Final, Bruins 6-2: That’s it, and that’s all.
It may not have been as dominant as the final score suggests, but the Bruins do pick up the easy 6-2 win over Carolina.
Third period, 16:56, Bruins 6-2: Nathan Horton decided to join the scoring fun, with some help from Dougie Hamilton.
Horton scored his 13th goal of the season when he took a slap pass from Hamilton and easily redirected it by Dan Ellis.
Third period, 14:21, Bruins 5-2: Barring a total and complete miracle for Carolina, the Bruins are going to win this game.
But they’re likely not going to be very happy with how they have played the third period. The Bruins have not looked good here in the final frame, allowing two goals and being bailed out a couple of more times by Tuukka Rask. Carolina has 12 shots on goal here in the third period, and they have 42 for the game, as opponents continue to pepper the Boston cage with shots as of late.
Third period, 10:48, Bruins 5-2: Give credit to Drayson Bowman, as he’s not showing any quit here in the third period.
The Carolina forward carried the puck into the Boston zone down the right wing, and he got a shot on net that Tuukka Rask stopped. However, Rask couldn’t control the rebound, and Bowman eventually jammed home the rebound to cut the lead to three.
Third period, 10:03, Bruins 5-1: You put enough shots on goal, and one is destined to go in. The Hurricanes just finally broke through here in the third period.
Patrick Dwyer gets the Canes on the board when he slides one through Tuukka Rask’s pads.
Third period, 9:49, Bruins 5-0: The Hurricanes thought they had their first goal of the night, but Eric Staal kicked the puck in, and the review confirmed it.
Third period, 7:58, Bruins 5-0: The power play comes and goes without any real damage for the Bruins. Things looked good early on in the power play as Boston established possession in the Carolina end, but the B’s got a little unlucky when Jaromir Jagr’s stick broke.
Third period, 5:46, Bruins 5-0: The Bruins get their second power play of the game. This time it’s Riley Nash who is called for high-sticking.
Third period, 0:01, Bruins 5-0: The third period is underway with the Bruins leading 5-0. The goal of the third for the Bruins? It has to be stay sharp and stay healthy.
Second period reaction: I don’t have much to add here. The Bruins are taking full advantage of a bad Carolina team. The Hurricanes came in losers of their last four, and they look destined to run that to five in a row. Over this five-game stretch they’ve been outscored 23-5, including being outscored 13-1 in the second period.
That’s all, really.
End second period, Bruins 5-0: The Boston power play wasn’t very effective at all toward the end of the second period, and it was a pretty easy kill for Carolina.
The B’s take the 5-0 lead to the room, though, so you have to think they’ll be happy about that at least.
Second period, 15:57, Bruins 5-0: We have a Milan Lucic sighting.
The big forward just helped the Bruins get their first power play of the night when he took a Jaromir Jagr pass and went to the net. As Lucic went to shoot, he was slashed by Eric Staal.
Second period, 14:30, Bruins 5-0: The Bruins were able to kill off the Zdeno Chara penalty, and they almost got a goal in the seconds following the PK.
Chara got free behind the defense after the penalty expired, and he carried the puck in on the right wing. He eventually tried to score on a snap shot from the faceoff circle, but that was turned aside by a Dan Ellis shoulder save.
Second period, 12:10, Bruins 5-0: The Hurricanes will get the first power play of the evening.
Zdeno Chara’s hooking penalty puts the Bruins on the penalty kill.
Second period, 10:29, Bruins 5-0: The rout is on.
Jordan Caron’s return to the lineup has been a good one thus far. The forward didn’t give up on a play after getting dropped in the neutral zone, and he was eventually rewarded with his first goal of the seaosn.
Rich Peverley put the initial shot on goal, and Shawn Thornton worked to keep the rebound alive, but it was Caron who scored on a backhand attempt from the slot to push the lead to five.
Second period, 8:02, Bruins 4-0: More of the same here in the second period. The Hurricanes are getting their shots on goal (although no real sparkling scoring chances), and Tuukka Rask is turning them away. The goaltender has 26 saves about halfway through this game. He’s looked real sharp, as he has over the past few games he’s been in there.
