After the first round alone took three hours and 33 minutes on Friday night, Rounds 2-7 took just 2:45 combined on Saturday.

The second day also lacked the big-name trades that marked Friday's festivities. The Bruins did make one deal, sending the rights to restricted free agent Benoit Pouliot to Tampa Bay for the rights to unrestricted free agent forward Michel Ouellet and a fifth-round pick.

After taking goalie Malcolm Subban in the first round, Boston added five more players on Saturday. They actually could fill out a complete starting lineup card with the players they selected, as they drafted two defensemen (Matthew Grzelcyk, 3rd round, 85th overall; Matthew Benning, 6th round, 175th overall), a center (Seth Griffith, 5th round, 131st overall), a left wing (Colton Hargrove, 7th round, 205th overall) and a right wing (Cody Payne, 5th round, 145th overall) to go with Friday's netminder (Subban, 1st round, 24th overall).

211. Los Angeles: The Stanley Cup champs close out the 2012 Draft, tabbing defenseman Nick Ebert with the final pick.

Mr. Irrelevant was actually ranked 96th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. He had 6-33-39 totals in 66 games with Windsor (OHL).

205. BOSTON: The Bruins head to the hockey hotbed of Dallas for their final pick, taking Colton Hargrove in the seventh round.

The left wing from Texas is 6-foot-1, 215 pounds and had 16-22-38 totals and 140 penalty minutes with  Fargo (USHL) last year.

189. Carolina: The seventh and final round is under way in Pittsburgh and more locals are having their draft day dreams come true.

The Hurricanes just took left wing Brendan Collier of Charlestown/Malden Catholic, while Dallas went with defenseman Dmitry Sinitsyn at 183. Sinitsyn is from Moscow, but will play at UMass-Lowell this season.

175. BOSTON: The Bruins add another defenseman, and this one should be familiar to at least one member of the Boston front office.

The Bruins used their sixth-round pick to take blueliner Matthew Benning, the nephew of Bruins assistant general manager Jim Benning, who played nine seasons in the NHL as a defenseman with Toronto and Vancouver. Matthew Benning's father, Brian, also enjoyed a long NHL career with St. Louis, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Edmonton and Florida.

Matthew Benning was ranked 176th by NHL Central Scouting. The 6-foot, 218-pounder had 4-14-18 totals with 87 penalty minutes in 44 games with Spruce Grove (AJHL).

145. BOSTON: After taking a center from the London Knights of the OHL, the Bruins use their second pick in the fifth round on a forward from London, England.

Right wing Cody Payne was born in the United Kingdom, but also played in the OHL, splitting last season between Oshawa and Tyler Seguin's old stomping grounds in Plymouth. Payne did some stomping of his own with 5-11-16 totals, 107 PIMs and 13 fighting majors in 60 games. He brings some size at 6-foot-2, 201 pounds and was the 146th-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting.

138. San Jose: The Sharks have frequently mined the local area for talent, and they have done so again with the selection of center Daniel O'Regan with this pick.

O'Regan was born in Germany, where his father, Tom, played after a stint with the Penguins, but played his high school hockey at the St. Sebastian School in Needham, Mass.

The Islanders also picked a local prep schooler with Doyle Somerby, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound defenseman from Marblehead, Mass. and Kimball Union Academy, at No. 125.

131. BOSTON (from Tampa Bay): With the pick acquired from the Lightning in the Benoit Pouliot deal, the Bruins add another playmaking center in Seth Griffith.

Griffith is small at 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, but was productive in junior, putting up 45-40-85 totals with 49 penalty minutes in 68 games with London (OHL). He was the 158th-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting.

115. Carolina (from Boston): With the pick acquired last summer from the Bruins for Joe Corvo, the Hurricanes take defenseman Trevor Carrick. He was the 44th-ranked North American skater after posting 6-13-19 totals in 68 games with Mississauga (OHL).

If you missed it earlier, the second round pick the Bruins gave up in the Tomas Kaberle deal ended up with Dallas, and the Stars took center Mike Winther at No. 54. He was the 21st-ranked North American skater and had 32-24-56 totals in 71 games with Prince Albert (WHL).

11:24 a.m.: There's been another deal, this one involving a couple of clubs north of the border as Toronto sends the rights to goalie Jonas Gustavsson to Winnipeg for a 2013 seventh-round pick.

That's quite a fall for "The Monster," who was once called the best goalie outside the NHL but never really lived up to that hype. Gustavsson is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, but if signed could give the Jets some insurance if they have trouble signing restricted free agent netminder Ondrej Pavelec.

106. Ottawa: Two of Day 2's themes come together as the Senators take a guy with both New England roots and ties to a current NHLer, selecting defenseman Timothy Boyle in the fourth round.

Boyle, a defenseman from Hingham, Mass. who played at Nobles, is the brother of Rangers forward Brian Boyle. Timothy Boyle is a little smaller at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds and is headed to Union College next year.

Boyle's Nobles teammate Andy Gilmour went to Minnesota at No. 98, so it's been a good round for the prep school in Dedham, Mass.

99. Carolina: It's been a big week for Erik Karlsson, signing a new $45.5 million deal, winning the Norris Trophy and now being drafted by the Hurricanes in the fourth round. OK, so this is actually a different Erik Karlsson. This one is a speedy left wing, and Carolina can only hope he develops into anything close to as big an impact player as his namesake.

10:55 a.m.: The Bruins have gotten into the trading action, sending the rights to restricted free agent forward Benoit Pouliot to Tampa Bay for the rights to unrestricted free agent forward Michel Ouellet and a fifth-round pick (131 overall).

Ouellet, 30, had 16-15-31 totals in 55 games with AHL champion Norfolk last year. He has played 190 games in the NHL, but his last stint was a three-game stay with Vancouver in 2008-09. He did put up back-to-back seasons of 16-16-32 and 19-29-48 in Pittsburgh in 2005-06 and 2006-07.

Pouliot had 16-16-32 totals in his first and only year in Boston last season.

85. BOSTON: The Bruins have made their first pick of the second day, and tapped into the local talent pool as well with defenseman Matthew Grzelcyk.

He's a Charlestown boy, but has played the last two seasons in the U.S. Development Program, putting up 2-20-22 totals in 56 games with the under-18 squad this past year. He's on the small side for a defenseman at 5-foot-9, 171 pounds, but the Bruins haven't shied away from undersized blueliners in recent years.

75. Calgary: After just two goalies were picked in each of the first two rounds, there's been a run on netminders early in the third.

Six of them have been taken in the first 22 picks of this round, including South Portland, Maine native Jon Gillies to the Flames here.

10:41 a.m.: While the picks continue to roll in, there is some other news around the NHL. The Avalanche have announced that forward Matt Duchene, the third overall pick in 2009, has been re-signed to a two-year, $7 million deal.

66. Nashville: The draft has quickly moved on to the third round, but the local flavor continues with the Predators taking forward Jim Vesey of North Reading, Mass.

Vesey was passed over in last year's draft, but responded by shattering EJHL scoring records with a 48-43-91 line in 45 games for South Shore.

The Rangers got into the act as well, taking Cristoval Nieves from the Kent School (Conn.) at No. 59.

53. Tampa Bay and 56. St. Louis: New England is on the board, with a pair of local high school products going late in the second round.

The Lightning stuck first by taking right wing Brian Hart, a Cumberland, Maine native who played at Phillip Exeter last year. The Blues followed with another right wing, Reading, Mass. native and St. John's Prep product Samuel Kurker.

51. Montreal: The Bruins spiced up the rivalry with the Habs in the first round by taking Malcolm Subban, brother of Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban.

Now the Habs have added a potential spark to that rivalry in a more traditional sense, drafting rugged defenseman Dalton Thrower, one of the toughest players available in the draft. The Habs could definitely use an infusion of grit and this pick shows new GM Marc Bergevin might have a different approach to that aspect of the game than the previous regime.

47. Carolina: The family connections continue with Carolina taking Guelph forward Brock McGinn, brother of Colorado's Jamie McGinn.

The Hurricanes know a thing or two about brother combinations, having reunited Jordan and Eric Staal with Friday's blockbuster deal to bring Jordan Staal to Carolina from Pittsburgh.

39. Winnipeg: The Jets continue the trend of family ties that began in the opening round by picking Lukas Sutter early in the second.

He's part of the huge hockey clan of Sutter, which includes his father Rich and his uncle Darryl, who guided the Kings to the Cup this year.

In the first round, there were a number of sons and brothers picked, including goalie Malcolm Subban by the Bruins. Subban's brother plays on the other side of hockey's oldest rivalry, with P.K. Subban a defenseman for Montreal.

Other family connections included Griffin Reinhart, son of former Canucks and Flames defenseman Paul Reinhart, selected fourth overall by the Islanders, Mark Jankowski, grandson of Red Wing Lou Jankowski and grand-nephew of the legendary Red Kelly, taken 21st by Calgary, Brendan Gaunce, whose brother Cameron Gaunce is in the Colorado system, picked 26th by Vancouver, Henrik Samuelsson, son of the infamous Ulf Samuelsson, selected 27th by Phoenix and Stefan Matteau, whose father, Stephane Matteau, lifted the Rangers past New Jersey in 1994 Eastern Conference Final, taken by those very same Devils with the 29th pick.

35. Toronto: The Leafs take advantage of the depth on defense in this draft by taking Matt Finn early in the second round.

The Guelph (OHL) blueliner was projected as a first-rounder. Toronto now has added two impressive young defensemen, with Morgan Rielly picked at No. 5 on Friday.

31. Columbus: The Blue Jackets open Day 2 by taking the top netminder remaining on the board in Oscar Dansk.

The Swedish goalie was considered in the same class as first-rounders Andrei Vasilevski and Malcolm Subban by many scouts.

10 a.m.: The draft is back under way in Pittsburgh. The picks will come fast and furious on Day 2, but we'll keep you updated on all the interesting and noteworthy selections throughout the day, plus any more trades that go down around the league.

So stick with our live blog to stay updated on all the action in one of the NHL's biggest events of the year. 

9:30 a.m.: The draft will resume down in Pittsburgh in about half an hour. Columbus will be on the clock with the first pick of the second round.

The Blue Jackets, and the teams to follow, will have plenty of quality options with some interesting names that slid out of the first round Friday night. Those include defensemen Matt Finn and Dalton Thrower, forwards Phillip DiGiuseppe, Tim Bozon, Martin Frk, Gemel Smith and Lukas Sutter and goalie Oscar Dansk. Jim Vesey, arguably the top New England player available, is also still waiting to have his name called.

8 a.m. ET: The opening round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft proved eventful Friday. History was made with eight defensemen picked in the top 10 and a record-tying 13 blueliners chosen overall.

And that was just the undercard to a big night of trades, headlined by the host Penguins sending Jordan Staal to Carolina for Brandon Sutter, Brian Dumoulin and the eighth overall pick. Naturally, that pick was used on a defenseman, with Pittsburgh taking Derrick Pouliot.

The Bruins made waves with their pick at No. 24, spicing up the ancient rivalry with Montreal by selecting goalie Malcolm Subban, the brother of Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban.

There are plenty more prospects with strong bloodlines available as the draft concludes on Saturday with the second through seventh rounds.

The Bruins don't pick again until the third round, where they hold the 85th overall selection. Boston traded its second-rounder to Toronto in the Tomas Kaberle trade, and the Leafs sent it on to Colorado in a deal for John-Michael Liles, and the Avalanche moved it once more to Washington as part of a trade for Semyon Varlamov.

Boston is also without its fourth-round pick, which was sent to Carolina for Joe Corvo, but does have picks in the fifth (145), sixth (175) and seventh rounds (205).

The drafts resumes at 10 a.m. in Pittsburgh. The picks will come fast and furious on Day 2, and there's sure to be some more trades, so stay with the NESN.com live blog as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening.

10:54 p.m.:

The host Penguins made the biggest splash, trading Jordan Staal to Carolina for the eighth pick, Brandon Sutter and Brian Dumoulin. They used that pick on defenseman Derrick Pouliot, one of 13 blueliners taken on the night as defensemen dominated Day 1 of the draft.

Despite their plethora of talented young forwards, Edmonton didn't join the run on defensemen and added another forward with the top pick, selecting right wing Nail Yakupov.

The Bruins also stayed away from the blue line, but still made one of the most interesting picks of the night when they took goalie Malcolm Subban at 24. Subban will have an interesting perspective on the Boston-Montreal rivalry when he reaches the Bruins, as he is the brother of Habs defenseman P.K. Subban.

Rounds 2-7 will be held Saturday in Pittsburgh, with the second round starting at 10 a.m. Check back here for updates on all the action throughout the day.

30. Los Angeles: The Stanley Cup champion Kings close out the opening round by selecting Tanner Pearson.

A forward with Barrie (OHL), Pearson finally gets picked in his third year of eligibility for the draft. He put up 37-54-91 totals in 60 games with the Colts.

29. New Jersey: After surprisingly holding on to this pick, the Devils take the son of a former Rangers hero, Stefan Matteau. His father, Stephane Matteau, famously beat the Devils with a dramatic goal in the Eastern Conference Final in 1994.

The Devils have to surrender a first-round pick in the next three years for circumventing the cap in their initial contract with Ilya Kovalchuk. Most expected they would give up this pick since they were picking so late in the round, but New Jersey defied expectations and held on to it. They will have to surrender a first-round pick in 2013 or 2014.

28. New York Rangers: The Rangers add another college-bound blueliner with Brady Skjei, a Lakeville, Minn. native who will stay in state next year when he attends the University of Minnesota.

He's regarded as one of the best skaters available in this year's draft and could add even more mobility to the Rangers blue line in a few years.

27. Phoenix: The Coyotes take Henrik Samuelsson, the son of Ulf Samuelsson, who used to work as an assistant coach in Phoenix.

Henrik Samuelsson split the past season playing for his father with Modo in Sweden before coming to Canada to play for Edmonton in the WHL. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound center kept up the family tradition by being suspended four times by the WHL while playing just 28 games for the Oil Kings.

26. Vancouver: The Canucks add some size up front with center Brandan Gaunce of Bellville (OHL).

Gaunce had 28-40-68 totals in 68 games, but is known more for his grit and size (6-foot-2, 215 pounds).

25. St. Louis: The Blues get back to the defensive dominance of the draft, selecting blueliner Jordan Schmaltz from Green Bay (USHL).

24. BOSTON: Leave it to the Bruins to find a way to spice up the Boston-Montreal rivalry even more. Boston grabs goalie Malcolm Subban with its first-round pick.

