Final, Senators 4-2: That does it. The Bruins fall 4-2, and they’ll get the Maple Leafs in the first round.
Third period, 19:24, Senators 4-2: So it will be Toronto.
Kyle Turris just put the game away with an empty-net goal, and the Senators look like they’ll get the win, meaning Montreal wins the Northeast and the Bruins will take on Toronto in the first round.
Third period, 16:26, Senators 3-2: The Senators have been dominated for much of the period, yet they find themselves in the lead late in the third.
Ottawa withstood the charge from the B’s, and they now hold the lead. This time it’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau scoring to put Ottawa back in front, as they lead 3-2.
Third period, 14:02, 2-2: The Bruins continue to pour pucks into the Ottawa zone and on net, but they haven’t been able to get anything by Robin Lehner since the Dennis Seidenberg goal.
Ottawa has just two shots here in the third period, with the Bruins picking up their defensive intensity, spear-headed by solid showings from Dennis Seidenberg and Zdeno Chara, who are getting better as the playoffs near.
Third period, 11:28, 2-2: This game is still tied 2-2, and that’s thanks in large part to Tuukka Rask. I mentioned that he would need to stand on his head here in the third, and he just did that in a big way.
Rask made the save of the night when he denied Erik Condra on a breakaway attempt.
Third period, 6:32, 2-2: The Bruins have gotten a noticeable lift here in the third period, as one might expect following that Dennis Seidenberg goal.
Gregory Campbell just had tremendous scoring opportunity with a shot in the slot, but Robin Lehner turned it away with a left pad save.
That fourth line has been good again in this one getting in on the forecheck. That trio has combined to put five shots on net and they’re getting some good run even into the third.
Third period, 0:14, 2-2: Well, that certainly did not take long.
The Bruins waste no time tying it up here in the third period. Dennis Seidenberg rips one by Robin Lehner from the right point to tie things at 2-2.
Third period, 0:01, Senators 2-1: The third period, presumably the final period of the regular season, is underway.
Second period reaction: For much of the second period it looked like the Bruins were about ready to pack it in and just get ready for first-round matchup with Toronto.
However, Rich Peverley scored the late power-play goal with just a few seconds to play, and this is a game again. More importantly, perhaps, the Bruins could get a big boost from this. The goal woke up what was, really, a dormant crowd. They’re fired up as evidenced by the roaring “Let’s go Bruins” chants that rained down as the B’s went to the dressing room as the period ended.
The B’s really need Tuukka Rask to stand on his head here in the third period. I honestly don’t like the chances of the Bruins scoring more than two goals in the third, so it’s imperative that Rask keeps the Senators where they are.
By the way, this would be a great time for that Patrice Bergeron line to break out. They have just three goals between the three of them in the last six games, and one of those was an empty-net goal from Brad Marchand.
End second period, Senators 2-1: The second period comes to an end, and once again, the period ends with some pushing and shoving and that fun stuff. It doesn’t look like there will be any penalties from this scrum, though.
Second period, 19:56, Senators 2-1: It looked like the Bruins were destined to see the power play expire without any success. So much for that idea.
Rich Peverley just injected a whole bunch of life into this building by scoring a power-play goal to cut the lead to one. Wade Redden did a great job of taking the hit along the boards when carrying the puck into the zone before passing it to Peverley who beat Robin Lehner five-hole with just seconds to play in the period.
Second period, 18:00, Senators 2-0: The Bruins started the period on the penalty kill, and they may end it on the power play.
Cory Conacher was just called for holding, which gives the B’s the man-advantage with 2:00 to play in the second.
Second period, 16:30, Senators 2-0: The Bruins just had arguably their best chance of the night. Milan Lucic and Kaspars Daugavins got free on a 2-on-1, and Lucic decided to shoot. He put it right in Robin Lehner’s midsection, and that’s that.
Second period, 16:09, Senators 2-0: Slowly but surely, this is turning into a very disappointing evening for the Bruins.
They don’t look to have the same jump they had during the first period, and they’re looking very “blah” once again here in the second.
If this keeps up, the Bruins will be headed for a first-round matchup with the Maple Leafs.
Second period, 10:33, Senators 2-0: Well, the Bruins are up against it at this point.
Jared Cowen just blasted one by Tuukka Rask from the point, and the Senators take the 2-0 lead midway through this game.
Second period, 9:55, Senators 1-0: The Bruins, bottled up in their own zone for a while, just iced the puck, and that led to Claude Julien using his timeout.
