Final, Bruins 5-0: That’s it, and that’s all. The Bruins roll to an easy 5-0 win in their preseason finale, and they put the finishing touches on a 6-1 preseason record.
Third period, 17:19, Bruins 5-0: We don’t really know how long it will take Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand to find chemistry with their new linemate Loui Eriksson, but they showed signs of improvement here in the third.
Bergeron just scored his second goal in as many nights when he worked a give-and go with Eriksson before beating Al Montoya blocker side as he did Thursday night against Ondrei Pavelec. The other assist goes to Marchand there, so all three pick up a point on that goal.
Third period, 14:14, Bruins 4-0: Check that: Tuukka Rask has exactly 20 saves thus far.
There’s still no update on Carl Soderberg, either.
Third period, 13:00, Bruins 4-0: Tuukka Rask just made a save on Evander Kane, and the Boston goalie is up over 20 saves for the evening.
Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien just went down with some sort of left leg injury, and he was slow to get off the ice and down the tunnel. He needed help to get to the bench.
Third period, 10:00, Bruins 4-0: The Bruins were able to kill off the penalty.
However, Carl Soderberg was injured at some point, and he has gone back to the Boston dressing room.
Third period, 7:44, Bruins 4-0: Nick Johnson’s incredible preseason just continued here in the third period.
The journeyman forward just scored his fourth goal of the preseason with a shot from the top of the slot near the blue line after taking the pass from Johnny Boychuk.
Shortly after the ensuing faceoff, though, Matt Bartkowski was called for a penalty, and Winnipeg gets its third power play.
Third period, 6:30, Bruins 3-0: Al Montoya has given up three goals so far, but he’s also come up with some pretty big saves that have kept this game from turning into a laugher.
He just came up with another big save, this one on Chris Kelly. The Boston forward took a pass from Reilly Smith, who forced a turnover in the neutral zone before passing the puck ahead to Kelly before he was eventually stopped by Montoya.
Smith is apparently going to play well all the way through the preseason. He’s pretty much won a spot on the third line with his consistent play, and he’s having another real solid game tonight.
Third period, 3:00, Bruins 3-0: Tuukka Rask hasn’t been tested a ton so far, but he got his biggest challenge of the night and came up huge.
Rask denied Olli Jokinen after the veteran forward took a pass from James Wright that Rask turned away with a big-time pad save.
Third period, 0;01, Bruins 3-0: The third and final period of the preseason is underway.
End second period, Bruins 3-0: The Bruins weren’t able to get anything going on the power play, and they’re now 0-for-4 in this one on the man-advantage.
Bryan Little had a shorthanded scoring chance when he was able to dance around Zdeno Chara with a nifty move, but the Jets forward ended up missing the net, which is something they have done a lot of in this game.
The B’s will take the three-goal lead to the third period looking to finish the preseason on a winning note.
Second period, 17:05, Bruins 3-0: The Bruins are hoping the fourth time is the charm.
The B’s are going back on the power play because of a boarding call against Jim Slater.
Second period, 17:00, Bruins 3-0: The Jets are starting to make something of a push, but there’s still nothing to show for it. They’ve started to gain possession in the Boston end, but they can’t control it long enough to get anything going.
The few chances that Tuukka Rask has had, though, he’s been able to make the stops. He’s also getting help from the Bruins in front as they’re blocking shots. It’s not hurting the Bruins that the Jets are missing the net with high frequency as well.
Second period, 12:52, Bruins 3-0: Al Montoya just caught outside of the net, and when he fell down, things got much worse for the Winnipeg goalie.
Montoya tried to reverse the puck behind the net, but it was intercepted by Jordan Caron. His first shot was stopped by the goalie who was coming back to the crease, but he fell after the first shot and Caron was able to score the rebound to give Boston the 3-0 lead.
Second period, 11:00, Bruins 2-0: Nothing comes of the Bruins’ power play, either, and the game is back to even strength.
Second period, 9:15, Bruins 2-0: The Jets had some problems avoiding penalties on the power play Thursday night, and that has carried over to this one apparently.
Evander Kane was just called for interference, and it will be 4-on-4 for half a minute before a Boston power play.
Second period, 7:43, Bruins 2-0; The Bruins withstood the early second-period charge from Winnipeg, and the B’s are battling back as they look to push the lead to three. Al Montoya is having none of that, though.
The Winnipeg goalie just stoned Reilly Smith as the Boston forward tried to finish off a 2-on-1 with Carl Soderberg, as that line continues to click after Soderberg’s first-period goal.
However, the B’s penalty kill has to go back to work; Patrice Bergeron was just called for interference, and the Jets get their second power play of the period.
Second period, 4:00, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins were able to kill off the penalty with no real scoring chances from the Jets, although Winnipeg owned the puck for much of the man-advantage.
The B’s almost scored shortly after the penalty expired as Milan Lucic made a good pass across the slot to Jarome Iginla who had a wide-open net. It was a rare hiccup for the incredible goal-scorer, though, as he just flubbed on the opportunity and couldn’t get the Bruins the three-goal lead.