Yes, that is the brother of Habs defenseman P.K. Subban, who has been a lightning rod in many of the most recent clashes between the Original Six rivals.

Malcolm Subban was 25-14-0 with a 2.50 GAA and a .923 save percentage with Bellville (OHL) last year.

23. Florida: The Panthers grab a player headed to Boston one pick ahead of the Bruins. Defenseman Mike Matheson has committed to Boston College after playing last year for Dubuque (USHL).

The Bruins are now on the clock.

22. Pittsburgh: The hometown fans get more good news as the Penguins grab Olli Maatta, a Finnish defenseman who played for London (OHL) and was expected to go earlier than this.

He's a solid two-way player who was sidelined with a concussion, but still was very highly regarded. The Bruins would probably have loved to see him slip two more spots.

21. Calgary (from Nashville via Buffalo): The hot potato pick of the draft, the Flames finally use it after it was traded twice to pick Mark Jankowski, who has strong bloodlines but could be a reach at this point.

He grandfather Lou played for Detroit, his uncle Ryan is a scout for Montreal and his great-uncle is the legendary Red Kelly. He's committed to attend Providence College next year.

20. Philadelphia: The Flyers receive a warm welcome from the Pittsburgh fans as they select forward Scott Laughton.

He's a solid two-way forward who had 21-32-53 totals in 64 games for Oshawa (OHL) and can also play a shutdown role.

19. Tampa Bay (from Detroit): Lightning GM Steve Yzerman landed an extra first-rounder from his longtime club in a three-way deal involving Steve Downie and Kyle Quincey.

He uses it to take the first goalie of the draft, Russian netminder Andrei Vasilevski, who raised his stock with a strong performance in the World Juniors. The Lightning have addressed their goalie needs through free agency (signing Riku Helenius), trade (Anders Lindback from Nashville) and now the draft.

18. Chicago: The Blackhawks grab another talented forward who slipped a bit, selecting Finnish left wing Teuvo Teravainen.

9:29 p.m.: The Kings won't pick until the final selection of the first round, but the Stanley Cup champs have made some news, with TSN reporting that Los Angeles has re-signed pending free agent forwards Jarret Stoll and Colin Fraser.

17. San Jose: The Sharks grab the second Czech center of the first round, selecting Tomas Hertl, who had 12-13-25 totals in 38 games with Slava in the Czech Republic.

16. Washington: The Capitals use their second first-round pick to add some size and toughness with rugged forward Tom Wilson.

He's one of the biggest hitters and best fighters available in the draft, but there are questions about his offensive upside. He did perform well in the playoffs though, and has drawn comparisons to Milan Lucic.

15. Ottawa: As we reach the midway point of the opening round, the Senators dip back in the defense pool. And they didn't have to travel far to find Cody Ceci.

Ceci played his junior hockey in Ottawa with the OHL's 67s, putting up 17-43-60 totals in 64 games.

14. Buffalo (from Calgary): The Sabres, who had two first-round picks coming into the night, flip the pick (No. 21) they got from Nashville for Paul Gaustad and their second-rounder to move up to this spot.

They use it to add another center, Latvian Zemgus Girgensons, who is scheduled to attend the University of Vermont next year after scoring 44 points in 43 games for Dubuque (USHL). 

13. Dallas: The Stars, who traded away Mike Ribiero earlier in the evening, restock their forward corps with center Radek Faksa.

He's another big European center (6-foot-3, 203 pounds) who came over to North America to play junior. He left the Czech Republic to play for Kitchener (OHL), where he had 29-38-67 totals in 62 games.

12. Buffalo: The high-ranked forwards that slipped during that defense run are being scooped up now, with the Sabres selecting center Mikhail Grigorenko.

He's a skilled pivot with good size (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) whose work ethic has been questioned. He's from Russia, but played in North America for Quebec (QMJL), where he had 40-45-85 totals in 59 games, but struggled in the postseason.

11. Washington (from Colorado): The Caps use their first of two picks in the opening round on Swedish forward Filip Forsberg.

This pick came from the Avalanche in the deal for goalie Semyon Varlamov, and the Caps get great value as Forsberg slips much further than expected thanks to the big run on defensemen in the top 10.

10. Tampa Bay: The Lightning close out the top 10 with (what else?) another defensemen. At least this one has one of the all-time great hockey names with Slater Koekkoek out of Peterborough (OHL).

Koekkoek was another top prospect who missed time with an injury, playing just 26 games (5-13-18 totals) due to a shoulder injury.

9. Winnipeg: There's no letup on the run on defensemen, with the Jets joining the party with the selection of Jacob Trouba.

He's a Minnesota native out of the U.S. Development Program who is expected to head to the University of Michigan next year, though he may also play junior in Kitchener (OHL). Either way, he won't be headed to Manitoba just yet.

8. Pittsburgh (from Carolina): With the eighth pick just acquired from Carolina, the host Penguins grab a defenseman as well with Derrick Pouliot.

Pouliot is an offensive defenseman from Portland (WHL), where he had 11-48-59 totals in 72 games this past season.

8:10 p.m.: The eighth pick has changed hands in the first blockbuster trade of the night. Host Pittsburgh is now on the clock after sending center Jordan Staal to Carolina for that pick, forward Brandon Sutter and defense prospect Brian Dumoulin.

Staal will get a chance to play a bigger role after being buried behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh, and now joins his brother Eric Staal in Carolina.

Dumoulin is a Biddeford, Maine native and defenseman at Boston College. He was a second-round pick by the Hurricanes in 2009.

7. Minnesota: The Wild follow the trend as well with yet another defenseman, taking Matt Dumba.

Dumba brings more of a physical presence than some of the other blueliners taken so far, but also has offensive upside (20-37-57 totals in 69 games with the WHL's Red Deer). That's five defensemen in the top seven picks so far.

6. Anaheim: The Ducks continue the run on defensemen with Hampus Lindholm.

That's higher than most projected for Lindholm, but the Swedish blueliner was one of the fastest risers in the days leading up to the draft so it's not a shock to see him go here.

5. Toronto: Finally with a first-round pick they haven't traded to the Bruins, the Leafs at last can get some benefit from missing the playoffs once again as they round out the top five by taking Morgan Rielly.

Rielly, like Galchenyuk, missed much of the season with a knee injury, but may have the most offensive upside of any blueliner in this year's draft. he had 3-15-18 totals in 18 games with Moose Jaw (WHL).

4. New York Islanders: The Islanders with the first mild surprise of the draft, taking defenseman Griffin Reinhart fourth overall.

It's not a huge reach, as Reinhart is very well regarded. The son of former NHLer Paul Reinhart is the first of many players with family ties to current and former NHLers expected to be picked this year. He also continued New York's upgrade on defense after the Isles traded for Lubomir Visnovsky earlier in the evening.

7:34 p.m.: While Montreal was making its picks, a former Canadien was reportedly being traded. Mike Ribeiro is headed to Washington, with Dallas getting Cody Eakin and a second-round pick (54th overall) in exchange. 

3. Montreal: Just three picks into the draft, the Habs are the second team to pluck a player from the Sarnia Sting by selecting forward Alex Galchenyuk.

He was limited to just two games last year by a knee injury. Had he had a healthy season, he may have flipped spots with teammate Yakupov. 

2. Columbus: No surprises early, as the Blue Jackets keep the second pick and use it on top-rated defenseman Ryan Murray.

The solid two-way blueliner from Everett (WHL) may be the most NHL-ready of the defensemen available this year.

7:22 p.m.: Between the top two picks there is another trade to report, with the Islanders acquiring defensemen Lubomir Visnovsky from Anaheim for a 2013 second-round pick. Visnovsky had 6-21-27 totals in 68 games last year, but led all NHL defensemen with 18-50-68 totals in 2010-11.

1. Edmonton: The Oilers stick to the script and go with Nail Yakupov with the first pick.

That adds another talented young forward to the Edmonton core. He's from Russia, but played his junior hockey in the OHL with the Sarnia Sting, where he had 31-38-69 totals in just 42 games.

7:10 p.m.: The Oilers are officially on the clock as commissioner Gary Bettman opens the draft. Edmonton is picking first for the third straight year. Right wing Nail Yakupov is expected to be the pick, though the Oilers, who picked forwards Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins the last two years, are more in need of defense and could surprise.

7 p.m.: The draft will begin in just a few minutes, but the prospects will continue to share the spotlight with some veterans as trade rumors continue to swirl in Pittsburgh.

So far Sergei Bobrovsky is the only veteran on the move, heading from Philadelphia to Columbus. But bigger names could move as well, with the likes of Rick Nash, Bobby Ryan, Jordan Staal and Roberto Luongo involved in plenty of speculation.

Keith Yandle's name has come up as well. The Flyers may not be done dealing after shipping out Bobrovsky, as Phoenix's Yandle could be the answer to filling the void on the Philly blue line with Chris Pronger continuing to suffer from post-concussion symptoms. CSN Philadelphia has reported that the Flyers are among the teams interested in Yandle.

6:45 p.m.: The first pick has yet to be made in Pittsburgh, but NHL fans can already start making their plans for the next two drafts. And they won't have to leave the Atlantic Division for the foreseeable future.

The league announced on Friday that New Jersey will host the 2013 Draft and the 2014 Draft will return to the Keystone State, with Philadelphia playing host that year.

6:30 p.m.: The draft will begin officially in a little over a half hour, but there has already been some action in Pittsburgh.

The Flyers have been involved in a trade featuring a Russian goalie for the second straight year. After trading for Ilya Bryzgalov before the 2011 draft, this time Philadelphia dealt Sergei Bobrovsky to Columbus for second- and fourth-round picks in this draft and a fourth-rounder next year.

There could be another goalie on the move in the near future as well. Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli revealed earlier Friday that Tim Thomas has waived his no-trade clause, which was set to expire on July 1 anyway. Thomas is still planning to sit out the season, but the Bruins could deal his rights to a team looking to use his $5 million cap hit to reach the salary cap floor.

8 a.m. ET: The NHL Awards were held Wednesday in Las Vegas, officially putting a close to the 2011-12 season.

On Friday, the start of a new season begins, and the foundation for many seasons to come will be laid with the 2012 NHL Entry Draft in Pittsburgh.

The first round will be held on Friday night, with rounds 2-7 to follow on Saturday.

For the third year in a row, Edmonton will be on the clock first with the No. 1 pick. The Oilers added forwards Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with the last two top picks, and another forward is the near-consensus No. 1 prospect again with right wing Nail Yakupov of the Ontario Hockey League's Sarnia Sting expected to be the first name called.

But will the Oilers be tempted to trade the pick to get help elsewhere rather than add yet another talented young forward? Or perhaps they will shun the conventional wisdom and tap into a talented pool of defense prospects earlier than expected? Ryan Murray of the Western Hockey League's Everett Silvertips leads a strong corps of blueliners expected to dominate the first round.

The Bruins would love to land one of highly-regarded defensemen themselves. But unlike the last two years when the Phil Kessel trade gave them high picks from Toronto to land Tyler Seguin (second overall in 2010) and Dougie Hamilton (ninth in 2011), the Bruins have just their own pick in the opening round. Barring a trade, the Bruins won't walk to the podium until the 24th pick.

The draft is always a time for plenty of wheeling and dealing too. So in addition to picking up top prospects, teams may also have a chance to acquire some big-name veterans with the likes of Rick Nash, Bobby Ryan and Roberto Luongo the subject of trade rumors.

The draft begins at 7 p.m. Stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening.

Overtime, 1:03, tied 1-1: Bergeron nearly ends it from the doorstep but his shot trickles wide. The banged-up winger sure would have deserved it.

Third Intermission Notes: Yes, that’s the third intermission. It’s overtime once again. Could this series end any other way?

The Bruins and Caps will play their fourth overtime game in this series after a scoreless third leaves this one deadlocked at 1-1. With sudden death on tap, every game in this seven game series will be decided by a single goal, something never before seen in the NHL.

The Bruins had two more chances on the power play in the third, including a holding call on Jason Chimera with just 2:26 left. But again the power play was powerless. Boston is now 0-for-3 on the night and 2-for-23 in the series with the man advantage. If Washington wins this in overtime, you will need to look no further than those power play struggles to explain why the Bruins did not advance. That said, Boston survived a horrible power play a year ago, and can still do so again this year.

Third Period, 19:40, tied 1-1: The B’s fail to produce once again on the man up.

Third Period, 17:34, tied 1-1: The B’s go on the man up with just over two minutes to go as Chimera hauls down Boychuk in the B’s zone. The call is a hold and it may be the one Caps fans talk about all summer long.

Third Period, 16:49, tied 1-1: Matt Hendricks gets a 9.8 from the judges for that dismount over Thomas and into the B’s net after the whistle. Give Seidenberg an assist for that one though.

Third Period, 16:02, tied 1-1: Peverley’s short-side, high snipe nearly put the B’s up but the winger let it sail a little to high.

Both teams are benefiting from this late TV timeout.

That rumbling you just felt out in Dorchester? It was the crowd reacting to Ray Bourque being shown on the jumbotron cheering for the Black and Gold.

Third Period, 14:00, tied 1-1: The TD Garden crowd is reaching deafening levels as Paille nearly bags a shorty. The winger picked off a pass in the Bruins zone before racing down the left side and feeding a streaking teammate in front.

Third Period, 12:10, tied 1-1: Seidenberg continues to amaze the hockey world as he lays out to block a would-be goal on a wide-open net. Somewhere, someone is calling that the Michael Ryder glove save of this series.

Third Period, 11:00, tied 1-1: Bergeron is going off for a hooking call after the B’s forward grabbed a Caps attacker on the backcheck of an odd-man rush.

Third Period, 7:00, tied 1-1: Seidenberg with a nice play from the point, feeding a streaking Pouliot with a half-shot, half-pass but the forward couldn’t get enough wood on it and it ends up in the netting behind the glass.

Third Period, 5:20, tied 1-1: Seidenberg and Chara continue to smother the Caps offense. Chara with a pretty poke check as Johansson tried to sneak through the pair at the B’s blue line.

Third Period, 3:35, tied 1-1: The B’s were unable to get anything going on the power play. No shocker there, but the B’s were able to keep pressure on so they didn’t lost any momentum in the failed opportunity.

Third Period, :18, tied 1-1: Hamrlik gets sent off for holding the stick to give the Bruins an early crack at taking the lead.

Second Intermission Notes: Much better effort from the Bruins in the second, and not just because they got the only goal of the frame to tie it up at 1-1 through 40 minutes.