Second period, 7:36, Senators 1-0: The Bruins are starting to tilt the ice some, but they have nothing to show for it.
Robin Lehner has done a very nice job so far, and he just made arguably his best save of the evening. Lehner gloved a big slap shot from the right point off the stick of Johnny Boychuk. The B’s actually had traffic in front on that as well, with Carl Soderberg moving to the front of the net on the shot.
Tyler Seguin also had a scoring chance in front of the net to Lehner’s right, but Seguin couldn’t quite control the puck before skating by the net, cutting off his angle on net.
Second period, 2:20, Second period, 2:08, Senators 1-0: So Brad Marchand’s penalty doesn’t come back to haunt the Bruins, as they kill off the Ottawa power play to begin the second period.
Second period, 0:01, Senators 1-0: The second period is underway.
First period reaction: On the whole, that wasn’t a terrible first period for the Bruins, but it wasn’t great, either.
The Bruins did outshoot the Senators 13-9, but the Sens lead where it matters, and that’s on the scoreboard. Tuukka Rask’s lone mistake of the first period did come back to bite him, when he couldn’t control a rebound that led to a relatively easy goal for Erik Condra. The same issue plagued Rask on Saturday night in Washington where a juicy rebound led to the game-winner for Eric Fehr.
The Bruins are definitely trying to get physical, though. They registered 11 hits in the first period, with a pair of them coming from Milan Lucic. The big winger has got his nasty back, and he’s trying to hit anything that moves right now. That includes Chris Neil, who Lucic fought late in the first period. Lucic and Neil are no stranger to each other, and this was another exciting fight between the two.
On the other side of the physical game, Brad Marchand just took what might have been a costly penalty at the end of the period. Marchand recklessly slashed Erik Karlsson, and the B’s winger earned himself a slashing penalty for the act. That power play will go into effect when the second period begins, and Ottawa will have two minutes on fresh ice. The good news for the Bruins, though, is that their penalty kill looked good in the first, while the Sens’ power play looked abysmal. So the Bruins have that going for them.
Once again, the Bruins need to get something going offensively. They’ve gotten some good scoring chances in the first, but they still need to do a better job of going to the net and getting in on the forecheck. It’s simple, but it’s been shown to work, and that’s what they need right now.
End first period, Senators 1-0: The second period comes to an end, but not without some physicality.
Brad Marchand drew a crowd behind the Ottawa net after the Bruins winger slashed Erik Karlsson as the buzzer sounded. Marchand was called for the slash, which means he’ll be in the box for two minutes when the second period begins.
First period, 18:36, Senators 1-0: Milan Lucic, the physical version of the Bruins winger, is back in a big way.
Lucic just dropped the gloves with Chris Neil in what was one of the best fights we’ve seen all year. The two traded a bunch of punches before finally running out of steam.
First period, 16:59, Senators 1-0: The Senators haven’t had much of anything at all in the first period, yet they’re the first on the board.
Tuukka Rask made a save on a chance from Jean-Gabriel Pageau, but the Bruins goalie couldn’t corral the rebound. That allowed Erik Condra to sweep in and bang home the second chance to give Ottawa the 1-0 lead.
First period, 14:46, 0-0: It would be really good for the Bruins if they could get the Patrice Bergeron line clicking like it was a month ago as they get set to enter the playoffs.
That line just created a scoring chance at the end of a lengthy shift, and it was Bergeron who was able to gain control of the puck just long enough in front of the Ottawa net to pass it back to the slot for a streaking Tyler Seguin. The forward blasted a shot from the right slot, but he put it right in Robin Lehner’s chest.
First period, 10:21, 0-0: Kaspars Daugavins is trying to make the most out of his opportunities when he’s in the lineup, and he almost turned that into a goal. Daugavins’ backhanded attempt was turned away by Robin Lehner.
First period, 10:00, 0-0: The Bruins’ penalty kill, which had some issues against a very good power play in the Capitals on Saturday night, looked very good on their first chance to kill one off in this one.
Then again, the Sens didn’t really help themselves. However, the Bruins did do a good job of clearing the puck when they had the chance not letting Ottawa sustain much of anything on the power play.
First period, 7:25, 0-0: Now it’s going to be the Senators’ turn to go on the power play.
Carl Soderberg got his stick caught in a skate in the Ottawa zone, and the Bruins forward was called for tripping.
