Final, Islanders 5-3: That’s all she wrote. One of the ugliest games of the season for the Bruins has come to an end, and they are a 5-3 loser to the lowly Islanders.
Third period, 19:00, Islanders 5-3: The Bruins looked to have had a chance in the final minute, but that was broken up at the New York net. It’s been that kind of night.
Third period, 16:03, Islanders 5-3: So much for that Bruins power play.
Milan Lucic just ended it when he took a boarding penalty. He didn’t agree with that assessment and earned himself an extra two for an unsportsmanlike penalty and then a game misconduct.
Third period, 14:35, Islanders 5-3: As bad as the Bruins have played, they still have a chance.
Brian Strait is going to the penalty box for hooking, and the Bruins are back on the power play.
Third period, 13:12, Islanders 5-3: The struggles for Tuukka Rask and the Bruins continue.
John Tavares just scored his second goal of the night, and it was another soft one as Tavares scored from the left faceoff circle.
Third period, 12:48, Islanders 4-3: The Bruins are going to have to kill off another penalty here midway through the third period.
Brad Marchand got tangled up with Colin McDonald after a play, and Marchand ends up getting the extra minor. So the Islanders will be 5-on-4 for two
Third period, 11:00, Islanders 4-3: If the Bruins are going to tie this game, it looks like the game-tying goal will have to come from the first line.
They have been the club’s best line, and they just had another solid shift. David Krejci tried to get it to Jarome Iginla in front, but Iginla couldn’t quite get control of the puck in front of the net with the puck at his skates.
Third period, 7:41, Islanders 4-3: Evgeni Nabokov hasn’t had to make many big saves to this point, but he just saved a couple of beauties for the Bruins’ first line.
Nabokov robbed Milan Lucic and David Krejci on separate possessions in the New York end. Sandwiched in between those scoring chances was one for the Islanders after John Tavares and Thomas Vanek worked the 2-on-1. Tavares fed it to Vanek, and Vanek tried to go back to Tavares, which was a regrettable decision, as it broke up the play.
Third period, 4:12, Islanders 4-3: Adam McQuaid just tried to inject some life into the Bruins by a little post-whistle grappling with Colin McDonald.
That all came after a near-scoring chance which was a product of a turnover in the offensive zone. The Isles would have had a breakaway, but Jarome Iginla hustled back on the back-check to break up the play. Regardless, the Bruins look out of sorts.
Third period, 0:32, Islander 4-3: And the Islanders have a lead.
John Tavares continued an impressive night, as he just scored his first goal of the game and registered his third point of the night. He took a pass from Thomas Vanek, and was able to get it on net from a bad angle along the goal line. Tuukka Rask got a piece of it, but he didn’t get enough as the puck beat him for the go-ahead goal.
Third period, 0:01, 3-3: The third period is underway.
End of second period, 3-3: The second period just came to a merciful end for the Bruins.
Second period, 19:57, 3-3: And it’s a tie hockey game.
The Bruins continue to look sloppy on the penalty kill, and it has cost them. Kyle Okposo just threw the puck on net from the corner, and Brad Marchand, who was back-checking in the slot, ended up deflecting it by Tuukka Rask.
Second period, 19:19, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins are going back ont he penalty kill. Tuukka Rask is the culprit for delay of game after putting the puck over the glass.
Second period, 18:33, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins killed off the Milan Lucic cross-checking penalty.
Second period, 16:33, Bruins 3-2: Milan Lucic was just given a cross-checking penalty on the whistle after the power-play goal, and the Bruins will have to kill off another penalty, just 3 seconds after giving up the PPG.
Second period, 16:30, Bruins 3-2: The Islanders are making the Bruins pay for unintelligent penalties.
Frans Nielsen just scored his second goal of the game, again on the power play, as he was able to just backhand a puck in the slot that kind of fluttered to the goal. Tuukka Rask couldn’t get from one post to the other in time, and while he got a piece of the puck, he couldn’t keep it out of the net.