The Bruins came out with the edge that was lacking in the first and played more of their style of game, getting physical against the Caps and initiating the contact after doing most of the absorbing in the opening period. Boston now leads 25-20 in hits after a 15-6 edge in the second. More than the numbers, there were some messages sent with Dennis Seidenberg stepping up to nail Brooks Laich, Johnny Boychuk delivering a big hip check on Jay Beagle, Mike Mottau blasting Jason Chimera and David Krejci and Zdeno Chara combining to drop Joel Ward hard after a whistle.

The Bruins’ goal also began with some hitting, as Milan Lucic got in on the forecheck and finally put a lick on Karl Alzner. Eventually Boychuk fired a blast that Braden Holtby got a piece of, but Tyler Seguin outbattled Alzner to make a diving poke on the puck as it lay in the blue behind Holtby.

The nastiness was turned up in the second as well with a number of scrums and shoving matches. Brad Marchand was in the middle of much of it, while Rich Peverley came within inches of taking a very long vacation. He was shoved down in front by Holtby. After getting up, Peverley turned around a made a baseball swing with his stick at the netminder, but stopped it just short of contact. No penalty was called on the play and Holtby never even flinched.

While the physical play ramped up, not much of it came from the Bruins fourth line, which is sorely lacking Shawn Thornton’s presence as this one gets nastier. Jordan Caron has now played 7:20 and has a shot and a hit, but has been barely noticeable on most of his shifts.

Second Period, 18:30, tied 1-1: Some more white-washing after the whistle, this time after a Caps defender takes out Bergeron from behind late after the play. Marchand and Green exchanged pleasantries and the Caps defender even tossed Marshy’s glove toward the corner. Didn’t we see Sidney Crosby toy with a Flyers glove earlier this postseason? How’d that work out for Sid?

Second Period, 17:27, tied 1-1: Have the B’s cracked Holtby? The keeper has given up some juicy rebounds all frame and could finally be coming down with a cause of the jitters here in front of the Garden’s Game 7 crowd.

Speaking of the crowd, the fans got a good laugh after Krejci (yes, Krejci) tossed Ward down after a whistle in front of Thomas. The Caps winger may have embellished the spill a little, too.

Second Period, 14:27, tied 1-1:  Seguin buried a lost rebound to tie things up 1-1.

The winger fought off two defenders to get a stick on the loose puck as it danced behind Holtby. That goal was all thanks to the big blast from the point, which dazed Holtby.

Second Period, 12:30, Caps 1-0: The Bruins are showing some life here halfway through the middle frame as Marchand turned on the jets down the left wing and nearly got off a scoring chance in front. Peverley then blasted a long slapper from the right flank that Holtby barely got a glove on.

Second Period, 9:00, Caps 1-0: Brian Rolston nearly buries a bounce off the backboards to get the crowd back in it. Shortly thereafter, the B’s go offsides on a close call to take some of the pressure from the crowd off them and onto the refs.

Second Period, 8:31, Caps 1-0: After a few Bruins icings, the Boo-Birds start opening up from the balcony. Fans want to see this team pick it up.

Second Period, 8:00, Caps 1-0: Moments after a textbook hip-check from Boychuk on Beagle along the boards, the refs make a confusing whistle after a broken stick. Not sure what the discussion was from way up here on the 9th floor.

Second Period, 7:45, Caps 1-0: The crowd is upset after a non-call on what appeared to be a hold on Chris Kelly as the forward went in for a nice scoring chance. Alzner was doing the hauling and even looked up at the ref to argue the call (non-call) immediately after taking Kelly down.

Second Period, 5:02, Caps 1-0: The B’s nearly get on the board after a nice tip-in of Krejci’s blade barely gets gobbled up by Holtby.

Second Period, 1:43, Caps 1-0: Lucic with a nice back-checking play on Ovechkin after Seidenberg stepped up at the Caps line to lay out Laich as he squirted the puck free from his zone.

Ovi skated in on Lucic but the winger tied him up and fended him off to the corner.

First Intermission Notes: That was not the start the Bruins were looking for in front of the home folks here at the Garden. The Bruins weren’t bad in the opening period, but they didn’t really muster the kind of pressure early you would like to see in a Game 7 on home ice.

The Bruins have an 11-5 edge in shots, but have put few real quality chances on Braden Holtby. Tim Thomas, meanwhile, hasn’t been busy, but wasn’t able to come up with a John Carlson point shot after it was tipped in front by Matt Hendricks. That play began when Milan Lucic overskated the puck along the boards. Jason Chimera pounced on it and fed it back to Calrson, who fired it through the kind of traffic in front that the Bruins have failed to consistently create in front of Holtby.

The Bruins are also surprisingly losing the physical battle so far. maybe that’s not so surprising with the decision to sit Shawn Thornton in favor of Jordan Caron. Washington’s fourth line has dominated play between the two units so far. Caron has no shots and just one hit in 4:19 of ice time, with the Capitals outhitting Boston 14-10 overall.

The Bruins are also struggling a bit in the faceoff circle, going just 8-9 on draws in the first. That’s where Patrice Bergeron’s limitations really hurt. Rich Peverley is 3-4 taking the faceoffs on that line so far. Peverley did have the best scoring chance of the period for the Bruins with a bid at the right post off a feed from Brad Marchand coming out from behind the net. Marchand was a bright spot in the first with his hustle, which also drew the game’s only penalty with a tripping call on Jeff Schultz. The Bruins didn’t do much with the power-play chance though, which has 10 seconds remaining at the start of the second.

A one-goal deficit is no reason for panic, but the Bruins will need a much better effort in the final two frames if they don’t want this to be their last game of the season.

First period, 17:57, Caps 1-0: Marchand and Peverley give the B’s the first big scoring chance as Marchand circled the net and fed the winger/center hybrid a nice feed in front that was stuffed by Holtby.

Moments later, Marchand gets tripped up by Schultz along the left wing to put the Bruins on the man-advantage.

Boychuk and Seidenberg take the point on the man-up with Rolston, Seguin and Pouliot up front.

Second unit: Chara and Bergeron on point with Lucic, Peverley and Krejci up front.

First period, 14:40, Caps 1-0: Greg Zanon nearly finds the back of the net on a screened shot from the point but it just trickles wide of Holtby.

There was and still is some extracurricular activity by the benches as Lucic got a little salty with a few members of the Caps right in front of our good friend Pierre. There was some barking and stick pointing from the Caps bench well after the altercation, so it will be interesting to see if the away team pulls off any funny business here despite being up a goal.

First period, 11:23, Caps 1-0: And just like that, the TD Garden crowd goes silent. The Caps jump out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to John Carlson who snuck one past Thomas from the point.

**correction, the puck was tipped by Matt Hendricks.

First period, 6:20, 0-0: The B’s have taken the early momentum here seven minutes in. Boston has the shot advantage 4-2 and the top line of Lucic, Krejci and Seguin strung together quite the shift that began with a smooth break out and ended with a couple of strong scoring chances.

First period, 3:29, 0-0: The B’s and Caps trade a few small threats three minutes in. Both teams playing pretty conservative thus far. Caps out-shooting B’s 2-0.

7:35 p.m.: The Bruins will open Game 7 with Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Rich Peverley up front, Andrew Ference and Johnny Boychuk on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.

The Capitals counter with Marcus Johansson, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin up front, Karl Alzner and John Carlson on the blue line and Braden Holtby in net.

7:30 p.m.: Reggie Lemelin is the fan banner captain for Game 7, starting the Bruins flag around the lower bowl of the Garden.

7:25 p.m.: The Bruins have scratched Shawn Thornton again for Game 7. Jordan Caron will be the final forward dressed.

Joe Corvo, Adam mcQuaid, Andrew Bodnarchuk and Anton Khudobin are also out for Boston.

The Capitals have scratched John Erskine on defense, putting Jeff Schultz back in the lineup. Dmitry Orlov, Jeff Halpern, Mattias Sjogren, Mathieu Perreault and Tomas Vokoun are also out for Washington.

7:15 p.m.: Jordan Caron skated on the fourth line with Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille on the first and third turns through the line rushes in warm-ups. Shawn Thornton skated there the second time through.

That would seem to indicate Caron will get the nod again, but it’s far from definitive.

Mike Mottau took all the turns with Greg Zanon on the third defense pair and it appears safe to say that he will stay in the lineup over Joe Corvo.

Here are the full line combinations from warm-ups:

Lucic-Krejci-Seguin

Marchand-Bergeron-Peverley

Pouliot-Kelly-Rolston

Paille-Campbell-Caron/Thornton

Defense pairs:

Chara-Seidenberg

Ference-Boychuk

Zanon-Mottau

7 p.m.: Tim Thomas and Braden Holtby have led the teams out onto the Garden ice for warm-ups.

That’s your starting goaltender matchup in this Game 7 tilt. Both have allowed just 14 goals through six games, though Holtby’s .935 save percentage is slightly better than thomas’ .922.

6:30 p.m.: The Bruins and Capitals will take the ice here at the Garden in just over an hour. For one of those teams, it will be the last time they play this season.

Those are the stakes in Game 7, an experience unlike anything else in sports.

The Garden will be rocking for this one, though the players spent the day trying to keep their routine as normal as possible.

The Bruins still have a decision to make up front, with Claude Julien having to choose between dressing veteran Shawn Thornton and youngster Jordan Caron. Both will skate in warm-ups, with the final decision made just before game time.

8 a.m. ET: No one really expected the Bruins to make this easy, did they?

After a dramatic 4-3 overtime win in Game 6 in Washington to stave off elimination on Sunday, the Bruins return home to the Garden for the decisive Game 7 on Wednesday.

It’s familiar territory for the Bruins, and not just because they’re playing on home ice. This is the seventh Game 7 the Bruins have played in five seasons under Claude Julien. They lost the first three but won three Games 7s last year en route to the Stanley Cup, the first team ever to win three seventh games in the same postseason in NHL history.

So, naturally, the Bruins would have to go the distance in their first series in defense of that Cup.

Despite the Bruins’ 10-point advantage in the standings in the regular season and second seed in the East, the seventh-seeded Capitals have played Boston even throughout the series. How even? Not only is the series tied 3-3, but each team has scored 14 goals, with all six games decided by one goal, and three of them in overtime.

That’s not likely to change Wednesday, when Game 7 promises to be another nail-biter. The Bruins hope to use their advantage in experience — Boston’s roster has played in 87 Game 7s, with a 56-31 record, while Washington’s lineup has played in just 43 seventh games, with a 10-33 record — but they know it won’t be easy. Nothing in this series has been.

The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Tune in to NESN to watch the game, and stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we’ll keep you up to speed on everything happening at the Garden.

David Krejci began the play as he got the puck in the neutral zone off a Nicklas Backstrom giveaway. Krejci got the puck to Milan Lucic, who in turn fed it to Seguin.

Seguin came down the middle, cut to the right and waited for Braden Holtby to go down, then flipped the puck in at the right post.

The Bruins have now evened the series at 3-3 and will return home for Game 7 on Wednesday night at the Garden looking to advance to the second round.

Overtime, 1:54, 3-3: The Bruins threaten again, but Chara can't get the shot on net from the left side as Mike Green and Holtby both come out to challenge him. Dale Hunter uses his timeout as the Caps look a little rattled at the start of overtime.

Overtime, 1:24, 3-3: Milan Lucic goes off with the nifty end-to-end rush but fires wide at the end of the opportunity.

Overtime, 0:00, 3-3: The sudden-death period has begun down there in D.C., where the next goal will determine whether the Bruins live to play another day or not.

Third Intermission Notes: There was much better effort from the Bruins in the third, but they once again could not hold on to a lead as the Capitals answered for the third time in this one.

After being outhit 14-3 in second, the Bruins turned that around in the third for a 12-4 edge of their own. They lead 37-32 overall in that category, with the top defense pairing of Dennis Seidenberg (six hits) and Zdeno Chara (five hits) combining for 11.

Patrice Bergeron continues with his gutsy effort. He has an assist with three shots, two hits, two takeaways and a blocked shot in 18:46. He hasn't been taking faceoffs because of his injury, but took a huge one late, winning the only draw he took in the defensive zone after an icing with 1:02 left to play.

Big game from Andrew Ference as well. he had the go-ahead goal midway through the third and also has an assist, four shots and is plus-2 in 18:52.

End Regulation, 3-3: The Bruins may or may not get to play another game, but they will play another period as this one will go to sudden death after the teams trade goals in the third to remain deadlocked after 60 minutes.

Third Period, 18:58, 3-3: The Bruins ice the puck again, leading to a huge draw in defensive zone. Bergeron takes, and wins, his first faceoff of the game.

Third Period, 16:12, 3-3: Ovechkin nearly strikes again with a blast from the left wing that appeared to clip the crossbar. Thomas may have gotten a piece first.

Third Period, 15:08, 3-3: The Caps answer once again, with Alex Ovechkin scoring the tying goal with less than five minutes left in regulation.

Rich Peverley was again taking the defensive-zone draw for Bergeron, and Nicklas Backstrom won it cleanly to Ovechkin, who kicked it from his skate to his stick and fired a quick shot through Thomas' pads.

Third Period, 11:57, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins pull ahead again as Andrew Ference scores on a rebound in the slot.

Tyler Seguin began the rush after an Alexander Semin turnover. Seguin took the puck away from Semin, charged down the right wing and fired a shot on Holtby as Milan Lucic and David Krejci crashed the net, taking their defenders with them. That left Ference all alone as he followed up the play and banged home the rebound in front.

Third Period, 10:50, 2-2: The Bruins survived more than they killed that penalty. The Caps couldn't convert, but they have have taken over the momentum with that power play.

Third Period, 8:50, 2-2: The Bruins have another big penalty to kill as Benoit Pouliot takes a bad penalty, called for roughing for a high hit as he leapt into Brooks Laich.

Third Period, 7:04, 2-2: The Bruins lead 5-3 in shots so far in the third. They managed just five shots in all of second period, while the Caps had 15.

Third Period, 4:15, 2-2: More of an even start to the third after the Caps controlled most of the second. Both teams with chances in the opening minutes of the final frame.

Third Period, 1:39, 2-2: The Bruins can't convert that power play, and all the penalties are over, with the sides back to 5-on-5.

Third Period, 0:00, 2-2: The final frame is under way, with the Bruins starting on a 4-on-3 power play as they try to extend their season for at least one more game.

