Third period, 19:32, Hurricanes 4-2: That should do it.
Jiri Tlusty just scored the empty-net goal to give the Hurricanes a two-goal lead with only 28.1 seconds to play.
Third period, 17:00, Hurricanes 3-2: Jaromir Jagr has been the Bruins’ best player in this game, and he has 13 shots attempted to prove it. However, he hasn’t been able to solve Justin Peters, including a recent flurry of shots. The Canes goalie stopped them all, though, preserving the lead for now.
Third period, 14:41, Hurricanes 3-2: Justin Peters was pulled early in his start Monday against the Bruins, but he’s been much, much better in this one.
The Carolina goalie just made a clutch shoulder save on Tyler Seguin after the Bruins forward put a short-range one-timer on net after a centering feed from David Krejci.
The Bruins are starting to run out of time. Duh.
Third period, 13:26, Hurricanes 3-2: Milan Lucic looked good for the first period and into the second, but he’s starting to look like the player he’s been in the last four or five weeks, and that’s not good. Lucic has four giveaways in this one, and he’s been a relative nonfactor since early in the second.
He’s not alone. Nathan Horton has just one shot so far.
Third period, 9:26, Hurricanes 3-2: Naturally, it’s Joe Corvo who gives the Hurricanes the lead.
The former Bruins defenseman just scored on a one-timer from the left point for the power-play goal. It was a shot that went up over Tuukka Rask’s right shoulder, a shot that he probably should have stopped.
Third period, 7:53, 2-2: While the Bruins have dominated the third period, they will now have to kill a penalty to try to sustain the momentum.
Chris Kelly was just called for kneeing, and the Bruins have to kill off his two-minute penalty.
Third period, 5:27, 2-2: Boston is all over Carolina here in the third. The Bruins have been a little suspect in the third as of late, but they look like a well-rested bunch right now.
They’re outshooting the Hurricanes 8-2 here in the third period, and if it wasn’t for Justin Peters, the Bruins may be winning this game.
Third period, 4:10, 2-2: The Bruins weren’t able to do anything on the power play, but they certainly had their chances.
Boston is starting to impose its will, and the third period has been played just about entirely in the Carolina zone.
Third period, 1:57, 2-2: The Bruins will get a power play early in the third period. The Hurricanes were just whistled for too many men on the ice.
Third period, 0:10, 2-2: The third period is underway with the Bruins needing to hold and get a point to earn a playoff berth.
Second period reaction: The Bruins certainly turned in a much better effort in the second period than they did in the first.
The B’s were able to tilt the ice some, especially early in the period, and while that didn’t produce anything in the way of goals, it was encouraging to see the bounce-back effort following the first.
However, defensive breakdowns almost cost them a few times in the first, and it did cost them in the second on the way to the Jiri Tlusty goal. The Bruins were sloppy with the puck and when they did get a chance to clear the zone, they couldn’t capitalize. Jordan Staal was more than happy to make them pay, as he picked up the puck before finding Tlusty for the goal.
The Bruins were lucky enough to bounce back late in the period when Tyler Seguin was the main beneficiary of an ugly turnover from Alexander Semin. It’s starting to look like Seguin may be in something of a zone. He’s been very good as of late, and he’s cashing in on his chances. He now has three goals in his last three games, and if he continues to get ice time, we can probably expect that to continue.
End second period, 2-2: The second period is over, and the two teams head to their rooms tied 2-2 through 40 minutes.
Second period, 17:57, 2-2: Tyler Seguin is starting to feel it at the right time for the Bruins.
The forward just scored his third goal in as many games, with a little help from Alex Semin. The Carolina forward turned the puck over in the neutral zone and after a tip up ice from Andrew Ference, Seguin took the puck and went in all alone on Justin Peters. Justin Peters is never going to win that battle. Seguin beat the goalie with a gorgeous wrist shot up under the bar to tie the game.
Second period, 14:04, Hurricanes 2-1: The Bruins may be controlling the play for much of the period here, but the Hurricanes just took their first lead of the night.
Boston wasn’t able to clear its defensive zone, and Carolina took advantage of it. Jordan Staal carried the puck by the net down below the goal line and then dropped a backhanded pass to Jiri Tlusty. He then beat Tuukka Rask shortside with a wrist shot to give the Canes the 2-1 lead.
Second period, 13:33, 1-1: This has been a much better period for the Bruins, who are starting to establish possession in the Carolina zone.
While the B’s didn’t score on the power play, they certainly showed the ability to use that as a weapon and help gain momentum at the least. That’s something they haven’t really had in the past, and it all comes back to Jaromir Jagr. He totally changes the power play when he’s on the ice, and that’s obviously a welcomed change from what the B’s had before he got to Boston.