Second period, 3:57, Bruins 4-0: The onslaught continues for the Bruins, as they are running away with this game.
Andrew Ference just turned himself into a forward, as he went to the front of the net in the midst of a line change. The defenseman got in the way of a Dennis Seidenberg shot from the right point, and the puck eventually got by Dan Ellis off of Ference’s leg.
Second period, 0:10, Bruins 3-0: The second period is underway.
First period reaction: The Bruins were kind of outplayed in that first period, but they made the most of their chances, and they now have a commanding 3-0 lead.
Carolina doubled up on the Bruins in shots with an 18-9 lead in that department, but they obviously have nothing to show for that. Tuukka Rask is playing some very good hockey right now, and he looks like he might be in the zone. He made at least one jaw-dropping save in the first period when he robbed Zac Dalpe of what looked like a sure goal in the game’s first few minutes.
The Bruins may have found their answer as to where to put Jaromir Jagr, too. He looks very good alongside Brad Marchand, and they have combined for two of the B’s three goals.
End first period, Bruins 3-0: The first period comes to an end with the Bruins leading 3-0 despite being outshot 18-9.
First period, 17:20, Bruins 3-0: It looks like Brad Marchand and Jaromir Jagr are starting to get some chemistry together, and it’s paying off.
They just combined for their second goal of the evening. Dennis Seidenberg made a gorgeous pass out of his own end to Marchand, and the forward was able to control it and drop it for Jagr. The big playmaker skated around the net and attempted a wraparound. It went through the slot to Marchand on the left wing, and he beat Dan Ellis with a backhander to give the B’s the three-goal lead.
First period, 15:32, Bruins 2-0: Matt Bartkowski is having a rough couple of games after looking very strong since being recalled.
He had a bad turnover that led to a goal that bounced off of him on Saturday night, and he almost cost the B’s again in this one. He was outmuscled behind the Boston net, which lead to a turnover. However, the Hurricanes couldn’t settle the puck in front quickly enough, and once they finally got a shot on goal, it was deflected over the glass.
First period, 11:46, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins are still a little suspect in their own end through the first eight minutes or so, and the Hurricanes continue to put shots on net. Tuukka Rask looks very good so far, and he’s been up to the task.
By the way, Justin Peters was pulled following the second goal, and he’s been replaced in the Carolina net by Dan Ellis.
First period, 7:58, Bruins 2-0: So far, so good for the new Bruins lines.
This time it’s the line of Gregory Campbell, Jaromir Jagr and Brad Marchand.
Jagr carried the puck into the zone, Campbell kept possession alive, and then Marchand went straight to the net and put home the rebound of a Campbell shot to give Boston the 2-0 lead.
First period, 6:42, Bruins 1-0: Other than the Rich Peverley goal, it hasn’t been a very good showing for the Bruins here in the first.
The B’s have been pretty sloppy with the puck, and the Hurricanes are getting their chances. The Canes, who put 49 shots on net in their loss to the Rangers on Saturday night, already have eight in this one to Boston’s two.
First period, 3:50, Bruins 1-0: Rich Peverley hasn’t been playing very well as of late, but he’s taken his demotion the right way. Because of that, the Bruins lead 1-0.
Peverley just scored the game’s first goal, and the B’s lead 1-0. Peverley’s original shot from just beside the right post was initially stopped, but the forward skated around the net, came out the other side and jammed home the rebound.
It all started at the other end, though, when Tuukka Rask made a gorgeous save on Zac Dalpe.
First period, 0:10, 0-0 The Bruins and Hurricanes are underway here at the Garden.
7:03 p.m.: Wade Redden, Kaspars Daugavins, Jay Pandolfo and Aaron Johnson are healthy scratches for the Bruins. Meanwhile, Patrice Bergeron remains out with a concussion. However, he’s reportedly here at the Garden, which is certainly a good sign.
6:40 p.m.: The Bruins are in their third jerseys for this one, and the Hurricanes are wearing their normal road whites.
The Bruins’ lines are the same as they were for morning skate, which means there is some mixing up being done.
Here are the lines the Bruins will start the game on, based on what they showed during pregame warmups.
