Final, Bruins 7-2: That’s it, and that’s all. The Bruins absolutely hammer the Senators, and they head into the break on a very good note.
Third period, 16:57, Bruins 7-2: This is silly.
Carl Soderberg just joined the fun, and he scored to give the Bruins a 7-2 lead. This is now the Bruins’ biggest offensive outburst of the season.
Third period, 15:05, Bruins 6-2: The Senators have cut it to four and are now ready to mount their comeback.
Patrick Wiercioch just scored on the power play, and the Sens are in striking distance.
Third period, 14:06, Bruins 6-1: The Bruins will have to kill off a penalty for anyone out there who is still interested.
Gregory Campbell is about to serve two for interference.
Third period, 11:20, Bruins 6-1: The Bruins didn’t score on the power play.
The B’s used a handful of unusual suspects on the power play with the five-goal advantage. Gregory Campbell, Shawn Thornton, Chris Kelly and Kevan Miller all saw extended power-play time during that man-advantage.
Third period, 9:14, Bruins 6-1: The Bruins are going back on the power play.
Cory Conacher is the guilty party after he was tangled up with Torey Krug. The two fell to the ice, which is where Conacher used Krug to get up and then shoved the Bruins defenseman down on the ice a couple of times. That was enough to earn a roughing penalty.
Third period, 8:26, Bruins 6-1: Make it a six-pack for the Bruins.
Brad Marchand just added another Boston goal as he redirected a pass from Reilly Smith by Craig Anderson to make it a five-goal game.
Third period, 8:09, Bruins 5-1: The Senators are apparently getting frustrated. Chad Johnson made a save to keep it a four-goal game, and was then fallen on by some Senators.
That led to some pushing and shoving after the play.
Third period, 3:35, Bruins 5-1: That’s the afternoon for Craig Anderson, who never really had a chance.
Milan Lucic just scored to push the Boston lead to 5-1, and that chases the Senators goal from the game.
Robin Lehner is the new Ottawa goalie.
Third period, 0:01, Bruins 4-1: The third period is underway.
End second period, Bruins 4-1: The second period has come to an end, and the Bruins are holding a commanding 4-1 lead.
Second period, 18:18, Bruins 4-1: Just a little more than a minute after the Senators get on board, the Bruins respond.
Jarome Iginla just scored his 17th goal of the season after camping out in front of the net before one-timing a shot by Craig Anderson on a pass from David Krejci.
Iginla was standing in front of the net undefended for what felt like an entire minute.
Second period, 17:15, Bruins 3-1: There goes Chad Johnson’s shutout streak.
Bobby Ryan just beat the Bruins goalie five-hole with a shot from the left wing, and the Senators are finally on the board.
Second period, 13:20, Bruins 3-0: The Bruins’ power play has come to an end, and the B’s were unable to convert.
Second period, 11:15, Bruins 3-0: THe Bruins are going to get another power play.
Cory Conacher was just called for hooking, and the B’s get another man-advantage.
Second period, 8:04, Bruins 3-0: The Bruins’ penalty is over, and they have killed off another power play.
The B’s almost added a shorthanded goal when Brad Marchand won a race to the puck in the Ottawa zone. He maneuvered around the Ottawa players and then fed Patrice Bergeron in the slot, but Craig Anderson made the save.
Second period, 5:42, Bruins 3-0: Chris Kelly is going back to the penalty box, and this time it’s for holding.
The Bruins will try to kill off another Ottawa power play.
Second period, 4:55, Bruins 3-0: The Bruins are in control now, and the Senators show no signs of doing anything about it.
Patrice Bergeron just scored his second goal of the game as he turned the Ottawa defense into a bunch of pylons. Bergeron walked right around Senators players who would rather be doing anything but playing defense. Bergeron finished at the net, and Boston has a commanding three-goal lead.
Second period, 3:01, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins were not able to do anything with the power play, and the two teams are back to even strength.
Second period, 0:56, Bruins 2-0: Shortly after the Bruins kill off the Chris Kelly penalty, they get a power play of their own.
Milan Michalek is going to the box for tripping after he took down Torey Krug on a potential 2-on-1, and the B’s will look to make it 2-for-2 on the man-advantage.
Second period, 0:45, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins killed off what was left of the Chris Kelly penalty.
Second period, 0:01, Bruins 2-0: The second period is underway.
End first period, Bruins 2-0: The first period has come to an end, although it never really started for the Senators, who didn’t show much in the opening frame.