Second period, 11:45, 1-1: The Bruins couldn’t score on either of those power plays, but they certainly came close. Jaromir Jagr had an unbelievable chance when David Krejci fed him a no-look pass through the slot. However, Justin Peters made an unbelievable glove save to keep it a 1-1 game.
Second period, 9:28, 1-1: The Bruins will have 46 seconds of 5-on-3 here. Tim Gleason just earned himself a slashing call.
Second period, 8:13, 1-1: The Bruins just had their best shift of the period, and they were rewarded at the end. Not with a goal, but with a power play.
Chad Larose just caught Tyler Seguin with a high stick and Boston goes on the power play.
Second period, 6:17 1-1: The Bruins have looked a little bit better here in the second period. One player who continues to look good in this one is Milan Lucic. He did a nice job of barreling into the Carolina zone and creating a turnover that led to a Jaromir Jagr scoring chance.
I’ve also been impressed with Jordan Caron the last few games. He seems to be all over the ice, and he had five shots on goal the other night. Perhaps most importantly, he’s going to the net, and trying to create offense there. That’s not a bad idea.
Second period, 0:30, 1-1: The second period is underway.
First period reaction: All in all, it was a pretty exciting first period, but the Hurricanes are giving the Bruins some fits.
The Canes were all over the B’s for much of the period at least in terms of controlling the puck in the Boston zone and establishing offensive possession. That’s backed up by the fact that the Canes outshot the Bruins 17-4 in the first period. They finally cashed in late in the period when Jeff Skinner scored kind of an ugly goal, which proved to be the only blemish of the period for Tuukka Rask. The Bruins goaltender was fantastic in the first period, that late goal aside. He really stabilized things for the Bruins in their own end when things certainly could have gone awry.
At the other end, the Bruins did do a good job of getting on the board first. More importantly, it was Milan Lucic who did a nice job of getting traffic in front and he may or may not have tipped the goal by Dan Ellis. Either way, it was good to see Lucic doing some dirty work to help get the B’s on the board. Jaromir Jagr continues to impress, as he was the one who passed it from down low up to the point where Matt Bartkowski (the listed goal-scorer at this point) threw the puck at the net. Jagr now has seven points in six game with Boston.
I would certainly expect the physical play to continue. Adam McQuaid looks pretty upset with multiple Hurricanes, so he may look to get his brawl on in the second period. We should probably keep an eye on Gregory Campbell, who was still a little ticked off after fighting Nicolas Blanchard in the final minute of the period.
End first period, 1-1: The wildly entertaining first period comes to an end with the game tied 1-1. Tuukka Rask was not happy about giving up that goal as he skated off the ice.
First period, 19:33, 1-1: The physicality continues, as Gregory Campbell and Nicolas Blanchard dropped the gloves right off the faceoff following the Jeff Skinner goal.
First period, 19:25, 1-1: The Bruins were victimized by a late goal Thursday night against the Islanders, and the B’s just gave up another tally late in the first period.
Jeff Skinner looked to bank one in off of Tuukka Rask to tie the game.
First period, 18:41, Bruins 1-0: Things are starting to get a little bit nasty here late in the first period.
For whatever reason, Jay Harrison decided to pick a fight with Zdeno Chara during a scrum after a whistle. That led to the Bruins captain dropping his gloves in a heartbeat and proceeding to pound on Harrison.
However, the scrum came after an interference penalty to Milan Lucic, so the Bruins will have to kill that to end the period and into the second.
First period, 17:30, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins just killed off the penalty.
First period, 14:27, Bruins 1-0: The Hurricanes will get the first power play of the game.
Rich Peverley was sent to the box for elbowing.
First period, 14:11, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins have spoken about their fatigue affecting their physical play, and maybe that’s why a Bruin hasn’t dropped the gloves since March 27. That was until this game, of course.
Shawn Thornton just dropped his mitts with Kevin Westgarth and the two engaged in a fairly lengthy, fairly even scrap in the Carolina zone.
First period, 12:57, Bruins 1-0: Jordan Staal continues his excellent game, but in the first 13 minutes of this one, Tuukka Rask has been just a little bit better.
Staal carried the puck into the Boston zone with a head of steam, but his backhanded attempt was stopped by Rask who then covered up the rebound to end the threat.
First period, 11:15, Bruins 1-0: The Hurricanes, to their credit, haven’t just given up after the Bruins took the early lead. That’s pretty impressive considering the streak of poor play they’re in the midst of as it would be pretty easy to just mail it in at this point.
One of the reasons they’ve been able to fight back here some in the first is the play of Jordan Staal. The big forward has already put two shots on goal, but both were turned away by nice saves from Tuukka Rask. The Boston goaltender looks sharp in the early going.
First period, 9:48, Bruins 1-0: It appears that the Bruins goal has been given to Matt Bartkowski, not Milan Lucic. If that stands, it would be the first of Bartkowski’s NHL career.