First period, 5:30, 0-0: The Bruins could not do anything with their first power play of the night. They were only able to get one shot on goal with the man-advantage, which resulted in an easy save for Robin Lehner.
First period, 2:53, 0-0: The Bruins will get the game’s first power play. Patrick Wiercioch was just called for hooking, and the Bruins are going on the man-advantage.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: The game is underway in the regular-season finale here at the Garden.
7:05 p.m: The Bruins just got done passing out their regular-season awards.
Patrice Bergeron won the Eddie Shore Award (exceptional hustle and determination) as well as the Elizabeth Dufresne Torphy (outstanding performance during home games, voted by Boston media).
Tuukka Rask, Bergeron and Tyler Seguin won the First, Second and Third Star awards respectively.
6:56 p.m.: As mentioned earlier, this could be a preview of the first-round playoff series. If it is, history favors the Bruins, but barely. This is the fifth game between the two teams. The Bruins have won all four of those, and all of those have been by one goal, with one coming in the shootout and another coming in overtime.
So while the B’s have held the obvious edge in terms of wins and losses, every game has been very competitive.
6:43 p.m.: The Bruins’ lineup looks to be the same, at least in terms of players in the lineup, but the line combinations look to be a little different.
Here’s what the B’s went with in pregame skate, with Kaspars Daugavins skating up with Milan Lucic and David Krejci as the notable change.
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Kaspars Daugavins
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Tyler Seguin
Carl Soderberg — Chris Kelly — Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton
We obviously won’t know for sure until things get underway here at the Garden, though.
6:33 p.m.: Tuukka Rask leads the Bruins out, meaning he’ll get his second start in as many nights. Robin Lehner, not Craig Anderson, will be in net for the Senators.
6:25 p.m.: One more time — until after the game that is — let’s take a look at the playoff scenarios.
If the Bruins win in regulation, they will win the Northeast Division and they will be the No. 2 seed. They would play the New York Islanders.
If the Bruins win in overtime or a shotout, the B’s will also win the Northeast Division (duh), and they will get the No. 2 seed, but they would play the Senators who would pick up a point in the losing effort.
If the Bruins lose — in regulation or overtime — the Canadiens win the division and the Bruins drop to the No. 4 seed. They would then play the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The more you know. Get all of the scenarios right here.
6:15 p.m.: Claude Julien just wrapped up his pregame media availability, and he revealed that Jaromir Jagr will miss this game. Jagr missed Saturday’s game as well with the flu, according to the club.
Nathan Horton remains out with an upper-body injury.
Here are the lines the B’s went with Saturday and will apparently go with once again in this one with the division title at stake.
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Rich Peverley
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Tyler Seguin
Carl Soderberg — Chris Kelly — Kaspars Daugavins
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton
6:05 p.m.: Good evening and welcome to TD Garden for the Bruins’ regular-season finale. Seems like just yesterday we were here for Bruins-Rangers on Jan. 19 for the season opener.
As I type, the Zamboni making its rounds around the TD Garden ice, a sheet that may be a little chippy for this one. The Celtics just finished up their game a little more than two hours ago, so the Bull Gang has been hard at work trying to get everything ready changing the basketball court over to the ice. All in all, a tremendous job done by everyone involved. But the weather is warm, and they just opened up the ice, so it may be a little soft.
8 a.m. ET: It all comes down to Sunday night for the Bruins and a handful of other Eastern Conference teams, as the B’s take on the Ottawa Senators in a rescheduled game.
The B’s and Sens were supposed to square off on April 15, but that was postponed due to the horrific events at the Boston Marathon. Now the two teams must play on the “new” final day of the season, the second of a back-to-back for both teams. The Bruins coughed up another third-period lead Saturday night in Washington, dropping an overtime decision to the Capitals. The Senators, meanwhile, fell to the Flyers in Ottawa.
The B’s ability to pick up a point against the Caps puts them in position to win the Northeast Division title with a win on Sunday. The Bruins need a win to wrap up the title, though, as an overtime loss won’t be enough to hold off the Canadiens who finished the season Saturday night. You can see all of the Eastern Conference first-round scenarios by clicking here.
While winning the division crown would be nice, the Bruins need a strong showing Sunday just to get going in the right direction headed into the playoffs. They were actually pretty good for two periods Saturday night, but the penalty kill fell apart in the third period, as the Bruins gave up two goals in the third before giving up another power-play tally in overtime.
Puck drop from the Garden is slated for 7 p.m. Sunday night.