Second Intermission Notes: It was an ugly second period for the Bruins, who were ineffective on the power play, outshot 15-5 and outhit 14-3, with Washington finally capitalizing late with the tying goal in the final minute. It's now 2-2, and the Bruins will have to play much better in the next 20 minutes if they want to play any more this season.

The Bruins looked to be making strides on the power play early on, but that ground to a halt when they couldn't get anything going in a four-minute advantage after Alex Ovechkin cut Zdeno Chara with a high stick. That kill gave Washington momentum, and they eventually converted when Jason Chimera tied it in the final minute.

It could have been a lot worse, but Tim Thomas has made some huge saves, none better than the 2011 vintage dive across the crease to rob Marcus Johansson.

Patrice Bergeron keeps gutting it out. He is plus-1 with an assist, a shot and two hits in 12:43, but he has also taken two penalties and is unable to take draws. Rich Peverley is 9-7 in his place there, but the Bruins are clearly missing their best faceoff man as they are 27-29 as a team.

Jordan Caron has been mostly a non-factor in his return to the lineup in place of Shawn Thornton. Caron has played just 3:55 and is a minus-1. He did have a shot and a hit, both coming on one solid shift by the fourth line after Claude Julien used his timeout to try to settle his club.

End Second Period, 2-2: The middle frame comes to a close down there in Washington, where the Caps have some momentum after tying the game late in the second, but the Bruins will still be on a power play to start the third.

Second Period, 19:39, 2-2: Things are getting nasty in Washington. After Benoit Pouliot and Troy Brouwer got matching minors for slashing and roughing, respectively, jostling off a faceoff, Matt Hendricks gets called for tripping, and the Bruins will have a 4-on-3 power play.

Second Period, 19:18, 2-2: The Caps come back to tie it again in the final minute of the second as Jason Chimera scores.

Nicklas Backstrom set it up with a rush down the right wing, sending a backhand pass across to Chimera for the easy tap-in behind Thomas at the left post. Chimera clipped Brad Marchand, knocking him over going by before the goal, but no penalty was called.

Second Period, 17:44, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins survive that penalty despite some strong pressure from the Caps, and the sides are now back at even strength with Bergeron out of the box.

Second Period, 15:44, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins are shorthanded again as Patrice Bergeron high-sticks Alexander Semin. The Caps appeared to have too many men on the ice during the delayed call, but only Bergeron goes to the box as Washington gets the power play.

Second Period, 13:20, Bruins 2-1: The timeout seems to have had an effect, with the Bruins picking up their play. The fourth line takes a rare shift to keep the Caps hemmed in their own zone as the Bruins create several scoring chances.

Second Period, 10:52, Bruins 2-1: Brutal giveaway in front by Johnny Boychuk to Nicklas Backstrom, who passes to Alexander Semin on the left. Semin then finds Marcus Johansson at the right post with a seemingly open net in front of him, but Thomas manages to scramble back across the crease and make a diving stick save to keep the Bruins up by one.

Claude Julien uses his timeout after the play to try to settle down his players as Washington has taken over the momentum completely here in the second.

Second Period, 8:46, Bruins 2-1: Both teams have scoring chances in back-and-forth action — Seguin with a rush that ended with him stuffed at the near right post by Holtby, then the Caps counter with a wild scramble in front of Thomas that ended after Mike Knuble sends a rebound just wide of the net.

Second Period, 5:57, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins can't convert on that chance, which could be a big turning point in this game. The Bruins had just one shot on goal in the four minutes. They did have some pressure late, but the Caps had the best scoring chance early with a 2-on-1 break shorthanded.

Second Period, 1:57, Bruins 2-1: Big opportunity for the Bruins as Alex Ovechkin gets sent to the box for a high-sticking double minor after drawing blood by raking his stick across the bridge of the nose and forehead of Zdeno Chara. The Bruins go on a four-minute power play as Chara gets some repairs on the bench.

Second Period, 1:22, Bruins 2-1: There's a break in the action early in the second as the rink crew down in Washington makes some repairs to the glass.

Second Period, 0:00, Bruins 2-1: The middle frame is under way down in Washington, where the Bruins will look to increase their lead as they try to stay alive in this series.

First Intermission Notes: The Bruins got the start they needed, coming out strong with the first goal of the game, then answering when Washington tied it to take a 2-1 lead into the break.

The Bruins are playing with the desperation they need, outhitting the Caps 22-14 and playing with some needed energy. Maintaining that will be the key going forward, especially without Shawn Thornton in the lineup to provide a spark when needed. That decision could be one of the few missteps Claude Julien has made as Bruins coach. Jordan Caron was a complete non-factor in the first period, playing just 2:02 but still managing to be a minus-1 with no shots and no hits.

Patrice Bergeron is obviously playing hurt. He's not taking faceoffs but is still making an impact. He set up the first goal and has a shot and two hits in 6:37, although he did take a tripping penalty. Rich Peverley is 4-3 on draws taking the faceoffs in Bergeron's place. Peverley has elevated his game overall with a goal and an assist. It's also good to see David Krejci being more aggressive. He leads the Bruins with three shots and drove hard to the net for Boston's second goal off a nice feed from Milan Lucic on the power play.

Mike Mottau played 2:42 in his first game of the series, replacing Joe Corvo. Mottau is a minus-1 with no official shots on goal, but he did send one attempt that clanged off the post.

End First Period, Bruins 2-1: The opening period comes to a close with the Bruins holding a rare lead after an eventful first frame down there in Washington.

First Period, 19:18, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins are able to survive that penalty, with Washington threatening right to the very end when Thomas is just barely able to cover up a loose puck in the crease with Troy Brouwer looking to bang it home.

First Period, 17:18, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins immediately give the Caps a chance to tie it back up as Chris Kelly is called for holding Joel Ward's stick and Washington returns to the power play.

First Period, 16:48, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins convert this power-play chance, taking the lead again as David Krejci scores in front.

Boston came into the zone with speed, with Bergeron colliding with a defender at the blue line. There was no call, and Milan Lucic broke down the left wing and centered to Krejci for the redirection at the top of the crease.

First Period, 16:02, 1-1: The Bruins go back on the power play as Alexander Semin is sent to the box for hooking Andrew Ference.

First Period, 14:54, 1-1: The Bruins had several great chances, with Bergeron firing just wide off the side of the net and Milan Lucic getting stoned in front by Holtby, but they are unable to convert the power play.

First Period, 12:54, 1-1: The Bruins get their first power-play chance of the day as Jason Chimera goes off for hooking. The Bruins are just 1-for-15 on the power play in the series, but they did score on their last chance in Game 5.

First Period, 12:01, 1-1: The Bruins kill off the penalty, but Washington had several good scoring chances as they have definitely taken over the momentum in this one for now.

First Period, 10:01, 1-1: The Caps now go on the power play as Patrice Bergeron takes the first penalty of the game. He heads to the box for tripping, ande Washington has the chance to really grab the momentum in this one.

First Period, 9:47, 1-1: The Caps answer right back, with Mike Green tying the game with a blast from the slot.

Green slid across the middle, showing great patience and holding the shot as Gregory Campbell went down and slid past. Green then finally unleashed the blast, which appeared to hit off Greg Zanon in front and past Tim Thomas.

First Period, 8:50, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins' goal has now been changed to Peverley. It looked like his tip alone was the score all along. Bergeron still gets an assist for a pass back to Ference to set up the shot.

First Period, 5:56, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins do take the early lead as Patrice Bergeron tips in an Andrew Ference shot.

Rich Peverley, still taking faceoffs instead of Bergeron, won the offensive-zone draw, which Bergeron then fed back to Ference for the shot. Peverley appeared to deflect it in the slot, but Bergeron was credited with the goal as he must have tipped it as well before it bounced past Holtby.

First Period, 4:28, 0-0: The Bruins nearly take the lead when Mike Mottau's shot from the right point hits the far post. David Krejci was jamming at the left post but couldn't get a stick on the rebound.

First Period, 1:22, 0-0: Braden Holtby makes a huge save early, denying Tyler Seguin on the backhand after Seguin burst down the middle past Mike Green for the bid.

First Period, 0:00, 0-0: The game is under way down in Washington, where the Bruins will try to stay alive and force a Game 7 back in Boston. Peverley took the opening draw instead of Bergeron, who obviously may not be 100 percent for this one.

3:15 p.m.: Patrice Bergeron is not only playing — he's starting between Brad Marchand and Rich Peverley. Zdeno Chara and Rich Peverley open together on defense with Tim Thomas in goal.

The Capitals counter with Jason Chimera, Jay Beagle and Matt Hendricks up front, Karl Alzner and John Carlson on the blue line and Braden Holtby in net.

3:12 p.m.: The lineups are out, and Patrice Bergeron is in. Joe Corvo is out, though, with Mike Mottau making his series debut in his place.

In a bigger surprise, Shawn Thornton is a healthy scratch. Jordan Caron will pay. Tuukka Rask also returns to back up Tim Thomas. Anton Khudobin, Andrew Bodnarchuk and Adam McQuaid (upper body) are the other scratches.

Jeff Halpern, Mattias Sjogren, Jeff Schultz, Dmitry Orlov, Mathieu Perreault and Tomas Vokoun out for Washington.

3:05 p.m.: Still waiting for official scratches, but Patrice Bergeron did skate in line rushes with Brad Marchand and Rich Peverley, and Joe Corvo took part in skating with Greg Zanon.

Looks like both will indeed play in Game 6, but official lineups are not out yet.

2:50 p.m.: Claude Julien was true to his word, as reports from Washington have Patrice Bergeron, Joe Corvo, Jordan Caron, Mike Mottau and Andrew Bodnarchuk all on the ice for warm-ups. Still have to wait to see who will be in the final lineup, though.

2:40 p.m.: The warm-ups have begun down in Washington. Tim Thomas and Braden Holtby led the teams out and will be the starters in goal as expected.

The bigger news is that reports from Washington have Tuukka Rask also taking warm-ups. He will apparently dress for the first time in the series and back up Thomas.

2 p.m.: During his pre-game briefing moments ago, Claude Julien told reporters in Washington that Patrice Bergeron and Joe Corvo will both take warm-ups, then their status for Game 6 will be determined.

1:55 p.m.: There's just a little over an hour to go before the Bruins will try to stave off elimination in Washington and extend their season for at least one more game back in Boston.

The status of Patrice Bergeron and Joe Corvo is still uncertain after both were injured in Saturday's Game 5 loss at the Garden. The Boston Globe's Fluto Shinzawa, on site at the Verizon Center, reported that Bergeron arrived at the rink on his own before the rest of the team this morning, likely for further evaluation. Shinzawa later said that Corvo arrived on the bus with the rest of the team and added encouragingly that Corvo participated in the pre-game soccer ritual, but also mentioned that Andrew Bodnarchuk traveled with the team for the first time in the series.

8 a.m. ET: The Bruins could be playing their final game of the season Sunday.

Less than 24 hours after dropping a 4-3 decision to Washington in Game 5 at the Garden on Saturday, the Bruins head back to Washington needing a victory in Game 6 on Sunday afternoon at the Verizon Center.

Washington is now in control of the series, leading by a game for the first time with a chance to close out the reigning Cup champs on the Capitals' home ice.

The Bruins will try to draw on their experience from last year's Cup run, when they became the first NHL team ever to win three Game 7s in a single postseason. Their only chance to stay alive this year is to force another Game 7 with a victory Sunday as the Caps are now up 3-2 in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal.

This is a little different than the times Boston staved off elimination last year. They were up 3-2 against both Montreal and Tampa Bay, losing Game 6 on the road each time before returning to the Garden to prevail in Game 7. The only time they were down 3-2 last year was in the Cup Final against Vancouver, and they were able to return to the comfort of home for Game 6 to extend that series.

Now they have win on the road to force a Game 7. They may also have to do it without center Patrice Bergeron and defenseman Joe Corvo, who both were injured in Saturday's loss. The status of both players was uncertain after Saturday's game. Bergeron would be the much bigger loss as he is the club's top defensive forward and one of its best offensive performers as well.

Corvo has struggled at times in his first season with the Bruins, but his absence would be felt as well as the Bruins are already down a defenseman with Adam McQuaid sidelined with an upper-body injury. Mike Mottau would replace Corvo if needed, while Jordan Caron would likely step into the lineup up front if Bergeron can't play. That would require some line shuffling, as Caron is a winger. Someone else, likely Rich Peverley or Brian Rolston, would have to move to the middle to fill the void at center.

The puck drops at 3 p.m. Stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening.

Final, Capitals 4-3: That does it, as the Capitals are able to hold on despite a late charge from the Bruins.

Third Period, 18:33, Capitals 4-3: And the Capitals cash in on the questionable penalty call to take the late lead.

Troy Brouwer snipes one by Tim Thomas who had come out to take away the angle, but Brouwer still found the corner to give the Caps a 4-3 lead.

Third Period, 17:10, 3-3: The Bruins will have their work cut out for them, as the Caps are set to go on the power play with just under three minutes to play.

Benoit Pouliot is sent off for a seemingly harmless slash, and the B's will be a man down for two minutes.

Third Period, 15:16, 3-3: Braden Holtby has made some big saves in this game, but perhaps none bigger than the one he just made.

The young goalie made a glove save after Andrew Ference took a shot from the top of the left face-off circle on a shot that may have been redirected in front by Dennis Seidenberg. If there were any sort of rebound, the B's probably would have scored, as they had some terrific net-front pressure.

Third Period, 15:00, 3-3: The Bruins have started to tilt the ice some in the third after Johnny Boychuk's goal. They haven't had any real scoring opportunities since, but the puck is spending a lot of time in the Washington zone.

Third Period, 8:47, 3-3: Just like that, the Bruins tie it up as they finally break through on the power play.

Brad Marchand continued his strong afternoon by carrying the puck deep into the Washington zone before reversing it back to the point. From there, Dennis Seidenberg sent it across the point to Johnny Boychuk who blasted a shot from the left point by Braden Holtby to tie the game.

Third Period, 7:59, Capitals 3-2: The Bruins are heading on the power play after Dennis Wideman catches Brad Marchand with a high cross-check at the Washington blue line.

Third Period, 6:14, Capitals 3-2: Nobody expects the Bruins to go away without a fight, and they prove that just moments after the Knuble goal. Unfortunately for the B's, Braden Holtby just delivered his best save of the series.

Milan Lucic was able to get into the slot and slide a backhanded pass to Tyler Seguin who was camped to the left of the net, and Holtby came across the cage to absolutely rob Seguin of a would-be goal.

Third Period, 4:50, Capitals 3-2: Just like that, the Caps get the lead back.