Second period, 16:05, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins are going to have to kill off another penalty. Torey Krug was called for boarding, and the B’s will be shorthanded.
Second period, 12:57, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins are rolling now after a slow start to the period.
Zdeno Chara just scored his 10th goal of the season, as he beat Evgeni Nabokov glove side with a wrist shot from the left point. Nabokov had lost his stick on the play and got it back just in time to see Chara rip the Bruins’ third goal by him.
Second period, 12:33, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins’ power play continues to be a major asset for the B’s.
Patrice Bergeron just scored a power play goal on a one-timer from int he slot. Ryan Spooner got the pass to Bergeron who beat Evgeni Nabokov as Bergeron fired the shot from his back foot.
Second period, 10:47, 1-1:The Bruins are going on the power play again.
Reilly Smith was just boarded from behind by Calvin de Haan who is going to the penalty box for a boarding minor.
Second period, 8:20, 1-1: The Bruins’ first line continues to buzz, and it almost resulted in David Krejci’s second goal of the evening.
Jarome Iginla carried the puck into the attacking zone and put a quick shot on goal that Evgeni Nabokov stopped. Krejci and Milan Lucic crashed the net, and Krejci was the first to the loose puck, but he put a backhanded attempt over the net, just narrowly missing the top corner.
Second period, 5:56, 1-1: And it didn’t take long for the Islanders to make the penalty hurt.
Frans Nielsen took a shot from the top of the slot that beat Tuukka Rask with the help of a screen in front. There was some gorgeous passing from the Islanders on that play, and they have this game tied.
Second period, 5:28, Bruins 1-0: Now the Islanders are going to get a power play after some good work along the walls.
Matt Bartkowski was called for holding, and the Islanders will get a chance on the man-advantage.
Second period, 4:00, Bruins 1-0: The Islanders have come out with some jump in their step to begin the second period, which may have something to do with a questionable call in the first period.
The Bruins were given a gift on the puck that was loose in the crease. The play was apparently blown dead, but replays showed the puck had crossed teh line.
Second period, 0:01, Bruins 1-0: The second period is underway here at TD Garden.
End first period, Bruins 1-0: The first period just came to an end with Johnny Boychuk whistling a slap shot wide of the net, and the B’s take the 1-0 lead into the dressing room.
First period, 16:00, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins have killed off the penalty to Jordan Caron, and we are back to even strength.
First period, 15:25, Bruins 1-0: The Islanders came close to scoring after a loose puck was in the Boston crease. Tuukka Rask had no idea where it was, but the play was eventually blown dead.
It was reviewed and upheld as no goal.
First period, 13:49, Bruins 1-0: The Islanders will now get their chance on the power play.
Jordan Caron is the guilty Bruin as he’s being sent off for holding.
First period, 13:00, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins’ power play is over, and they have nothing to show for it.
The B’s weren’t able to do much of anything against the 29th-ranked penalty kill.
First period, 10:52, Bruins 1-0: Cal Clutterbuck is going to the penalty box for roughing, which means the Bruins will get the first power play of the game.
First period, 9:00, Bruins 1-0: The Islanders’ early advantage in shots on goal has quickly evaporated. After holding that 4-1 lead in shots on goal earlier, the Bruins are now outshooting New York 10-5.
Here’s another note following the David Krejci goal. He as well as linemates Milan Lucic and David Krejci now have five-game point streaks.
First period, 4:25, Bruins 1-0: David Krejci has goal No. 100 of his career.
Jarome Iginla put a shot on goal with Krejci in the slot. The Iginla shot was stopped by Evgeni Nabokov, but Krejci was there to jump on the rebound. He whiffed at the initial attempt, but his second try was a good one as he batted it by Nabokov for the game’s first goal.
First period, 3:30, 0-0: Not a whole lot going on in the first few minutes, especially for the Bruins’ offense.
The Islanders have four of the game’s first five shots, the latest of which was a heavy wrist shot off of the stick of Colin McDonald that Tuukka Rask was able to glove with relative ease to keep it scoreless early on.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: The game is underway. Hockey time.