First period, 6:07, Bruins 1-0: Milan Lucic plays an admittedly “simple” game, which makes his prolonged struggles even more puzzling.
All he has to do is skate and go to the net and hit people and all of that stuff. But for whatever reason, he doesn’t do it nearly enough.
He just did it on his last shift, though, and the Bruins have the early lead because of it. The big forward got in front of the net and a Matt Bartkowski shot hit the forward and bounced by Justin Peters.
First period, 0:09, 0-0: The game is underway.
7:07 p.m.: There’s a playoff berth at stake for the Bruins in this one. All they need is a point.
6:48 p.m.: All right, let’s get to the big news of the day. The Bruins have apparently won World War III with the Swedes and have rescued Carl Soderberg from the grasps of Sweden.
It’s going to be fascinating to see what Soderberg does when he finally gets over here. He’s expected to get here on Tuesday and will join the club on Wednesday. B’s president Cam Neely has said that they see Soderberg as a winger in the early going. That makes sense, too, given how difficult it is to play center in the NHL, and that’s even before you factor in the fact that Soderberg is coming from a totally different style of play in Europe. He’s a big body who’s strong with the puck and he’s strong offensively. He puts the puck in the net, which is obviously something the Bruins are always going to need help with. It will be interesting to see, however, how he’s able to fit in with the Bruins with just a couple of weeks to play in the regular season. Then again, the Bruins have a good bit of uncertainty right now in terms of their lines, so maybe this falls right in with that. At the very least, the Bruins have to hope that bringing in someone new might light a fire under some other forwards that may be feeling a little complacent right now.
Here’s a little more in-depth analysis I put together when the Soderberg news first started to come out a few weeks ago.
6:43 p.m.: Here’s how the Bruins will start with their line combinations, according to pregame warmup line rushes.
Line combinations
Daniel Paille – David Krejci – Nathan Horton
Milan Lucic – Gregory Campbell – Jaromir Jagr
Jordan Caron – Chris Kelly – Tyler Seguin
Kaspars Daugavins – Rich Peverley – Shawn Thornton
Defensive pairs
Zdeno Chara – Johnny Boychuk
Matt Bartkowsk i – Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference – Adam McQuaid
6:38 p.m.: Dougie Hamilton will not be in the lineup for the second consecutive game. The rookie defenseman, according to Claude Julien, is getting some rest after a busy season of hockey. The youngster has skated plenty this season between the condensed NHL schedule, his involvement in the world junior tournament and playing junior in Canada. Julien also said that it couldn’t hurt to have Hamilton go up to the press box and see the game from a different angle as well. To be honest, I thought he would be back in the lineup for this one, so it’s an interesting move to say the least.
6:30 p.m.: The Bruins and the Hurricanes just took the ice for pregame warmups in Raleigh. As expected, Tuukka Rask led the Bruins out, so he’ll be the starter. On the other side of the sheet, Justin Peters led Carolina out, so he’ll start for them.
Peters, if you recall, got the start for Carolina last week in Boston. He was torched with a couple of early goals by the B’s and was pulled in favor of Dan Ellis. That didn’t really work out much better for the Hurricanes.
9:30 a.m.: The Carolina Hurricanes are not a very good hockey team, which means the Bruins need to do all they can to take full advantage of that on Saturday night. The B’s are in Raleigh Saturday night where they’ll take on a Carolina team that has lost its last seven straight and jockeying for the position of last place in the NHL.
The Bruins got an up-close-and-personal look at the Hurricanes’ struggles earlier this week in Boston. The B’s trounced the Hurricanes 6-2 behind three first-period goals.
However, there are still plenty of things to work on for the Bruins, and there are things to improve upon from the two teams’ matchup earlier in the week. Boston took its foot off the gas pedal in the third period, giving up two third-period goals to the lowly Hurricanes. The Bruins are still searching for consistent 60-minute efforts. They’re coming into this one (relatively) rested, which means they have no excuse for not throttling the Canes once again.
There have been some good signs lately, though. First and foremost has been the play of Jaromir Jagr. The future Hall of Famer has been as advertised for the B’s racking up six points in five games since being traded. Tyler Seguin is also starting to come along, as he continues to bounce around the Bruins lineup. Seguin has a goal in each of his last two games, and he has three goals in his last six. The Bruins need those two to keep it going if they’re going to get hot going into the playoffs.
The Bruins will also need to get healthy. Patrice Bergeron, who is working his way back from a concussion, sounds like he might be back soon. Bergeron is making the trip with the Bruins to Carolina, but he’s not expected to play Saturday night. Brad Marchand also remains out with a concussion of his own, and there’s still no timetable for his potential return.
Puck drop from Raleigh is scheduled for 7 p.m.