Joel Ward throws a puck on net from the right side, and it's kicked away by Tim Thomas, but former Bruin Mike Knuble is there to slam home the rebound to give Washington a 3-2 lead.

The Caps are a tight team by nature under Dale Hunter, and that's only going to intensify with a one-goal lead in the third.

Third Period, 2:20, 2-2: We're under way in the third with some good pressure from the Bruins to start the period.

Also of note, the TD Garden crowd is really into it finally, as a capacity crowd chants "Holllt-by" at the young goalie.

Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins appeared in serious trouble after Washington struck for two goals late in the second period. But Boston needed just 28 seconds to pull even, with Dennis Seidenberg and Brad Marchand each scoring with less than three minutes left in the frame to make this a 2-2 game going into the third.

With the way this series has gone, it should be no surprise the Bruins answered right back like that. A two-goal lead just didn't feel right for these two teams.

Those goals were important for more than just erasing the deficit. They were also the first two goals in the series from the Bruins' top two lines, as David Krejci and Milan Lucic set up Seidenberg's strike and Marchand was out with Patrice Bergeron and Rich Peverley when he tied the game. The Bruins need those lines to get going, and a goal while each was on the ice is a big step in the right direction.

There was plenty of bad luck on the two goals the Bruins allowed. the first came with Joe Corvo hobbled after blocking a shot. He gutted on the rest of the shift on one leg with no stick, but the Caps took advantage and Alexander Semin scored on a rebound in front. Jay Beagle added the other on a shot that deflected in off Johnny Boychuk's stick.

Things remained plenty physical in the second. The Bruins continue to dominate the hit stat 27-15, but both teams will need some ice packs after this one. Zdeno Chara is setting the tone with six hits and he's been involved in plenty of scrums. Shawn Thornton has four hits and has done his best to spark the club. He dropped one glove trying to get John Erskine to go when the Bruins fell behind 2-0, but Erskine wouldn't bite. Troy Brouwer also went for the hug when Boychuk came up looking to go after Brouwer had held him down in the corner.

So no fights yet in the series, but plenty of chippy play and good old-fashioned playoff nastiness. Expect more of the same in the third as both teams look to win a huge game for the series lead.

End of Second Period, 2-2: You just saw why the Bruins are the defending champs.

Down 2-0 against a tight defensive team, the B's rally late in the period to tie things up heading into the third.

They got a couple of late chances as well, and the final minute was capped by a big body check from Dennis Seidenberg on Matt Hendricks.

Second Period, 17:49, 2-2: This place is going bananas.

First, it was Dennis Seidenberg beating Braden Holtby to the glove side, and then 27 seconds later, Brad Marchand continues his impressive afternoon putting home a rebound through Holtby's legs.

Marchand does exactly what B's have been looking for, going to the net and cashing in on a rebound.

The Garden is absolutely rocking right now.

Second Period, 14:03, Capitals 1-0: The Bruins don't necessarily look like a team that's down in a pivotal playoff matchup right now.

They're struggling again to get shots to the net right now, and it's going to get even more difficult against a tight, front-running team like Washington playing with the lead.

Second Period, 11:16, Capitals 1-0: There's only so much Tim Thomas can do, as the Capitals strike first.

With Joe Corvo skating one leg after taking a shot off the other, the Caps are able to get traffic in front where Alexender Semin is able to put home a rebound for the game's first tally.

Second Period, 7:24, 0-0: The Bruins get a couple of really good looks during the four-on-four, the best coming when Milan Lucic found David Krejci barrelling down the slot.

Krejci, however, wasn't able to get good wood on it or just plain missed the net by a good foot.

Second Period, 5:14, 0-0: Johnny Boychuk and Troy Brouwer get tied up behind the play and come close to dropping the gloves.

Instead, they just get tangled up, exchange a few shoves and get sent off for roughing minors.

We're back to four-on-four.

Second Period, 3:47, 0-0: The first decent chance of the second period comes from Brad Marchand who streaks up the left side, gets around the defenseman and then puts a backhanded bid on Braden Holtby who turns it aside.

It was a pretty good look for Marchand who has looked pretty good after getting bumped down to start this one.

First Intermission Notes: There was no scoring in the opening frame, but no shortage of action.

The Bruins turned in a much better effort in that period, though they have not been rewarded yet. They came within inches of scoring twice, with Zdeno Chara and Daniel Paille each clanging shots of the post. Chara's came on the power play, while Paille's was on a shorthanded breakaway.

The Bruins remain 0-fer on the man advantage, failing to convert two chances in this one to fall to 0 for 14 in the series. They looked much better on their opportunities in this one though. In addition to Chara's near miss, they kept Washington hemmed in its zone and had multiple good looks on both power-play chances.

The Bruins have come out much more physical in this one. They had the first eight hits of the game and finished the period with a 14-5 edge in that category. Chara leads the way with three, but was shaken up in the closing seconds when Jason Chimera hit him with a sneaky elbow in the back of the head in the corner. No penalty was called on the play, but John Carlson was sent to the box for crashing into Tim Thomas earlier, Paille and Troy Brouwer drew matching minors for jostling before a faceoff and Chara got a roughing call after an extended battle with Alex Ovechkin. THis one has a much nastier feel than the last game, which is how it should be in the playoffs.

The shots were nearly even with Washington up 11-10, but Thomas has had to make the tougher saves. he robbed Marcus Johansson from the top of the crease early and came up with a huge stop late as Ovechkin drove hard to the net for a bid.

Claude Julien didn't stick with all of his line changes for long, putting Brad Marchand back on the second line with Patrice Bergeron and Rich Peverley right away, while Paille remained on the fourth line with Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton. Brian Rolston did stay up on the top line with Milan Lucic and David Krejci throughout the period, with Tyler Seguin staying with Chris Kelly and Benoit Pouliot.

Once again this looks like it will be a low-scoring defensive struggle, so getting that first goal and playing with a lead could be vital for the Bruins in the middle frame.

First period, 20:00, 0-0: That's it from the first, as the B's and Caps play another scoreless first.

We were close to having goals on both end of the ice in the final minutes, but Tim Thomas made a gorgeous save on Alex Ovechkin before Braden Holtby stoned Brad Marchand with a nice kick save after transition.

First period, 15:42, 0-0: The Bruins, 0-for-13 now on the power play in this series will now get another chance.

Roman Hamrlik was sent off for hooking.

First period, 14:40, 0-0: Braden Holtby has been good in this series, but so far in this one, the red piping behind him has been the reason it's still scoreless.

Daniel Paille gets a terrific shorthanded opportunity on the breakaway, but he rings the left post to keep things scoreless.

The Bruins do, however, kill off the Chara roughing penalty.

First period, 11:40, 0-0: Zdeno Chara levels Alex Ovechkin with a check along the boards which leaves the Capitals star unhappy.

He and Chara exchange a couple of shoves, and get into it after a whistle a couple of seconds later.

However, it's Chara who's sent off for a roughing call after the whistle and Washington gets its first power play of the afternoon.

First period, 10:20, 0-0: Daniel Paille and Troy Brouwer get into it before a faceoff following a media timeout, and they're both sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct, so we'll play four-on-four for a couple of minutes.

First period, 10:20, 0-0: The Bruins and Claude Julien have talked about the need to get to the net and create traffic, and they're doing a so-so job of that thus far.

The fourth line showed how it was done crashing the net on a Johnny Boychuk bomb, but the B's were unable to gather the Braden Holtby rebound.

A couple of shifts later, Patrice Berergon flipped the puck on net from the right faceoff circle which Holtby struggled to gain control of, but was eventually able to smother in the midst of a lot going on around him.

First period, 7:36, 0-0: So far, some good pressure from the Bruins despite being outshot 4-1 in the early going.

Much was made about Brad Marchand's move back to the Merlot Line, but the agitator is now skating with Rich Peverley and Patrice Bergeron, with Daniel Paille assuming his spot alongside Shawn Thornton and Gregory Campbell.

First period, 4:50, 0-0: The Bruins power play looked a little better, but still nothing to show for it.

They came close, though, when Zdeno Chara wrung the crossbar from the right side.

Shortly after the power play ended, Alex Ovechkin gives the Caps their best chance when he finds Marcus Johansson in the slot, but Tim Thomas turns it away before freezing the puck.

First period, 2:30, 0-0: Things get testy early, as John Carlson crashes into Tim Thomas at the end of a play.

Thomas was bowled over but came up swinging and a scrum ensued.

The B's got the best of it, as Carlson heads to the box for a goalie interference penalty.

First period, 0:01, 0-0: And we're under way from the Garden for a pivotal Game 5 matchup.

 3:05 p.m.: The Bruins will open with the new combo of Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Brian Rolston up front, with Andrew Ference and Johnny Boychuk on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.

The Capitals counter with Jason Chimera, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin up front, Karl Alzner and John Carlson on the blue line and Braden Holtby in net.

3 p.m.: In a bit of a surprise, Mathieu Perreault is listed among the scratches for Washington. he goes from centering second line in Nicklas Backstrom's absence in Game 4 to the press box in Game 5.

The Caps also scratch Jeff Halpern, Jeff Schultz, Dmitry Orlov and Mattias Sjogren, plus injured Tomas Vokoun. Mike Knuble remains in for second straight game.

The Bruins again scratch Jordan Caron, Mike Mottau, Adam McQuaid (upper body) and Tuukka Rask (groin).

2:50 p.m.: The Bruins did stick with their new line combinations during the line rushes in warm-up. Jordan Caron and Mike Mottau were on the ice as usual but did not take part in the line drills.

Here's the new line combinations in full:

Lucic-Krejci-Rolston

Paille-Bergeron-Peverley

Pouliot-Kelly-Seguin

Marchand-Campbell-Thornton

Defense pairs:

Chara-Seidenberg

Ference-Boychuk

Zanon-Corvo

2:40 p.m.: The teams have taken the ice for warm-ups here at the Garden. Tim Thomas and Braden Holtby led the clubs out and will get the starts in their respective goals as expected.

2:30 p.m.: The Bruins and Capitals will take the ice shortly here at the Garden for a pivotal Game 5.

Just moments ago Claude Julien spoke with the media and indicated taht he will at least begin the game with the revamped line combinations he unveiled in practice on Friday.

Julien also indicated that while the combinations have been changed, the personnel will remain the same in the lineup with Jordan Caron remaining a scratch, though he will likely take warm-ups again as he has throughout the series.

8 a.m. ET: The Bruins will look to bounce back from Thursday's 2-1 loss in Washington and retake the lead in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Boston has never trailed in the series, but the Bruins also haven't been able to get any separation from the Capitals either, with Washington answering each time the Bruins have gone up by a game.

Things couldn't get much more even than the first four games of this matchup. Not only are the teams tied 2-2 in games, they've each scored exactly seven goals with each game decided by a single goal.

That's a good sign for Boston's defense and goaltending, but the offense has been struggling mightily to get anything past young Washington netminder Braden Holtby. The Bruins beat him just once despite 45 shots on Thursday, but those numbers are deceiving. Boston didn't create enough quality chances despite the plethora of shots and will needs to create more traffic in front for screens, tips and rebounds to start getting some consistent production.

To try to generate more of that net-front presence and create any kind of an offensive spark, Claude Julien shuffled all four of his forward lines in practice on Friday. Brian Rolston moved up alongside David Krejci and Milan Lucic, while Patrice Bergeron was flanked by Daniel Paille and Rich Peverley, Chris Kelly was with Benoit Pouliot and Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand dropped down with Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton.

The Capitals will have some revamped lines as well as top playmaker Nicklas Backstrom will return from a one-game suspension for cross-checking Peverley in the face at the end of Game 3. Backstrom had been centering the second line in the first three games, but was up with Alex Ovechkin and Brooks Laich on the top unit in practice on Friday.

The puck drops at 3 p.m. Stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening at the Garden.

Holtby finished with 44 saves as the Bruins outshot Washington 45-21, including 13-3 in the third period. The Capitals blocked another 26 shots, 12 in the third to hold the Bruins at bay.

The Bruins will head back to Boston for Game 5 on Saturday with this series knotted 2-2.

Third Period, 19:50, Capitals 2-1: The Bruins use their timeout with 9.5 seconds left and a huge faceoff to the right of Holtby. This could be the Bruins' last chance to tie this one.

Third Period, 18:50, Capitals 2-1: Thomas heads to the bench as the Bruins leave the net open for the extra attacker trying to get the equalizer.

Third Period, 15:35, Capitals 2-1: Milan Lucic with a steal, then sends a pass over to Krejci, but Krejci is nailed into the boards by John Erskine on one of the biggest hits of the night.

Third Period, 14:10, Capitals 2-1: Play is stopped as former Bruins defenseman Dennis Wideman goes down after taking a shot up high. He stays down briefly, but looks to be OK.

Third Period, 13:48, Capitals 2-1: The Bruins have more than doubled Washington in shots at 44-21, but it's the Capitals who have doubled up Boston on the scoreboard at this point thanks largely to a stellar game by the youngster in goal, Braden Holtby.

Third Period, 12:09, Capitals 2-1: The Bruins can't convert that power-play chance and still have not cashed in on a man-advantage opportunity in this series. The Bruins did not have a shot in that chance as the sides return to even strength.

Third Period, 10:09, Capitals 2-1: The Bruins will finally get their first power-play chance of the night as Johnny Boychuk draws the holding call on Mike Knuble after getting dragged down in deep behind the Washington net.

Third Period, 8:48, Capitals 2-1: The Bruins threaten again with Chara firing a shot in from the point with the fourth line providing traffic in front. Holtby snares it and prevents a rebound on Boston's 40th shot of the game.

Third Period, 7:22, Capitals 2-1: The Capitals with some sustained pressure for the first time in the third period, but Thomas is able to hold the fort against Washington's fourth line, stopping Keith Aucoin with Mike Knuble on the doorstop looking for a tip or rebound.

Third Period, 3:20, Capitals 2-1: The Bruins continue to pour pucks on Holtby. Boston has outshot Washington 6-0 in the third and 38-18 overall, but remain down a goal as the Capitals ice the puck to relieve the pressure.

Third Period, 1:28, Capitals 2-1: The Bruins dodge a bullet as Johnny Boychuk goes down to black a Jason Chimera shot on a 3-on-2 break that could have made this a two-goal game.

Third Period, 0:00, Capitals 2-1: The final frame is under way down there in Washington, where the Capitals are looking to close out a victory that would tie this series. Washington was 25-0-1 when leading after two periods in the regular season and is 1-0 with a lead after two in this series.

Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins will need a huge effort down in Washington to come home with a 3-1 series lead as the Capitals are 20 minutes away from tying the series after taking a 2-1 lead late in the second period.

Washington capitalized on its third power-play chance when Alexander Semin scored with 1:17 left in the period. The Bruins have not had a power play yet in this game.

The Capitals rallied late with a surge in the second half of the middle frame, but the Bruins still have a 32-18 edge in shots (18-15 in second), but Braden Holtby has come up huge in net for Washington. Tim Thomas hasn't been tested as often, but has come up with some big saves as well to keep the Bruins in striking distance.

The hits continue to come with frequency, with Washington holding a 29-24 edge there. Matt Hendricks leads the way with five, while Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic each have four for Boston, though Lucic did not record a hit in the second period. The Bruins also continue to struggle on faceoff, going just 20-33 (38 percent). Shawn Thornton is the only Bruin with a winning record at 1-0, while linemate Gregory Campbell is 3-10.

End Second Period, Capitals 2-1: The Capitals weathered the storm from the Bruins early, then struck on the power play late in the second to take a 2-1 lead into the final frame down in Washington.

Second Period, 18:43, Capitals 2-1: The Capitals convert this power-play chance, as Alexander Semin gives Washington the lead again.

He fired in a wrister from the left circle past Thomas to the high far corner.

Second Period, 17:53, 1-1: The Capitals will get another power play, then time with Patrice Bergeron going to the box for hooking after knocking the stick out of the hands of Brooks Laich.

Second Period, 15:31, 1-1: The Capitals are now leading in shots in the second period at 13-12. That after the Bruins opened the frame with a 10-2 edge, but thanks in part to a power-play chance, Washington has an 11-2 advantage since then.

Second Period, 14:08, 1-1: The Capitals continue to surge with a wild scramble in front of the Bruins net. Peverley then goes down to block a shot from the point and the Bruins are finally able to relieve the pressure.

Second Period, 11:45, 1-1: The Bruins kill off the penalty despite a ton of pressure from the Capitals, who put five shots on Thomas during the power play.

Second Period, 9:45, 1-1: The Capitals will now get another chance on the power play as Johnny Boychuk is sent to the box for hooking Troy Brouwer.

Second Period, 8:20, 1-1: The Capitals threaten and once again it's Brooks Laich with the chance, but this time he hits the crossbar as the Bruins dodge a bullet.

Second Period, 6:23, 1-1: The Bruins continue to dominate everywhere but on the scoreboard. The shots are 11-3 in the second and 25-6 overall, but it remains 1-1.

Second Period, 4:18, 1-1: The Bruins with some strong pressure from the Krejci line as Seguin, Marchand and Chara all have shots in a flurry in the Washington zone, but Holtby comes up huge.

Second Period, 1:15, 1-1: Thomas comes up with another big save on Laich, this time on a one-timer from the slot off a feed from Alexander Semin after a Johnny Boychuk turnover.

Second Period, 0:00, 1-1: The middle frame is under way down there in Washington, where the Bruins will look to build off a strong opening frame and try to cash in on more of the chances they're creating.

First Intermission Notes: The score is deadlocked 1-1, but the Bruins turned in arguably their best period of the series in the opening frame down there in Washington.

Boston kept the play in the Capitals zone for most of the period, outshooting Washington 14-3. The Capitals had just one shot for nearly 13 minutes, but that gave them a 1-0 lead for most of the period before Rich Peverley managed to tie it on an odd-man break.

Tim Thomas didn't have much work, but he bounced back from giving up a goal on the first shot he faced with a huge stop on Brooks Laich in front just before the Bruins tied it.

Unlike the games around the league Wednesday night, the referees are letting the teams play. There was just one penalty called, a slash on Peverley when he snapped Jay Beagle's stick. There hasn't been much rough stuff, but it has been physical, with the Caps holding a slim 15-14 edge in hits. Alex Ovechkin leads them with three, but Milan Lucic leads all players with four as he appears very motivated for this one.

The one area the Bruins need to improve is on draws. They were just 10-18 (36 percent) on faceoffs in the first, with Gregory Campbell 1-6.

End First Period, 1-1: The opening period comes to a close down in Washington, where the Bruins dominated play for most of the period and had a 14-3 edge in shots, but have to settle for a 1-1 tie on the scoreboard.

First Period, 19:22, 1-1: The Bruins kill off that penalty without allowing a shot. The teams return to even strength with Boston still up 14-2 in shots.

First Period, 17:22, 1-1: The Bruins take the first penalty of the night as Rich Peverley is called for slashing after snapping the stick of Jay Beagle.

First Period, 13:12, 1-1: The Bruins finally break through as Rich Peverley ties the game on an odd-man break.

Peverley leads a break with Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille coming and only John Erskine back. Peverley fakes the pass and buries the shot from the right slot.

First Period, 12:39, Capitals 1-0: The Capitals finally get another shot and nearly score again, but Thomas makes the point-blank save on Laich in front.

First Period, 10:20, Capitals 1-0: The Capitals have still not had another shot since their goal. The Bruins lead 10-1 in shots more than halfway through the period but still trail 1-0 on the scoreboard.

First Period, 6:39, Capitals 1-0: The Bruins are lucky to avoid a penalty as Benoit Pouliot catches Mike Green across the face with a high-stick but no call is made.

First Period, 6:05, Capitals 1-0: The Bruins are dominating everywhere but the scoreboard as they continue to pressure Holtby. The shots are 9-1 Boston, but the Capitals converted their only bid on Thomas for the one-goal lead.

First Period, 4:52, Capitals 1-0: The Bruins try to answer back with some pressure in front, but Holtby is up to the task, stopping Lucic on a rebound in front among the chances Boston created.

First Period, 1:22, Capitals 1-0: The Capitals strike first as Marcus Johansson finishes a 2-on-1 chance from the right wing.

The Caps broke in for the odd-man rush after Andrew Ference went down in a collision with Alex Ovechkin in the neutral zone. Brooks Laich carried it down the left wing and crossed it to Johansson for the goal.

First Period, 0:00, 0-0: They are under way down in Washington, where the Bruins will try to take control of this series with a victory for a 3-1 lead before returning home and the Capitals will look to pull even at 2-2 on home ice.

7:30 p.m.: The Bruins will open with Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron and Rich Peverley up front, Dennis Seidenberg and Johnny Boychuk on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.

The Capitals counter with Matt Hendricks, Jay Beagle and Troy Brouwer up front, Karl Alzner and John Carlson on the blue line and Braden Holtby in net.

7:25 p.m.: No changes in the Bruins scratches, with Jordan Caron, Mike Mottau, Adam McQuaid (upper body) and Tuukka Rask (groin) out again.

Mike Knuble and John Erskine are in for Washington, which scratches Jeff Schultz, Jeff Halpern, Dmitry Orlov, Mattias Sjogren, Tomas Vokoun (groin), Michal Neuvirth (leg) and Nicklas Baclstrom 9suspension).

7:15 p.m.: Based on reports out of Washington, the Bruins used the same line combinations in warm-ups that they deployed in Game 3.

That leaves Patrice Bergeron between Milan Lucic and Rich Peverley and David Krejci with Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin. The Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Brian Rolston and Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton combinations remain intact.

7 p.m.: No surprises in the warm-ups, with reports out of Washington from those on the scene noting that Tim Thomas and Braden Holtby led the teams out and will be the starters in goal.

Mike Knuble and John Erskine were both spotted on the ice for Washington. Knuble will play his first game of the series with Nicklas Backstrom suspended, while Erskine will add some muscle to the blue line.

6:30 p.m.: After a two-day break, the Bruins return to action in a about an hour when they take on the Capitals down in Washington for Game 4 of their opening-round series.

The Bruins can take a commanding 3-1 lead with a win, but the Capitals can make it a whole new series with a Washington victory evening the series at 2-2.

8 a.m. ET: The Bruins have a chance to take a commanding lead in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series when they take on the Capitals in Game 4 in Washington on Thursday.

A win will give the Bruins a 3-1 lead in the series and a chance to close it out on home ice back in Boston in Game 5 on Saturday. But if the Capitals can take advantage of their home ice on Thursday, the Bruins could be returning to the Garden with the series tied at 2-2 and facing a protracted struggle to get out of the opening round.

Everything in this series has been fiercely contested and close, with the Bruins needing overtime to win 1-0 in Game 1 and the Capitals prevailing 2-1 in double overtime in Game 2. Game 3 on Monday finally saw a game ended in regulation, but there was still plenty of drama with Zdeno Chara scoring the game-winner with just 1:53 left in regulation for a 4-3 victory.

The Bruins doubled their goal output from the first two games in Game 3, but still have not gotten any production out of their top two lines. Claude Julien switched centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci on Monday, with Bergeron moving up between Milan Lucic and Rich Peverley and Krejci sliding in between Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin. That didn't produce any results (Boston got its goals from the third and fourth lines and two while playing 4 on 4), but he stuck with the change in practice on Wednesday and appears ready to try it again in Game 4.

Washington will also have to switch up its top lines as Nicklas Backstrom is suspended for Game 4 after cross-checking Peverley in the face at the end of Monday's game. Mathieu Perreault is expected to move up into Backstrom's spot between Jason Chimera and Alexander Semin, while former Bruin Mike Knuble will likely return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the first three games.

The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Tune in to NESN to watch the game, and stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening.

Alex Ovechkin hit Rich Peverley at the buzzer, sparking yet another scrum before things calmed down. Nicklas Backstrom received a match penalty during that fracas, which means he will face an automatic suspension for the next game pending a review. Knowing the NHL's track record for suspending stars, though, there's a good chance that Backstrom won't actually end up sitting out any games.

The Bruins will have a chance to take a commanding lead in the series when they play again in Washington, with Game 4 on Thursday.

Third Period, 18:07, Bruins 4-3: The Bruins take the lead during the 4-on-4 as Zdeno Chara blasts in a shot from the right circle.

Chara scores on a one-timer that appeared to have possibly tipped off Seidenberg or Capitals defenseman Roman Hamrlik, but Chara gets the goal for now, and the Bruins have the lead.

Third Period, 17:34, 3-3: Things get nasty in a scrum in front after a Holtby save. Milan Lucic and Matt Hendricks try to go, but the linesman jumps in, then Karl Alzner jumps Lucic from behind. That brings everyone in, with Lucic going back after Alzner. Lucic gets the extra penalty out of all that, putting the sides at 4-on-4.

Third Period, 16:46, 3-3: The Capitals commit a costly penalty late as Nicklas Backstrom gets called for cross-checking after shoving Brad Marchand into the boards from behind.

Third Period, 14:00, 3-3: The Capitals pull even on a brutal defensive breakdown by the Bruins, who let Brooks Laich get alone behind them for a breakaway.

Laich swoops in down the right wing, cuts across the front of the net and roofs the shot at the left post for the equalizer.

Third Period, 12:17, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins come through with the crucial kill, with Johnny Boychuk helping Thomas with a key block in front early in the power play.

Third Period, 10:17, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins will have a huge penalty to kill here midway through the third as Dennis Seidenberg goes to the box after taking out Nicklas Backstrom going along the wall. Seidenberg gets a roughing call on the play.

Third Period, 8:02, Bruins 3-2: Zdeno Chara takes a high hit from Matt Hendricks. Chara loses his helmet and appears a bit shaky going back to the bench. Replay shows Hendricks caught Chara up around the face with his stick on the followthrough of his hit, but no penalty was called.

Third Period, 5:01, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins can't take advantage of that power play despite a couple near misses, and the sides are back at even strength.

Third Period, 3:01, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins now go on the power play as Jason Chimera gets the only penalty out of a scrum in the Boston crease. He gets two for slashing after some stickwork that left Brad Marchand down on the ice and in pain for several minutes.

Third Period, 1:02, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins take their first lead of the game and first lead in regulation in the series as Brian Rolston bangs in a rebound.

Dennis Seidenberg began the play with a deep pinch in. It eventually led to a scramble in front, with Rolston finishing a second-chance bid from the left crease for the goal.

Third Period, 0:00, 2-2: The final frame is under way down in Washington, although it's probably not safe to assume this will be the final period as the clubs are tied 2-2 and have gone to overtime in each of the first two games in the series.

Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins scored as many goals in the second period as they did in the first two games combined but still don't have a lead to show for it as it is 2-2 heading into the third.

Boston still does not have any production from its top two lines, as the goals came from Rich Peverley while skating with Chris Kelly during a 4-on-4 and fourth-liner Daniel Paille. Paille's goal was a rebound in front and shows what the Bruins need to do more of in creating chances in close with a better net-front presence.

Boston continues to play physically. The Bruins have a 42-23 edge in hits, and every Bruin except Greg Zanon has at least one hit. An even dozen have multiple hits, led by Milan Lucic's six and Zdeno Chara's five. Boston also did much better on draws, going 18-8 in the second to improve to 27-22 (55 percent) overall on the night. Washington does have a 21-19 edge in shots (14-11 in the second), but blocked shots are even at 12-12 in a major change from the first two games, when the Capitals dominated that stat category.

End Second Period, 2-2: The middle frame comes to a close down in Washington, where the Bruins rallied twice to tie it up and will head to the third deadlocked 2-2.

Second Period, 17:39, 2-2: The Capitals threaten again with Jay Beagle getting the point-blank chance in front from the top of the crease, but Thomas comes up with a huge stop to keep this one tied.

Second Period, 13:41, 2-2: The sides will be skating 4-on-4 again after tempers flare before the faceoff, with Milan Lucic first jawing with Jason Chimera, then shoving Brooks Laich to the ice. Lucic and Laich each get two for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Second Period, 9:38, 2-2: The Bruins pull even again as Daniel Paille provides an unlikely source of offense.

Greg Zanon sent the initial shot in from the left point, and Paille banged home the rebound in front to tie it.

Second Period, 8:36, Capitals 2-1: The Caps with a couple near misses with a shot off the crossbar, then a Semin shot just wide off the ensuing faceoff that Thomas never saw. Washington threatening to break this one open as the Bruins have been uncharacteristically sloppy in this period.

Second Period, 8:03, Capitals 2-1: The Bruins threatened on the 4-on-4 with a bid in front by Pouliot but couldn't muster anything on the power play as the sides are now back to even strength.

Second Period, 6:03, Capitals 2-1: The Capitals squander that power-play chance as Nicklas Backstrom is called for tripping up Seidenberg. Barring any further calls, it will be 4-on-4 for 1:15 before the Bruins get a brief power play of their own.