Second period, 1:57, Bruins 2-0: The Jets have come out with a strong start to the period getting a handful of shots on goal to open the second frame. The pressure is paying off, too. The Jets are about to go on the power play where they scored twice Thursday night.
Adam McQuaid was just called for tripping, and Winnipeg gets its first power play of the evening.
Second period, 0:01, Bruins 2-0: The second period is underway from Saskatoon with the Bruins leading 2-0.
End first period, Bruins 2-0: The first period has come to an end in Saskatoon with the Bruins leading 2-0.
The B’s obviously jumped out to that big lead with two goals in the first six minutes of the period, but the Jets started to turn things around a little bit after that, but they weren’t able to generate any real solid chances there in the first period.
The Jets did do a good job of killing off a double-minor to make sure the deficit remained at just two through 20 minutes.
First period, 14:58, Bruins 2-0: Nothing came of the 4-minute power play for the Bruins, but they did get a couple of solid chances.
The first came when Jarome Iginla was robbed by Al Montoya after some good puck movement on the first power-play unit. That unit was made up of the first line — Ryan Spooner included — and a defensive pairing of Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara.
Montoya came up with another save when he denied Johnny Boychuk his second goal of the game with a big pad save on another blast from the Boston defenseman.
First period, 10:58, Bruins 2-0: As if the Bruins’ start wasn’t quick enough, they’ll get the first power play. It’s a double-minor, so it will be a 4-minute power play for the B’s.
Adam Pardy just caught a Bruins player with a high-stick, and the Boston power play gets to work. This is pretty much the entire man-advantage unit aside from David Krejci.
First period, 10:00, Bruins 2-0: It’s been all Bruins in the early going, which could make for another “frustrating” night for Tuukka Rask. While it would obviously be nice for him to get the win, he’d also like to get some work in.
He wasn’t tested much Monday against Washington, and he actually expressed some frustration about not seeing many shots.
First period, 5:40, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins have gotten out to a very good start up in Saskatoon, and they now lead 2-0 over Winnipeg.
This time it was Johnny Boychuk who lit the lamp after he took a pass from Milan Lucic and blasted it by Al Montoya. Credit the second assist to Ryan Spooner, who is off to a nice start up on the first line in place of the injured David Krejci.
First period, 0:26, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins’ projected third line started the game, and they didn’t waste any time getting on the board.
Carl Soderberg was right there for a rebound on a Reilly Smith shot that hit the crossbar, and that continues a solid preseason for the Swedish forward.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: Finally, this game is underway.
9:06 p.m.: Here are the Bruins’ lines for this one.
Lucic-Spooner-Iginla
Marchand-Bergeron-Eriksson
Söderberg-Kelly-Smith
Caron-Campbell-Johnson
8:57 p.m.: Chad Johnson will be backing up Tuukka Rask. It will be interesting to see if Claude Julien gives Johnson any time in this one to get one last look at the potential backup netminder.
8:35 p.m.: Tuukka Rask will indeed get the start as he led the Bruins out for the pregame skate. Al Montoya will get the start for the Jets.
8:30 p.m.: It’s official that David Krejci will not be in the lineup for the Bruins against the Jets in the preseason finale for the B’s. Luckily for Boston the injury isn’t serious, and this is more of a precautionary move than anything else.
Ryan Spooner will be in the lineup, and he’ll center the Bruins’ top line in place of Krejci. So it will be Milan Lucic on Spooner’s left and Jarome Iginla on the right.
3 p.m.: The Bruins might be without top-line center David Krejci for the preseason finale. Krejci left morning skate with what the team is calling back spasms, and he’s questionable for the game against the Jets. If Krejci is unable to play, that could open the door for Ryan Spooner to jump in and center that line, which would give him one more good look before the final decisions on a roster are made.
Speaking of roster decisions, Shawn Thornton and Daniel Paille will sit Friday night. That’s in order to give Jordan Caron and Nick Johnson one more chance to make their case for a roster spot. They’ll be on the wings of the fourth line with Gregory Campbell in the middle.
1 p.m.: Friday is a good day. Not only does Friday signal the end of the work week, but Friday also signals the end of the preseason schedule for the Bruins, which means regular-season hockey around the corner.
There are still some decisions to be made in terms of the roster for opening night — the B’s open their schedule Thursday against Tampa Bay — and those players in limbo will could get their final chance to prove their worth Friday night. The Boston preseason schedule wraps up against the Winnipeg Jets with a game in Saskatoon. The two teams played Thursday night with the Bruins taking a 3-2 overtime on the strength of a Loui Eriksson game-winning goal.
Friday’s game is expected to be the final tune-up for Tuukka Rask who will probably get the start for Boston and is expected to play the entire game. Rask is hoping for a little bit more of a test than he got in his last start, which came Monday against Washington where he faced just 14 shots.
We’ll have the lineups for this one once they’re released. Puck drop is scheduled for 9 p.m. in Saskatoon.