Either way, the B’s have a 2-0 lead in addition to outshooting the Sens 11-6 in the first period.
First period, 18:44, Bruins 2-0: The Senators, who have been lifeless today, are going to get a power play.
Chris Kelly was just called for hooking.
First period, 17:18, Bruins 2-0: Kevan Miller can throw a punch or two.
The Bruins defenseman just fed Zack Smith a bunch of big, heavy right hands as the two dropped the gloves in the Boston zone. Miller got the takedown for good measure.
First period, 16:26, Bruins 2-0: Chris Kelly has given the Bruins a 2-0 lead.
Kelly just scored his first goal since Oct. 19 as he tipped a pass from David Warsofsky by Craig Anderson. Kelly was able to outhustle the Senators to the net, and then he took the pass from Warsofsky and just got a piece of it to beat the Ottawa goalie.
First period, 11:36, Bruins 1-0: Patrice Bergeron looks to be ready for Sochi.
The Team Canada forward just scored the Bruins’ first goal of the game, and it came on the power play. Bergeron entered the Ottawa zone and took a pass from Carl Soderberg that was a little bit ahead of Bergeron. He was able to slow the puck just enough before batting it by Craig Anderson for the game’s first goal.
First period, 10:26, 0-0: This game is still scoreless and still short on any real action, but the Bruins are going to try and change that as they’ll get the first power play.
Erik Condra is in the penalty box for tripping after taking down Reilly Smith as the forward tried to carry the puck deep into the Ottawa zone.
First period, 6:33, 0-0: We’ve reached the first TV timeout, and to be honest, there’s not a ton going on right now.
The Bruins are outshooting the Senators 4-2 in the early going, and the B’s just had their best chance of the game. Chris Kelly got far enough behind the defense to get a chance to one-time a bouncing puck from about 20 feet away, but Craig Anderson made a nice glove save to keep Kelly off the board.
The Bruins did have a couple of effective shifts in the last few minutes from both the first and fourth lines that they’ll look to build off of.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: And we’re off. The game is underway.
2:30 p.m.: Pregame warmups are underway, and Chad Johnson will be the Bruins starting goalie.
2 p.m.: Good afternoon and welcome into TD Garden where we’re just an hour or so away from getting underway in the final game before the Olympic break.
Ottawa head coach Paul MacLean just addressed the media, and according to the Senators’ official Twitter account, Craig Anderson will be in net for the Sens.
Bruins coach Claude Julien, as is his custom, would not announce his goaltender, despite the fact that we’ll all find out in 30 minutes. So stay tuned.
11:30 a.m.: The majority of the Boston Bruins are real close to getting a little two-week, in-season break. Before they get there, however, they have some business to take care of.
The B’s will close out their pre-Olympic break schedule on Saturday afternoon when they host the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden. It is the final game before the league breaks for the Winter Olympics with players across the league heading to Sochi to participate in the hockey tournament.
Before that happens, though, the Bruins will look to head into the break on a winning note. They have already done a nice job leading up to the break, as they enter Saturday’s game on a 7-1-2 run in their last 10 games. The Bruins will be looking to bounce back after an overtime loss Thursday to the St. Louis Blues, a game that the B’s scratched and clawed for a point despite trailing 2-0 in the third period.
“I think our guys have done a really nice job,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said after practice Friday. “We’re 7-1-2 I think at this point. Even [Thursday], to me, we should be at eight wins. We really played well and I thought we had as good of an opportunity to win that game as any. There was a tremendous amount of effort and focus.”
That’s been even more impressive given the fact that the Bruins continue to play with a banged-up defensive corps. The B’s were even more shorthanded Thursday and will be on Saturday as well with captain Zdeno Chara already in Russia where he was Slovakia’s flag bearer for the opening ceremonies.
“From the back end, we’re missing a lot of key elements there and it didn’t seem to matter. I’m hoping to see the same thing tomorrow. The same kind of effort from everybody and if we can finish with that type of a game, there’s a pretty good chance we’re going to win. It’s a good opportunity for us to leave on a positive note. I always find those things are important to leave on a positive note and feel good about ourselves. No matter what, if we can get that kind of effort [Saturday], it will have been a successful segment.”
The Bruins will have to deal with a Senators team that comes into Saturday’s game having won its last two games. The Sens have collected at least a point in seven of their last 10 games, and they’re still very much alive in the hunt for a playoff spot. Ottawa sits just one point out of the second wild card spot entering play on Saturday.
Puck drop from the Garden is scheduled for 3 p.m.
