Final, Bruins 5-0: That’s it, and that’s all.
The Bruins take the first half of this home-and-home with a 5-0 win.
Third period, 19:33, Bruins 5-0: Make it five.
Brad Marchand finally cashes in, and he scores a shorthanded goal on a breakaway to make it a laugher.
Third period, 19:04, Bruins 4-0: The Bruins will have to kill off a penalty to end this one.
Adam McQuaid just picked up an interference penalty, and Ottawa is up a man.
Third period, 17:26, Bruins 4-0:Â The Reilly Smith Show continues.
The Bruins forward just took advantage of a loose puck in the slot, and he buried it to give the B’s a 4-0 lead. That’s No. 14 this year for him.
Third period, 16:00, Bruins 3-0: The Bruins’ recent run of good luck when it comes to injury may have just ended.
The injury issues may be back, as Dennis Seidenberg just took an awkward stumble and appeared to have injured his right knee. He limped back to the bench and then down the tunnel.
Third period, 15:30, Bruins 3-0: Brad Marchand almost made it 4-0.
The winger got free int he slot and took a gorgeous centering pass from Patrice Bergeron before trying to deke Robin Lehner out of his pads. It actually worked, as Marchand had Lehner on the ice, but the Boston forward couldn’t lift the puck and the goalie made the save.
Third period, 10:25, Bruins 3-0: It’s Reilly Smiths’ world right now, and we’re all just living in it.
The Bruins forward just scored his fourth goal in three games, and it was thanks in big part to Brad Marchand. The two forwards executed the 2-on-1 to perfection as Marchand waited out the Ottawa defenseman before firing a no-look pass across the slot that Smith buried.
Smith now leads the league in goals.
Third period, 9:00, Bruins 2-0: Milan Lucic just lumbered out of the penalty box, and the Bruins are back to even strength after killing off his cross-checking penalty.
Third period, 6:59, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins couldn’t really get anything going on that power play, and their streak of successful power plays has come to an end at four.
Just 10 seconds after the power play expired, Milan Lucic was called for cross-checking, and he gets an all expenses paid trip to the penalty box for two minutes.
Third period, 4:49, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins are going to get another power play here, and high sticking is again the call.
This time, it’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau who went in for a big hit on Johnny Boychuk in the Boston end and ended up catching the Boston defenseman with a stick up high.
Third period, 0:38, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins couldn’t have started the third period any better.
David Krejci was denied on a breakaway, but Robin Lehner wasn’t able to kill the play, and that ended up costing him. The puck eventually went back to the point where it was shot intentionally wide by Matt Bartkowski, and Krejci jumped on the carom from the right wing to beat Lehner to give Boston the 2-0 lead.
Third period, Bruins 1-0: The third period is underway with the Bruins looking to add to their 1-0 lead.
End second period, Bruins 1-0: The second period just came to an end with another flurry from the Bruins, and they will take a 1-0 lead to the dressing room.
The Bruins outshot Ottawa 20-8 in the second period, and they are now holding a 25-23 advantage in shots on goal through two periods.
Second period, 16:59, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins’ power play continues to produce.
Jarome Iginla just scored his second power-play goal in as many games and it gives Boston the game’s first goal. Torey Krug wound up and blasted one from the point that caught Chris Philips in the leg. The puck went straight to Iginla who beat Robin Lehner five-hole for the tally.
Second period, 14:59, 0-0: The Bruins are about to get their first power play of the game.
Jared Cowen just caught Reilly Smith with a high stick, and the B’s get their first crack with the man-advantage.
Second period, 13:54, 0-0: The Bruins just had a great chance courtesy of the fourth line.
Daniel Paille was able to keep the puck in the zone along the wall and got it to Zdeno Chara. The Boston defenseman walked into the slot and found Jordan Caron on the right wing. Caron one-timed it, but Robin Lehner was able to go across the crease to make the save.
Second period, 12:40, 0-0:Â The 4-on-4 play, which was pretty much dominated by the Bruins, just came to an end. We’re back to even strength.
Second period, 10:26, 0-0: We’re going to be 4-on-4 for the next two minutes.
Reilly Smith caught Erik Kondra with a high stick, and it looked like the Senators would have a power play. That wasn’t the case, however, as soon as Jean-Gabriel Pageau went after Smith for some reason and earned a roughing minor. Stupid penalty for Pageau.
Second period, 7:48, 0-0: It hasn’t been the best showing for the Bruins’ first line in this one, and the Senators just put that threesome on its heels in the Boston zone.
Otttawa has withstood the Bruins’ charge to begin the period, and they have evened the ice in the last couple of minutes.
Second period, 5:00, 0-0: The Bruins’ third line, the Ryan Spooner line, has been fantastic lately, and they’re continuing that here in the second period.
Matt Fraser just nearly gave the B’s the lead with a backhander to the left of Robin Lehner, but Fraser hit the inside of the post and the puck kicked out into the slot and no one was there to jump on it for the Bruins.
Second period, 2:03, 0-0: Claude Julien got his message across in the locker room during the first intermission apparently.
The Bruins, after putting just five shots on goal in the first period, have four shots on goal in the first two minutes of the the second period.
Second period, 0:01, 0-0: The second period is now underway.
End first period. 0-0:Â The first period just came to an end, and there is no score. The Senators had a much better period, though, as they were able to outshoot Boston 15-5.
