Final, Bruins 4-1: That’s it, and that’s all. The Bruins coast to the 4-1 win and now head out to the West Coast for a road trip.
Third period, 16:00, Bruins 4-1: Just before the Stuart-McQuaid fight, Torey Krug appeared to suffer some sort of injury. He hasn’t taken a shift since then, so that’s something we’ll have to keep an eye on.
Third period, 13:40, Bruins 4-1: The fisticuffs aren’t done quite yet.
Adam McQuaid and Mark Stuart just dropped the gloves in what was this game’s third fight. McQuaid spilled Stuart along the boards by the Boston blue line and got up and looked to go with the Boston defenseman. McQuaid obliged, and they proceeded to trade some big right hands in a feisty scrap.
Third period, 9:59, Bruins 4-1: Reilly Smith pretty much always finds himself in the right place at the right time, and that just led to his 15th goal of the season.
Smith crashed the net as Brad Marchand took a shot from the right wing. The puck dribbled through Ondrej Pavelec, and Smith was right there to jam it home and push the Bruins’ lead to three.
Third period, 7:30, Bruins 3-1: Nothing doing on the power play for the Bruins.
The B’s second unit, which has perfected the back-door play this season, came really close to converting again with the same play. However, Reilly Smith couldn’t finish around the net, and the ame remains 3-1 in favor of Boston.
Third period, 5:07, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins are going to get another power play.
Tobias Enstrom was just called for tripping, and the Boston man-advantage is back to work.
Third period, 1:30, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins have killed off Dougie Hamilton’s slashing penalty.
Third period, 0:01, Bruins 3-1: The third period is underway.
End second period, Bruins 3-1: The second period just came to an end after some more pressure from the Jets in the Boston end.
Dustin Byfuglien blasted a shot from the right point that Tuukka Rask made a kick save on to keep the lead intact.
The Bruins will, however, have to kill off the bulk of a penalty to begin the third. Dougie Hamilton was called for slashing in the final minute of the period.
Second period, 16:30, Bruins 3-1: Tuukka Rask just came up with a couple of big saves after a pretty strong surge from the Jets.
Mark Schiefele had a great chance in front, but that was stopped by Rask who looks locked in at this point as he’s trying to hold that two-goal lead.
Second period, 13:49, Bruins 3-1: There was just a scramble in front of the Boston net that ended up with another puck over the glass off of the stick of a Jets player.
Despite that, they have put the puck on net quite a bit so far. They’re actually outshooting Boston 24-20 so far in what has been a nice bounce-back game for Tuukka Rask. Despite allowing the early goal to Dustin Byfuglien, Rask has been sharp in this one.
Second period, 12:30, Bruins 3-1: As expected, Torey Krug has been credited with the Bruins’ third goal, his second of the game.
Second period, 7:18, Bruins 3-1: There was some concern about whether Torey Krug would play in this game. He’s playing, of course, and he’s making a big difference.
The defenseman just stepped around a Jets player at the top of the zone, and he put it at the net. The puck was deflected in front. It sure looked like Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba deflected it, but Carl Soderberg is going to get credited with that goal.
Second period, 6:50, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins almost made it 3-1, but they couldn’t quite convert on a great chance.
Brad Marchand and Reilly Smith had something of a 2-on-1 rush that ended when Marchand fed Smith who was driving hard toward the net. The play was just broken up at the last second. The deflection went back to Marchand on the wing, but he couldn’t get good wood on a second-chance from on the goal line.
Second period, 3:08, Bruins 2-1: Justin Florek came within inches of scoring his first NHL goal, but despite the miss, the Bruins were eventually able to grab the lead.
Florek just missed a tip-in chance in front of the net, but the B’s were able to keep the puck in the zone. The puck got back to Torey Krug who blasted a shot from the left point to beat Ondrej Pavelec. The goalie didn’t have much of a chance with three bodies in front, including Florek who stuck with the play.
Second period, 2:20, 1-1: The Jets have come out and generated some chances in the early minutes of the second period.
Devin Setoguchi just had a chance in front of the net, but he ended up lifting the puck over the crossbar in what was a pretty good scoring opportunity for the veteran winger.
Second period, 0:01, 1-1: The second period has begun.
End first period, 1-1: That’s going to do it for the first period, and the two teams are going to the dressing rooms tied 1-1.
The Bruins held a 10-9 advantage in shots on goal.
First period, 18:15, 1-1: David Krejci is playing some wonderful hockey, and that almost got the Bruins the lead.
Krejci danced into the zone with some incredible stickhandling before passing it to Jarome Iginla who was coming down the right wing. Iginla put the shot on goal and tried to go five-hole, but Ondrej Pavelec made the save.
First period, 14:06, 1-1: Daniel Paille was moved to the off wing prior to this one, and it’s paid off so far.
Paille just scored his sixth goal of the season, and he has tied the game. Paille took a gorgeous pass from Torey Krug and one-timed it by Ondrej Pavelec from the right faceoff circle to tie the game.
First period, 10:54, Jets 1-0: The Bruins are playing from behind now.