Second Period, 5:18, Capitals 2-1: The Bruins will be shorthanded again as Rich Peverley is sent to the box for hooking down Alexander Semin. Semin went down pretty easy, but Peverley can't afford to get his stick in that position.

Second Period, 4:19, Capitals 2-1: The Bruins are trying to come up with their own answer, but Holtby seems to have settled down after allowing that quick goal. He snares a Benoit Pouliot bid from the slot with a glove save there.

Second Period, 0:48, Capitals 2-1: The Caps answer right back as Alex Ovechkin gives Washington the lead 13 seconds after Boston ties it.

Ovechkin chases down the puck and fires in a slapper from the right circle past Thomas.

Second Period, 0:35, 1-1: The Bruins make use of the extra space as Rich Peverley criss-crosses at the top of the zone and fires in a shot off Holtby's glove and in from up high on the left wing.

Second Period, 0:00, Capitals 1-0: The middle frame is under way down in Washington, and it will begin 4-on-4 as Milan Lucic got a roughing call and Nicklas Backstrom a cross-checking minor for the scrum at the end of the first.

First Intermission Notes: The Bruins' offensive struggles continue as Boston goes another period without a goal despite a pair of power-play chances. Boston is now 0-for-8 on the power play in the series, while Washington finally broke through on the man advantage for the only goal of the game.

Boston has a slim 8-7 edge in shots. The Bruins have avoided the Capitals' shot blockers better in this one (5 blocked shots in first). The problem is they seem to be doing so by shooting less.

They are hitting more, with a 27-19 edge there. Milan Lucic leads with four, and 14 different Bruins have been credited with hits. Alex Ovechkin still leads all players with five, though. The Bruins are also just 9-for-14 on draws (39 percent).

End First Period, Capitals 1-0: The opening frame comes to a close with Washington holding the one-goal lead as the Bruins continue to struggle to solve Braden Holtby and the Capitals' defensive system.

The final whistle produces a lengthy scrum, but cooler heads prevail without any actual fights breaking out.

First Period, 19:22, Capitals 1-0: The Bruins had some better pressure late in that power play but still can't convert as the sides return to even strength.

First Period, 17:22, Capitals 1-0: The Bruins will get another chance to score a power-play goal of their own and pull even in this one as Keith Aucoin is sent off for tripping.

First Period, 16:00, Capitals 1-0: The Capitals strike first with the first power-play goal by either team in the series as Alexander Semin scores.

Semin fired in a wrist shot from the high slot as Brooks Laich, and Andrew Ference, provided the screen in front of Thomas.

First Period, 15:31, 0-0: The Bruins will be shorthanded for the first time in this one, and they'll be without one of their key penalty killers as Zdeno Chara is sent to the box for roughing.

First Period, 12:17, 0-0: The Bruins with another bid as Milan Lucic goes end-to-end on a rush, only to be robbed by Holtby.

First Period, 11:36, 0-0: The Bruins do a good job clearing the puck as the Capitals put some pressure on Boston, which was caught at a disadvantage after Greg Zanon broke his stick.

First Period, 8:53, 0-0: The Bruins with their best chance yet as Shawn Thornton fires a dump-in on goal and Daniel Paille has a chance at the rebound in front, but Holtby breaks it up by losing control of his stick. No penalty was called on Holtby despite him appearing to throw the stick rather than simply losing his grip.

First Period, 6:16, 0-0: The Bruins have mixed up their top line a bit. David Krejci was skating between Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin on that last shift as Boston continues to search for some kind of offensive spark.

First Period, 4:27, 0-0: Seidenberg returns the favor on Ovechkin, repaying his earlier hit with another big collision, this time initiated by Seidenberg in the Washington zone.

First Period, 3:14, 0-0: The Bruins can't do much with that power-play chance, struggling to set up in the Washington zone as they go to 0-for-7 on the power play in the series.

First Period, 1:14, 0-0: The Bruins get an early power-play chance as Alexander Semin goes off for tripping Brad Marchand. Boston is 0-for-6 on the power play so far in the series.

First Period, 0:26, 0-0: Ovechkin sets the tone early with a huge hit that levels Seidenberg inside the Bruins zone on the opening shift of the game.

First Period, 0:00, 0-0: Game 3 is under way down in D.C., where the Bruins will try to regain the lead in the series and the Capitals will try to maintain their hold on their newfound home-ice advantage after earning a split in the two games in Boston.

7:30 p.m.: Both teams will start this one with some tweaked lines, although it's not certain the new combinations will last for long.

The Bruins open with Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci together up front, with Dennis Seidenberg and Johnny Boychuk on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.

The Capitals counter with Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Jason Chimera up front, Karl Alzner and John Carlson on the blue line and Braden Holtby in net.

7:20 p.m.: No changes in the team's rosters for Game 3. The Bruins have again scratched Jordan Caron and Mike Mottau, with Adam McQuaid (upper body) and Tuukka Rask (groin) remaining out. McQuaid did not make the trip to Washington.

Jeff Halpern, Mike Knuble, Mattias Sjogren, Cody Eakin, John Erskine, Dmitry Orlov, Tomas Vokoun and Michal Neuvirth are all out again for Washington.

7 p.m.: To no one's surprise, reports out of Washington have Tim Thomas and Braden Holtby leading the teams out for warm-ups.

That will be the goaltending matchup once again in Game 3 after each netminder allowed just two goals in the first two games, both of which went to overtime.

6:30 p.m.: The Bruins and Capitals are about an hour away from resuming their first-round series down in Washington.

Boston will be looking to retake the series lead and regain the home-ice advantage, but that won't be easy against what has proven a pesky Capitals squad.

Washington will have the last change this time around, which means Dale Hunter may be able to get Alex Ovechkin away from the smothering defense of Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg. That's one way Washington will look to create more offense, but the Bruins are in need of greater production as well. They have just two goals in two games, with both coming from the third line. Boston needs its top two lines to get on the board, and quickly, if the Bruins want to take control of this series.

8 a.m. ET: Two games into the opening round of the playoffs, things are just about as even as possible between the Bruins and Capitals.

The clubs split the first two games in Boston, with each team scoring just two goals so far in the tight, defensive struggles. Neither game was settled in regulation, with the Bruins prevailing 1-0 in overtime in Game 1 and Washington answering with a 2-1 win in double overtime in Game 2 on Saturday.

Now the series shifts to Washington for Game 3 on Monday night. The Bruins will look to recapture home ice by winning one away from home, but they'll need more production from throughout their lineup to do that.

Both of the Bruins' goals have come from the third line, which has carried the momentum from their strong run down the stretch. Chris Kelly scored the winner in Game 1, and Benoit Pouliot got Boston's only goal in Game 2.

The Bruins need some goals from the top two lines and the power play (0-for-6 so far in the series after finishing the regular season 2-for-21 in the final 10 games).

The Bruins defense has been strong, especially the top pairing of Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg. That duo has kept Alex Ovechkin in check in what has been a very physical matchup of elite players.

Boston won't get any additional help on defense just yet, with Adam McQuaid not making the trip to Washington. He'll remain out of the lineup with an upper-body injury. Goalie Tuukka Rask (abdominal/groin) did travel and will continue practicing with the team, but Anton Khudobin is expected to remain in the lineup as Tim Thomas' backup on Monday.

The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Tune in to NESN to watch the game, and stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening.

Final, Capitals 2-1 (2OT): The Capitals have evened the series, with Nicklas Backstrom scoring 2:56 into the second overtime.

He fired in a shot from the left circle close to the spot where Chris Kelly ended Game 1 in OT.

The series now shifts to D.C. for the next two games, with Game 3 on tap for Monday night.

Double Overtime, 0:00, 1-1: The second overtime periods here at the Garden is under way, with both teams looking for a way to end this marathon.

Fourth Intermission Notes: Yep, you read that right. It's fourth intermission time before we head into double overtime.

The Bruins now lead 41-37 in shots, including 11-8 in the first overtime. But Washington has a 25-7 edge in blocked shots and the Bruins have also missed 15 other attempts. Every Bruin except Joe Corvo has a shot on goal, and he's had five attempts (3 blocked, 2 missed).

It's been a physical affair. The hits are now 40-35 in favor of the capitals, but both teams will need plenty of ice packs after this one.

End First Overtime, 1-1: One overtime period won't settle this one. We're headed to double OT tied at 1-1 in this one here at the Garden.

Overtime, 16:00, 1-1: The Bruins get away with an icing call with the fourth line on the ice, clearing the puck after the faceoff. Daniel Paille did pay a price as he was leveled by Mike Green with a huge hit along the wall.

Overtime, 13:18, 1-1: The Capitals are surging now with Keith Aucoin getting the chance in front as he pounces on a loose puck. The Caps keep the pressure on until Thomas can finally tie it up for a faceoff.

Overtime, 10:18, 1-1: Thomas is tested quickly out of the break, but comes up with the glove save on Jay Beagle's shot from the slot.

Overtime, 10:04, 1-1: Midway through this first overtime period and we have a break in the action to clean up the ice. There's no TV timeouts in overtime, so this is the one stoppage for players to catch a blow.

Overtime, 6:45, 1-1: Chris Kelly almost ended another game, but can't put home the feed from Pouliot at the right post as he drives the net.

Overtime, 4:58, 1-1: The Krejci line applying pressure deep, forcing Washington to ice the puck, then use its timeout to give its players a breather.

Overtime, 2:34, 1-1: This one has already gone longer than Game 1. The Bruins continue to roll four lines, even in OT. The fourth line just got a shift. If this one goes really long, that could be a huge advantage with the Bruins fresher late.

Overtime, 0:00, 1-1: Sudden death is under way here at the Garden. Will this one take longer than the 1:18 Boston needed to end Game 1?

Third Intermission Notes: The Bruins got the goal they needed to stay alive in this one, but still need another as Boston and Washington head to sudden-death OT again tied 1-1.

Once again, it was the third line that delivered the huge goal for the Bruins, this time with Benoit Pouliot scoring from Chris Kelly and Brian Rolston. That line was outstanding in the final weeks of the regular season and they have carried it over to the playoffs, scoring Boston's only two goals so far in the series. But the Bruins need some production from elsewhere in the lineup, especially from their top two lines.

The Caps actually outshot Boston 13-8 in the third despite the Bruins trailing for most of the frame. Boston does have a 30-29 edge overall. The Bruins are also up 32-29 in hits in what has been a physical affair. Patrice Bergeron leads with five hits as he has been unusually feisty in this one. Boston still needs to do a better job of getting shots through to Braden Holtby. Washington has a 17-4 edge in blocked shots and the Bruins have also missed the net 12 times.

End Regulation, 1-1: And we'll be going to overtime again here at the Garden. For the second time in as many games this series, 60 minutes just won't be enough to settle this one.

Third Period, 17:34, 1-1: The Capitals threaten again with a scrum in front of the Bruins net. David Krejci clears out Backstrom by taking him down to the ice in a headlock. No penalties called.

Third Period, 15:17, 1-1: The Capitals nearly answer, but Thomas snuffs out a wraparound attempt by Nicklas Backstrom at the left post to keep it tied.

Third Period, 12:13, 1-1: The Bruins pull even as Benoit Pouliot drives hard to the net for the tying goal.

Chris Kelly dropped a pass to Brian Rolston, whose shot from the left wing was blocked in front. But Pouliot followed it up and chipped the puck up and over Holtby from the slot as he crashed into the netminder.

Third Period, 11:11, Capitals 1-0: The Bruins are starting to take more chances with their defensemen pinching in and joining the rush. Time is running out to tie this one up, but they have to be careful not to give the Caps too many chances to extend the lead on the counterattack. There have been a couple odd-man rushes already this period.

Third Period, 8:18, Capitals 1-0: The Bruins continue to threaten, with Brad Marchand getting the latest chance in front. Boston up 26-25 in shots but still trailing by a goal in what has been a much more wide-open game despite the lack of scoring.

Third Period, 6:28, Capitals 1-0: The hitting continues, with the Bruins dishing out the punishment now. Daniel Paille buried Keith Aucoin, then Johnny Boychuk drilled Alexander Semin in a pair of huge hits.

Third Period, 3:35, Capitals 1-0: Good up and down action to start the third period, but the Bruins still have not been able to get anything by Holtby.

Third Period, 0:00, Capitals 1-0: The final frame is under way here at the Garden, where the Bruins will need a rally to avoid going to Washington with the series tied at a game apiece.

It's 5 on 5 to start the third, as there were no penalties from that scrum at the end of the second.

Second Intermission Notes: The Capitals finally broke through with a bit of a strange goal late in the second, but it's the only goal they've scored in two goals and it's enough for a 1-0 lead after two periods.

It wasn't a thing of beauty, but the goal did come with the Ovechkin line on the ice without Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg out opposite them. The Capitals finally got Ovechkin free from that matchup and he picked up the assist when he threw the puck to the front and hit Greg Zanon, then Troy Brouwer banged it home under Tim Thomas. Thomas ends his playoff shutout streak at 161 minutes, 41 seconds.

Washington was more physical in the second, outhitting Boston 13-9 in the second, though the Bruins still lead 21-18 overall. The Bruins also continue to lead in shots 22-16 (12-7 in second) and scoring chances, but young goalie Braden Holtby continues to keep the Bruins at bay.

End Second Period, Capitals 1-0: The middle frame comes to a close with more nastiness as all the players on the ice come together in a lengthy scrum. Patrice Bergeron, who has been feisty all day, was in the middle of it tangling with Nicklas Backstrom in an unlikely matchup, but cooler heads eventually prevailed and no full-fledged fights developed.

Second Period, 17:57, Capitals 1-0: Well there's finally a goal on the board, but it isn't in the Bruins favor.

Washington forward Troy Brouwer slipped a rebound past Tim Thomas and the Capitals took the 1-0 lead.

Second Period, 15:18, 0-0: The Bruins still getting shut out of some great looks by the rookie Holtby.

Brian Rolston had a few good looks from out in front of the net, but Holtby was able to adjust to the shot and deflect both of the wide.

The chance came on a Bergeron chance from just right of the net. Marchand fed him a sweet-looking pass from the behind the net and Bergy's shot just got denied by Holtby's stick.

Second Period, 11:11, 0-0: Marchand gets called for a high-sticking penalty to give the Capitals another power play to work with.

The penalty looked more like an inadvertent high stick, as Marchand was trying to pull away from the Caps' player but got tangled up.

Ovechkin out on the ice to try and give Washington their first lead of the series.

Second Period, 10:48, 0-0: The Bruins nearly convert on a terrific scoring chance out in front of the Capitals net.