First period, 18:35, 0-0: The Bruins appeared to have a chance when Robin Lehner attempted to try and grab a puck that was at the top of his left faceoff circle. He couldn’t beat Brad Marchand to the puck, however, as Marchand tipped the puck by Lehner and into the corner,
The Senators, though, did a good job of back-checking, and they were back quick enough to make sure Marchand couldn’t get a good look at the empty net nor could he pass it to Reilly Smith who jumped up to join the play.
First period, 17:00, 0-0: Now is a good time to mention that the Bruins are being outshot 12-4 here in the first period. It has not been pretty whatsoever.
Luckily for the Bruins, Tuukka Rask has been on his game for the most part.
First period, 14:57, 0-0: Zdeno Chara almost got caught making what would have been a costly pinch.
The big defenseman pinched down the left side, and it almost came back to burn him. The Sens quickly transitioned before Chara could get back, and Kyle Turris carried the puck into the Boston zone and put a shot on net. Tuukka Rask made the save, but he left a somewhat juicy rebound on the other wing that Erik Karlsson tried to put back, but the goalie made the save on that as well.
First period, 11:53, 0-0: Things have started to pick up midway through the first period.
Cory Conacher had a great chance for the Senators when he came barreling down the left wing before cutting to the slot and getting a backhanded chance off against Tuukka Rask. The Bruins goalie made the save and quickly pushed the puck up ice, and the B’s were off on a 2-on-1 rush with Reilly Smith and Brad Marchand. The puck eventually got up to Marchand who came in down the right wing and put a shot at net, but he rang the post. The winger put his hands in the air to celebrate, but it was clearly no goal.
First period, 8:15, 0-0: The Bruins were able to kill off the Brad Marchand high sticking penalty, as they held Ottawa without a shot on the man-advantage.
Marchand got a near chance coming out of the box, but the puck was just ahead of him, and the B’s miss the chance for an odd-man rush.
First period, 6:07, 0-0: The Senators are going to get the game’s first power play.
Brad Marchand just carried the puck into the offensive zone and got a little careless with his stick, and he ended up catching a Senator up high for the penalty.
It’s been a very, very sleepy start to this one, which is maybe to be expected for the first game back from a three-day break. The Senators do hold a 3-2 advantage in shots on goal.
First period, 0:25, 0-0: Just 25 seconds in, the Senators get their first scoring chance.
Clarke MacCarthur was able to get free coming in the back door in front of the Bruins’ net, and his shot was stopped by Tuukka Rask. Not the ideal start for the Bruins not named Tuukka Rask.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: The game is underway.
6:45 p.m.: The Bruins have gone through their pregame paces, and it doesn’t look like there will be any changes from morning skate when it comes to the lines and D-pairings.
Daniel Paille is back, and that’s bad news for Nick Johnson, who appears to be the healthy scratch. He’ll be joined by Matt Bartkowski and Chad Johnson, as they’ll be scratched as well apparently.
Here are the projected lines for the Bruins.
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Reilly Smith
Carl Soderberg — Ryan Spooner — Matt Fraser
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Jordan Caron
Zdeno Chara — Torey Krug
Dennis Seidenberg — Johnny Boychuk
Adam McQuaid — David Warsofsky
6:35 p.m.: The two teams have taken the ice for pregame warmups, and Tuukka Rask will start in goal for the Bruins, with Robin Lehner getting the starting nod for the the Sens.
Niklas Svedberg is on the ice for the Bruins and will be the backup goalie, and he’s wearing No. 72. Speaking of sweaters, the Bruins are wearing their alternate third jerseys for this one.
6 p.m.: Good evening and welcome into TD Garden where the Bruins and Senators are about an hour away from playing hockey.
Senators coach Paul MacLean said some very nice things about the Bruins earlier in the day when he talked about how the B’s are consistently a tough team to play against.
“Well we think we have to do our due diligence to see who is doing well for them but they’re a team that plays — they’re hard to play against because they play the same way all the time, they play it all the time and they just stick to it and stick to it and that’s something we admire, or I do as a coach, that a team can play that way. That’s what we aspire to get to is we can get that good for that long and that consistently.”
That, of course, brings us into our next point. The Bruins have won 13 of their last 16 games against the Senators, which means the Sens have gotten a good firsthand look at just how consistent the B’s can be. However, the Senators have won their last two against Boston, including a win in Ottawa earlier this season, which snapped Boston’s 11-game winning streak in Canada’s capital city.
1:30 p.m.: The presents are being returned, the trees are heading out to the front curb and the NHL is set to return from its holiday break. The Bruins and Senators will be among a handful of NHL teams getting back to work Friday night.
Boston and Ottawa will return from a league-wide, three-day layoff when the Atlantic Division rivals open a home-and-home, back-to-back set at TD Garden. The teams will meet again Saturday night in Ottawa.
The Bruins will take the ice Friday night with Daniel Paille, who will make his first appearance since Dec. 8 when he suffered a head injury against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The winger ended up with concussion-like symptoms. Paille had registered three goals and two assists on the B’s fourth line in 30 games before being injured.
Another lineup change will be the addition of goalie Niklas Svedberg. The rookie netminder was recalled from Providence on Friday morning, and Claude Julien announced following the morning skate that Svedberg would be the backup goalie Friday night. That sends Chad Johnson, who has done a nice job backing up Tuukka Rask, to the press box. Svedberg is expected to get some playing time at some point in the coming days.
That won’t come Friday, though, unless it’s mop-up duty or because of injury. Rask was the first goalie off the ice at morning skate and should be in net for the B’s. Robin Lehner is expected to start for the Senators.
Puck drop from the Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m.