Dustin Byfuglien just made a great play, as he carried the puck into the zone on the right wing. Torey Krug cut off the middle of the ice, which led Byfuglien to take the shot from the wing. That was stopped by Tuukka Rask, but the rebound was gathered by the Jets defenseman.
He carried it around the net and back to the slot where he ripped a wrist shot that beat Tuukka Rask for the game’s first goal.
First period, 7:53, 0-0: With two regular penalty killers in the box, the Bruins did a good job of killing off the Daniel Paille penalty. The B’s allowed just one shot on goal, and the game is back to even strength as the game heads to its first TV timeout.
First period, 5:51, 0-0: Just as soon as we get back to even strength, we have another penalty.
This one goes to the Bruins, as Daniel Paille was called for goaltender interference after plowing over Ondrej Pavelec. There wasn’t much Paille could do there as he crashed the net and spilled Pavelec, and there wasn’t much the referee could do other than call that penalty.
First period, 5:40, 0-0: The Bruins’ power play is over with nothing to show for the man-advantage.
The B’s had Gregory Campbell down low on that man-advantage with Zdeno Chara in the penalty box.
First period, 3:31, 0-0: Now the Bruins will get their first power play.
Jacob Trouba was just called for hooking, and the B’s get their first man-advantage.
First period, 3:18, 0-0: It’s fight day at the Garden so far.
Just after the puck drops following the Thorburn-Chara fight, Bruins winger Matt Fraser just dropped the gloves with James Wright in the second fight in two seconds of game time.
That one was a pretty good one with some big blows landing.
First period, 3:16, 0-0: Apparently the Jets took exception to that Zdeno Chara hit on Blake Wheeler.
Chris Thorburn just sought out the Bruins captain and Chara obliged. It was a quick scrap, but it sent the message.
First period, 2:30, 0-0: The Bruins have killed their first penalty, thanks in part to a Tuukka Rask glove save late in the kill.
First period, 0:22, 0-0: The Bruins will have to kill off the game’s first penalty.
Zdeno Chara just caught Blake Wheeler with what was deemed a high hit, and the Boston captain will sit for two minutes for roughing.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: And we’re off.
12:40 p.m.: Warmups are ongoing here at TD Garden, and to no one’s surprise, Tuukka Rask will be in net for the Bruins. He had Thursday off and the B’s have two days off after this one as they head out west, so no surprises there. Ondrej Pavelec will get the start for Winnipeg.
It appears as if Torey Krug will be good to go. He didn’t appear to have any issues during pregame warmups, and he took his skate with Adam McQuaid. So unless he’s in some bad pain that he’s hiding, he should be good to go. It also looks as if Justin Florek will be on the fourth-line left wing. That’s usually Daniel Paille’s spot, which means Paille is going to be playing on his off wing on the left wing.
Here are the rest of the Bruins’ projected lines and D-pairs.
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Reilly Smith
Carl Soderberg — Ryan Spooner — Matt Fraser
Justin Florek — Gregory Campbell — Jordan Caron
Zdeno Chara — Dougie Hamilton
Torey Krug — Adam McQuaid
Matt Bartkowski — Johnny Boychuk
12:20 p.m.: Good afternoon, and welcome to TD Garden where the Bruins and Jets will play hockey in about an hour. It’s cold inside the building, although not nearly as cold as outside, so we should have a good sheet of ice this afternoon.
A big questions surrounds whether Torey Krug will be on that ice when the game starts. Krug is nursing some sort of ailment, which was enough to get him a maintenance day at practice Friday. Bruins coach Claude Julien said a few minutes ago that Krug will be a gametime decision for this one. The defenseman will take part in pregame warmups and the decision will be made after that.
One Bruins player who will be out against Winnipeg is Jordan Caron. The fourth-liner is experiencing some back pain, and he will get the afternoon off. That opens the door for Justin Florek. The 23-year-old forward was recalled from Providence shortly before the game, and he’s expected to make his NHL debut against the Jets.
8 a.m.: The Bruins have what’s sure to be a difficult West Coast road trip looming, but before they head out West, they have some business to take care of on Saturday afternoon.
The B’s will host the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon at the Garden in their final home game before they head out on a three-game California road trip next week. Saturday’s matinee action will mark the Bruins’ first look at the Jets this season after Winnipeg moved to the Western Conference in the offseason as part of the league’s realignment plan.
The Jets are in the middle of a three-game road trip that began Thursday night in Ottawa. That was a rough night for the Jets, as they saw their three-game winning streak snapped and then ran into some travel issues. They weren’t able to travel following the game because of the winter storm that hit Boston on Thursday and into Friday. Despite those issues, the Jets have been playing better as of late. They’re just 5-5-0 in their last 10 games, which includes that three-game winning streak. Winnipeg still has some ground to make up if they’re going to squeeze into the Western Conference playoff picture.
The Bruins, of course, have no such issues at the moment. The B’s snapped a mini two-game skid on Thursday night with an overtime win over the Nashville Predators. The Bruins are still among the Eastern Conference’s best teams, and the win over Nashville marked a stretch of five straight games against Western Conference foes. The B’s are now 7-2-2 against the West this season and will look to add a win to that against Winnipeg.
Puck drop on Saturday afternoon from the Garden is slated for 1 p.m.
