eye on that.
First period, 6:43, 1-1:Â The first power play of the game goes to the Flyers.
Dougie Hamilton caught Brayden Schenn with a high stick, and he gets the minor penalty.
First period, 4:54, 1-1:Â Carl Soderberg is making an impact in his second game as well.
The big Swede just carried the puck into the neutral zone and into the attacking zone before he gave it away to Jaromir Jagr. Jagr put the shot on net, and Wade Redden of all people went to the net and batted home the rebound to tie the game 1-1.
First period, 1:40, Flyers 1-0:Â After a touching pregame ceremony, the Flyers no longer felt like being nice hosts.
The Flyers just took the early 1-0 lead when Scott Hartnell beat Anton Khudobin with a big-league wrist shot. That came with an assist to David Krejci, as the Bruins forward made a horrible turnover in his own end to give the puck right to Hartnell and he handled the rest.
7:2o p.m.:Â Pregame skate is wrapping up in Philadelphia, and it looks like Dougie Hamilton will be in the lineup for this one, after morning skate indicated he may not be.
It looks like Johnny Boychuk who will be the d-man who gets the night off instead. That also means that Adam McQuaid, who suffered a lower-body injury Saturday and missed Sunday’s game, will be back in the fold as well.
Here are the defensive pairings from pregame.
Zdeno Chara — Dougie Hamilton
Wade Redden — Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference — Adam McQuaid
7:15 p.m.:Â By the way, I’m not sure if this was mentioned earlier (and if not, shame on me), but Nathan Horton won’t be in the lineup for this one. In fact, he didn’t even make the trip.
He’s still recovering from the upper-body injury he suffered Saturday against Pittsburgh in a fight with Jarome Iginla.
7 p.m.:Â It’s a homecoming of sorts for Jaromir Jagr as he returns to Philadelphia, while admittedly, Jagr homecomings happen in a fair amount of cities.
Jagr played in Philadelphia last season, and he played a major role. Jagr scored 19 goals and added 35 assists for what turned into a high-octane line alongside Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell. The trio was one of the best lines in all of hockey, and it may not be much of a surprise that Giroux and Hartnell have come back to earth some this year. That’s not to say that Jagr is the sole contributing factor of that, but it certainly played a part. It’s something he’s done everywhere in his career up to this point.
Interestingly, that really hasn’t happened yet in Boston. Of course, the circumstances are a little bit different. Jagr didn’t have a training camp to gel with his teammates, and he’s bounced around so much from line to line in the short time he’s been a Bruin. The fact that he’s skating alongside Carl Soderberg pretty much personifies those thoughts in the best way possible.
6:30 p.m.:Â The Flyers will honor the city of Boston and remember the victims of last week’s events prior to the game. That pregame ceremony will be aired on NESNplus, with coverage beginning at 7 p.m.
6:20 p.m.:Â Once again, the Bruins-Flyers can be seen on NESNplus. You can find your local listings for that by clicking here. Pregame coverage begins at 7.
4:40 p.m.:Â Veteran goalie Steve Mason, acquired at the trade deadline by the Flyers, will get the start against the Bruins.
He’s had some obvious struggles this season, but he’s been better since joining the Flyers, and he’s historically very good against the Bruins — albeit in a limited amount of work.
He’s 2-0-1 in three career starts against Boston, allowing just four goals on 98 shots. That’s good for a 1.30 goals against and a .959 save percentage.
4:30 p.m.:Â It looks as if the Flyers will be honoring the City of Boston on Tuesday night prior to and during the Bruins-Flyers game.
The Flyers are wearing these jersey patches, and according to Jack Edwards, the Flyers will also hold some sort of tribute ceremony prior to the game.
3:30 p.m.:Â Carl Soderberg saw time at morning skate at center between Chris Kelly and Jaromir Jagr, which is something the Bruins started doing Sunday afternoon.
The Swedish import, who made his Boston debut Saturday against Pittsburgh, started his NHL career on the wing. However, it looks like the B’s are more than willing to put Soderberg in the middle, which says a lot about him as a player.
It’s not easy to play center in the NHL, and it has to be even more difficult when you’re a player like Soderberg coming over from another continent and trying to adapt to a new style of play and a new rink. Soderberg mas “meh” on Saturday, but he looked a little better Sunday afternoon. He’s a big guy, and he’s strong on the puck, and that was rewarded with ice time. Soderberg saw 15:28 of ice time Sunday, which was more than a few Bruins forwards including Milan Luci, David Krejci and Rich Peverley. Brad Marchand played a hair more than Soderberg at 15:29.
There’s no doubt that the nature of Sunday’s game — a blowout against a bad hockey team — allowed the Bruins to give Soderberg some more rope.
He responded with his first career point while assisting on Jagr’s goal, and he also put a shot on net while going 2-for-4 in the faceoff circle.
“As far as Carl Soderberg was concerned, to me he was better [Sunday] than he was [Saturday],” Claude Julien said after Sunday’s game. “We put him at center [Sunday] and put Kelly on the wing. And you know, it’s for him to get used to playing on North American ice and this kind of a game. And you know, to me he’s made good strides in his first two games. So he’s got four more games again to get better, and hopefully he’s a very confident individual and he will be good for us.”
2:30 p.m.:Â The Bruins’ lines for morning skate appeared to be the same lines the B’s used Sunday afternoon against Florida.
Here’s how the B’s took line rushes during the skate, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Rich Peverley
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Tyler Seguin
Chris Kelly — Carl Soderberg — Jaromir Jagr
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton
And here are defensive pairs as well.
Zdeno Chara — Johnny Boychuk
Matt Bartkowski — Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference — Adam McQuaid
2:20 p.m.:Â Just as a reminder, the Bruins are slated to be televised on NESNplus again tonight. If you’re looking for those listings, you find them by clicking here.
1:30 p.m.:Â According to reports from morning skate in Philadelphia, Anton Khudobin was the first Bruins goalie off the ice in morning skate, meaning he’ll likely get the start in Philly.
This should come as no surprise, either. Tuukka Rask surprisingly started both games this weekend in Boston, and Claude Julien did indicate over the weekend that he would be working in both goaltenders over the final week of the season. So with all of that in mind, it would certainly make sense to go with Khudobin in between the pipes for this one.
1 p.m.: Once again, the Bruins are staring a jam-packed schedule in the face, a four-game slate this week that will see their regular season come to an end.
The B’s begin that four-game stretch Tuesday night in Philadelphia where they will take on the lowly Flyers. It’s a part of a stretch of four games in six days for Boston, who has plenty of work to do before the regular season comes to an end Sunday night.
If you believe that that the standings still matter, and there’s a large pocket of people who feel it doesn’t matter as much this season, then you would also believe that this is a big week for the Bruins.
They enter play Tuesday in a virtual tie for first place in the Northeast Division with Montreal. Both clubs enter play with 59 points, and while the Canadiens hold a 24-23 advantage in regulation wins, the Bruins do have a game in hand.
That stretch does begin with a game in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, against a Flyers team that isn’t playing for anything but pride and jobs. That doesn’t necessarily mean success for the Bruins. Just a few weeks ago, they were embarrassed by the Flyers in Philadelphia in one of the Bruins’ worst games of the season.
Puck drop for this one is slated for 7:30 p.m.