Milan Lucic – David Krejci – Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand – Gregory Campbell – Jaromir Jagr
Daniel Paille – Chris Kelly – Tyler Seguin
Jordan Caron – Rich Peverley – Shawn Thornton
6:30 p.m.: Pregame warmups are underway, and Tuukka Rask is indeed the starting goaltender for the Bruins.
Justin Peters, who is 3-6-0 with a 2.83 goals against and .908 save percentage, gets the starting nod for Carolina.
6 p.m.: Good evening and welcome to TD Garden, where the Boston sports scene shifts from Yawkey Way to Causeway Street on a busy day of sports fun.
It is an absolutely beautiful day in Boston, and the Sox took care of their business by winning the home opener over the Baltimore Orioles. You can get caught up on all of that by checking out NESN.com Red Sox/MLB writer Ricky Doyle’s live blog by clicking here. I have it on good faith that he’s got some postgame reaction on the way, too, so be sure to check that out in the minutes leading up to the B’s-Hurricanes game here at the Garden.
3:30 p.m.: The Southeast Division has been arguably the worst in hockey this season, and it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the Hurricanes are one of three Southeast clubs in the basement of the Eastern Conference.
Interestingly, however, the Canes have struggled against the Southeast. They’re just 4-11-0 against division rivals. However, they’ve been pretty good veruss the Northeast and Atlantic, the two divisions that are home to seven of the eight playoff teams right now. They’re 7-5-0 against the Northeast and 5-3-2 against the Atlantic.
What’s a little less surprising, though, is how the Bruins have cleaned up against the Southeast. The B’s are 8-1-1 against the division entering Monday’s tilt. Boston won 5-3 in the two teams’ only meeting of the season thus far on Jan. 28.
1:45 p.m.: It sounds like Tuukka Rask will get the start in net against the Hurricanes. He didn’t take the ice for the optional morning skate, while Anton Khudobin got some work in on the Garden ice. That would seem to indicate that it’s Rask’s game against Carolina, but we’ll see for sure in a few hours.
12:35 p.m.: You want to pick up wins every chance you can at this point in the season, and that’s even more imperative for the Bruins on Monday night. They’re about to open a big week, and they’re coming off an ugly loss Saturday night in Montreal.
There really are no excuses, either. This Hurricanes team is just not very good at all, especially as of late. The Canes come in riding a four-game losing streak, and they are just 1-8-1 in their last 10 games.
It has not been pretty. The Hurricanes have been outscored 18-5 during the losing streak, with most of the damage coming in the second period. Carolina has been outscored 11-1 during the middle period on this four-game losing streak.
11:45 a.m.: While Chris Kelly is expected to return, it’s unlikely that defenseman Adam McQuaid will be back. He’s progressing, but Claude Julien said he doesn’t expect the big D-man to be back for this game. He remains out with a shoulder injury.
11:25 a.m.: The Bruins just tweeted that Claude Julien said Boston center Chris Kelly is expected to be in the lineup for this game.
11 a.m.: The Bruins, despite having won three of their last four, still have plenty of room for improvement following Saturday night’s loss in Montreal. They’ll look to start to right the ship on Monday night against Carolina.
The Hurricanes are in Boston for the first time this season, where they’ll face a Bruins team that’s in the middle of adjusting on the fly. The Bruins are still trying to find the best line combinations in the wake of making some trade deadline acquisitions, most notably bringing in Jaromir Jagr, while still adjusting to injuries, most notably Patrice Bergeron.
It’s expected that Claude Julien is shaking the lines up again on Monday night against Carolina. Tyler Seguin has been all over the place recently, and he may be on the move again. He centered a line with Brad Marchand and Jaromir Jagr on Thursday night. Early in Saturday’s game, Rich Peverley moved up to center the line while Seguin moved back to the wing.
On Monday night, it’s expected that Seguin will find himself on the third line. That’s where he was at practice Sunday. Seguin was on the third line with Daniel Paille, Chris Kelly and Jay Pandolfo. Monday night could also mark the return of Kelly, who has been out since March 13 with a broken tibia.
Puck drop at the Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m.