6:45 p.m.: No real surprises when it comes to the Bruins lines and defensive pairs. Zdeno Chara is indeed back in the Boston lineup, and he will be paired with Johnny Boychuk. The rest of the B’s defensive corps consists of Adam McQuaid, Torey Krug, Matt Bartkowski and Kevan Miller.
It appears as if Nick Johnson will be the third-line left winger.
Here are the rest of the projected lines.
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Reilly Smith
Nick Johnson — Ryan Spooner — Matt Fraser
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Jordan Caron
Zdeno Chara — Johnny Boychuk
Torey Krug — Adam McQuaid
Matt Bartkowski — Kevan Miller
6:30 p.m.: Pregame warmups are underway, and the Bruins will start Tuukka Rask in goal, which is what we expected, and Evgeni Nabokov gets the start for the Islanders.
5:45 p.m.: Good evening and welcome into TD Garden where we’ve spent so many nights during this calendar year, so what’s one more before we turn the page and look to 2014?
On the surface, this would seem to be a fairly pedestrian game, and you won’t find an argument about that from this keyboard. Sometimes these are the nights you end up getting your best games, and hopefully this is one of those instances.
Onto the game notes.
David Krejci scored Friday night against the Ottawa Senators. It was the 99th goal of his NHL career, and that means his next tally will be the 100th of his career. That does not count the playoffs.
The Bruins have a combined special teams rank of ninth in the NHL as they are sixth on the power play and third in penalty kill. The only team with a better combined special teams ranking is Pittsburgh who has a combined ranking of three (first in power play, second in PK).
The B’s come in with an eight-game home winning streak. They are 13-0-2 in their last 15 games at TD Garden, and haven’t lost in regulation at home since Oct. 26. It’s the club’s longest home winning streak since 2008-09 when they won 14 in a row at home, and this is the longest unbeaten streak since the B’s went 20-0-3 in 1982-83.
The Bruins are wearing their third jerseys for this one. They’re 4-1-0 in games they wear those sweaters.
2:15 p.m.: There are just a few years left in 2013, and the Bruins will spend a few of them by doing what they have done a lot of this calendar year: playing hockey.
The B’s will wrap up what was an insanely busy and eventful 2013 with one more game when they host the New York Islanders on Tuesday night at TD Garden. According to Bruins media relations, Tuesday night’s game against the Isles will be the Bruins’ 110th game of the calendar year. The jam-packed 48-game schedule following the lockout and the run to the 2013 Stanley Cup Final obviously played a big role in that. The game against New York on Tuesday will mark the club’s 40th game of the 2013-14 season.
This one will also be a change for the Bruins to exact some revenge. They suffered one of their worst losses of the seasons to the Islanders, as they dropped a 3-1 decision on Long Island back on Nov. 2. It was flat, lethargic performance in which the Bruins left backup goalie Chad Johnson out to dry as he was under siege against the Islanders. It appears as if Tuukka Rask will be tasked with trying to help the B’s even the season series. Rask was the first goalie off the ice at morning skate. That morning skate took place at Ristuccia Arena in Wilimington, Mass., with the Celtics playing a New Year’s Eve matinee as part of a doubleheader at TD Garden.
The B’s are also looking to bounce back after a disappointing loss in Ottawa on Saturday night. That loss did come in part due to a depleted defensive corps. Dennis Seidenberg was lost for the season with a knee injury suffered last Friday night, and Zdeno Chara was a late gametime scratch with an undisclosed injury of his own. Chara will be back in the lineup Tuesday night against the Islanders, the Bruins captain declared following morning skate. He’ll likely be joined by Kevan Miller, as the defenseman was called up in advance of the game.
Bruins winger Carl Soderberg is expected to miss his second straight game with concussion-like symptoms, and he’ll be replaced by Nick Johnson who was called up yet again prior to Tuesday’s game.
Puck drop from the Garden is slated for 7 p.m.