Daniel Paille queued up a shot from just inside the left circle, and Gregory Campbell nearly sent it right through Holtby's five hole on the rebound. Another great save by the young goaltender keeps this game all knotted up at 0-0 with about nine to go in the second period.

Second Period, 8:10, 0-0: This one's starting to get chippy.

Seidenberg and Ovechkin get tangled and start going at along the boards in the Capitals zone. Seidenberg looked to get a solid shot in on the Caps' leading scorer, but as both teams converged the refs got in between and broke things up.

Just before the skirmish broke out, Benoit Pouliot had a great chance from nearly the exact spot Chris Kelly scored the game winner in game 1. But to no avail, as the shot sailed wide of Braden Holtby.

Second Period, 6:27, 0-0: Still no answer from either side. Although a great scoring chance by the Capitals on a slap shot from the point.

The Capitals seem to be the more aggressive group so far, really making strides to attack Tim Thomas at every turn.

Second Period, 4:19, 0-0: Great scoring chance by the B's on the power play, as Bergeron nearly slaps one past Braden Holtby. 

The man advantage again goes by with nothing to show for it from Boston. The B's will need to capitalize on some opportunities if they expect to take a lead in this one.

Second Period, 1:52, 0-0: B's back on the power play looking to take the lead.

Roman Hamrlik gets two minutes for cross checking. The nasty penalty nearly broke out a big fight between the two sides as the gloves were about ready to be dropped.

Second Period, 1:18, 0-0: Big turnover by the Bruins in the neutral zone. Ovechkin had a chance but was hacked.

Defense really needs to take care of the puck if they expect to have any shot in this one.

First Intermission Notes: It's another scoreless start, but this opening period was a little more wide open than the start of Game 1.

The Bruins still lead in shots, but it's tight at 10-9 and the Capitals have had a lot more chances than they did early in the first game. Dale Hunter has tried to get Alex Ovechkin out on the ice more and has freed him from the Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg pairing once or twice, but that duo has been out opposite him for most of his shifts. Ovechkin has two shots and two missed shots, already doubling his effort from Game 1. He has just one hit though, as does Seidenberg as that battle has calmed a bit. the Bruins do have a 12-5 edge in hits, with 11 different players recording at least one.

David Krejci is the only Bruins with two hits. He's shown no effects from the glass crashing on him after Game 1. He also has a shot in 6:39, which may have been Boston's best scoring chance with a bid from the slot late in the period. He is 0-3 on faceoffs, an area all the Bruins are struggling in with Boston 6-12 (33 percent) as a team.

End First Period, 0-0: The opening frame comes to a close and once again it a scoreless deadlock here at the Garden.

First Period, 18:28, 0-0: The Bruins with their best chance yet as Rich Peverley carries the puck down the right wing and centers it to David Krejci cutting across the middle, but Holtby makes the stop on his bid from the slot.

First Period, 14:35, 0-0: The Bruins kill that penalty off as well, and actually had the best scoring chance when Patrice Bergeron set up Brad Marchand alone in the right circle, but Holtby cut off the angle and made the stop.

First Period, 12:35, 0-0: The Bruins will now be shorthanded again, and once again they'll have to kill off a penalty without one of their best penalty killers as Chris Kelly is sent to the box for hooking.

First Period, 11:52, 0-0: The Bruins' power-play struggles continue as they are unable to convert that chance or really even create much in the way of any serious threats in that man advantage.

First Period, 9:52, 0-0: Benoit Pouliot comes down the left side and dekes around Mike Green with a filthy move, drawing a hooking call on the Caps defensman as the Bruins go on the power play for the first time in this one.

First Period, 6:35, 0-0: The Bruins with some pressure from the Krejci line. Boston has now evened the shots at 5-5 after the Caps were up 5-0 following the power play.

First Period, 3:13, 0-0: The Bruins kill off the penalty, but the Capitals created plenty of chances. Washington had five shots on the power play after managing just seven shots in the first two periods in Game 1.

First Period, 1:13, 0-0: The Bruins will have to kill an early penalty as Zdeno Chara is called for holding Alex Ovechkin as the Washington star came down the left wing and tried to drive the net.

First Period, 0:00, 0-0: Game 2 is under way here at a rocking TD Garden. The atmosphere is electric, and it will only get better if the Bruins can extend their lead to 2-0 before the series shifts to Washington on Monday.

3:05 p.m.: David Krejci is not just in the lineup, he's starting this one for the Bruins alongside Milan Lucic and Rich Peverley. Andrew Ference and Johnny Boychuk will open on defense, with Tim Thomas in goal.

The Capitals counter with their second line of Marcus Johansson, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin, with Karl Alzner and John Carlson on the blue line and Braden Holtby in net.

3 p.m.: The Bruins have officially scratched Mike Mottau and Jordan Caron again. Adam McQuaid and Tuukka Rask remain out with injuries.

Jeff Halpern, Mike Knuble, Mattias Sjogren, Coday Eakin, Dmitry Orlov, John Erskine, Tomas Vokoun and Michal Neuvirth are all out for Washington.

2:55 p.m.: David Krejci appears fine to play, as he took all the line rushes in warm-ups in his usual spot between Milan Lucic and Rich Peverley.

Jordan Caron and Mike Mottau were on the ice, but did not participate in the line rushes. Looks like there will be no changes in the lineup for Game 2.

The full line combinations from warm-ups:

Lucic-Krejci-Peverley

Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin

Pouliot-Kelly-Rolston

Paille-Campbell-Thornton

Defense pairs:

Chara-Seidenberg

Ference-Boychuk

Zanon-Corvo

2:40 p.m.: Tim Thomas and Braden Holtby led the teams out for warm-ups and that will be the goalie matchup once again as expected.

David Krejci is indeed on the ice for the Bruins in the warm-up.

2:30 p.m.: The Bruins and Capitals will clash in Game 2 here at the Garden in just over a half hour.

The Bruins will look to take a 2-0 series lead before the series shifts to Washington, while the Caps seek a road split to head home with some momentum.

David Krejci is expected to play despite being hit by a pane of glass during Thursday's post-game celebration. Claude Julien said before the game that, "you'll see him on the ice in the warm-up."

8 a.m. ET: It took a little longer than expected, but the Bruins got their title defense off to the start they wanted with a 1-0 overtime victory against the Capitals in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series on Thursday.

Chris Kelly finally broke through 1:18 into sudden death for the game’s lone goal. Now the Bruins will look to carry the momentum from that victory into Game 2 Saturday afternoon at the Garden.

"Those first games are always tough games," Bruins coach Claude Julien said Friday. "To get that first one under our belt and to win it, no matter how, when you're in the playoffs they're all going to be tough games. So I don't think it's a question of running away with a game. You're going to hear the losing team say whether we lose in overtime or 10-0, it's still a loss. So we say the same thing about a win."

"I thought we did a pretty good job defensively, didn't give them a ton of scoring chances despite them having the talent to score goals," Julien added. "Obviously we'd like to maybe be a little bit better offensively and create a little bit more, which I thought we did early in the game. But I thought it kind of faded away so that's the area that we hope to maybe improve a little bit more on."

Boston will try to find a way to get to young Washington goalie Braden Holtby a little earlier and more often after the rookie stopped the first 29 shots he faced before Kelly's blast in Holtby’s first career playoff start.

Tim Thomas wasn't tested as often, with the Bruins allowing just seven shots through two periods and 17 shots in the entire game. But Thomas picked up right where he left off from last postseason, recording his second straight playoff shutout after blanking Vancouver 4-0 in Game 7 of the Cup Final last spring.

The victory was almost very costly for the Bruins, with David Krejci hit on the back of the head by a pane of glass knocked free during the celebration after Kelly's goal. Krejci missed practice Friday with a sore neck, but declared that he would play Saturday in Game 2.

Adam McQuaid (upper body) is not expected to play as he remained out of practice again on Friday.

The puck drops at 3 p.m. Stay with the NESN.com live blog throughout the day, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening at the Garden.

Kelly beat Holtby on the far side, about hip high, on a nice feed from Pouliot.

End of regulation, 0-0: After 60 scoreless minutes, we're heading into overtime. On a school night.

Third Period, 15:00, 0-0: Chris Kelly just had the best chance of the frame, cutting through the crease but losing it at the last second.

Third Period, 14:13, 0-0: Seguin and Bergeron really picked things up in their last shift out and got the crowd back on its feet. Still scoreless, but it seems like the Black and Gold got Mr. Mo back on their side.

Third Period, 11:00, 0-0: Marchand put on a nice hustle clinic in his last shift and nearly drew a tripping or interference call as he stumbled over the Caps defender in the corner.

Third Period, 9:32, 0-0: Boychuk with a superb play in front of Thomas, swatting the puck away from a would-be open-net goal.

The playoffs are rough for everyone on the ice — refs included, as one member of the zebras got caught up along the boards and took a spill. He came up a little lame but he's a gamer.

Third Period, 8:00, 0-0: Crowd trying to rally up the B's with a booming "Let's go Bru-ins!" chant.

The B's are picking it up a little here as we head into the midway point of the frame but Holtby is standing strong.

Third Period, 6:00, 0-0: Krejci with a huge play in the defensive zone as he stuffs a Caps forward attempting the wrap-around. He had Thomas beat but Krejci was there to swat it away just in time.

Third Period, 4:30, 0-0: Thomas robs Ovechkin on the power play after Ovi had an open net on the left side after getting a perfect feed from the far point.

Thomas follows that up with two more head-standing saves to get the crowd amped. The B's are still being outplayed here in the final frame.

Third Period, 3:35, 0-0: B's are still dominating in the shots department but it sounds like the Caps had quite the locker room speech during the break because they've got all the momentum now three-plus minutes into the final frame.

Now Chara's going off for crosschecking.

Third Period, :57, 0-0: Hendricks rides Ference into Thomas after the whistle and his head fell off! OH wait, no, sorry, it was just his helmet.

But Ference snapped into action and gave him a few shivers to the neck in the corner.

Third Period, 0:00, 0-0: The final frame is under way here at the Garden. Well, it may not be the final frame. It will take somebody actually scoring to guarantee that, and no one has been able to do that yet in this one despite the Bruins dominating 26-7 in shots.

Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins continue to dominate the game, but not the scoreboard, in a trend that has to be a little worrisome at this point as young netminder Braden Holtby threatens to steal this one in his first playoff start.

The Bruins have a 26-7 edge in shots, including 17-2 in the second period. It took Washington nearly 10 minutes to put even one shot on Tim Thomas in the middle frame. Holtby, meanwhile, was besieged, but has stopped everything to reach him so far. He's been helped by the defense limiting how many pucks get to him, as Washington has 17 blocks to just eight for the Bruins.

Boston's late-season power-play struggles have carried over to the start of this series. The Bruins are 0 for 4 on the man advantage, including a four-minute power play and a 4-on-3 chance. They do have seven shots and have created some good looks, but frustration could become a problem if they don't break through soon.

The hitting continued in the second, with Washington now up 24-23 in that category. the stars have been involved plenty, with Alex Ovechkin leading the way with five hit. Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg each have four, many coming on Ovechkin, including a huge collision in front of the benches between Seidenberg and Ovechkin.

End Second Period, 0-0: Forty minutes are in the books and the Bruins have dominated the Caps, but can't solve Braden Holtby. It remains scoreless despite Boston's 26-7 edge in shots, including 17-2 in the middle frame.

Second Period, 18:35, 0-0: Marcus Johansson takes a puck right to the head/face region after a deflected shot from the point sneaks up on him.

Second Period, 15:55, 0-0: Peverley almost snuck a snipe in the near-side, top shelf but Holtby barely got a piece of his glove on it.

Pouliot was flying in his last shift, wouldn't be surprised if he's the one to break this deadlock.

Second Period, 14:18, 0-0: Bruins fans can smell a goal coming as the B's are laying it on now. A few nice chances from Peverley and Bergeron and Seguin last time out had Holtby scrambling.

Second Period, 12:42, 0-0: Holtby was still a little fired up as he takes his aggression out on Chris Kelly and gets the roughing call. It's now 4-on-3 due to the matching minors.

Second Period, 12:18, 0-0: Holtby and Krejci get into it after the whistle and the two squads unleash unpleasantries.

Since it was in the Caps zone, the B's defensemen were unable to partake so it looked like a few extra love taps from the Caps in that one.

John Carlson and Krejci both head to the box for roughing calls.

Playoff. Hockey.

Second Period, 11:32, 0-0: And Patrice Bergeron once again shows the hockey world just how great of a player he is. Bergy, without any options flying through the neutral zone, tossed in a perfectly placed cross-corner dumb to Seguin. After the winger got it knocked away, Bergeron was right there to pick the Caps' defenseman's pocket and feed a beauty to the front of the net for Marchand. Marshy was a littel handcuffed on the pass and was only able a decent shot on net.

Second Period, 8:49, 0-0: Rolston gives the B's their 19th shot of the night from a sharp angle on the left side. B's are really pouring it on and the crowd can feel it.

Second Period, 5:36, 0-0: Seidenberg gets the crowd on its feet with a monsterous hit on Ovechkin in front of the benches. The B's defenseman cleaned him out along the boards and sent him stumbling.

Second Period, 4:29, 0-0: The Bruins didn't create as many chances with that power play and the sides are now back to even strength. Boston leads 16-5 in shots, but it remains even on the scoreboard in a scoreless game.

Second Period, 2:29, 0-0: The Bruins couldn't convert the power play despite a ton of pressure and chances in the Washington zone, but they will stay on the man advantage as Troy Brouwer is called for delay of game for sending the puck over the glass just two seconds after the Caps got back to even strength.

Second Period, 0:00, 0-0: The middle frame is under way here at the Garden, where it remains scoreless, but the Bruins open the period with 2:27 left on their power play.

First Intermission Notes: The Bruins got the start they wanted with a strong opening period, though the effort has yet to produce a goal as the clubs are locked in a scoreless draw after 20 minutes.

Boston came out flying early, getting the first four shots of the game and finishing with a 9-5 edge in shots for the period. They tried to rattle young Braden Holtby in his first playoff start with some traffic and even the occasional extra jab after the whistle by Brad Marchand, but the rookie was up to the task early.

Tim Thomas hasn't been tested much at the other end, with the Bruins doing a good job of limiting Washington's chances.

Both sides have been physical, and it's been pretty even in that department as well, right down to a 14-14 deadlock in hits. Zdeno Chara and Shawn Thornton are leading the way with three each, while Alex Ovechkin has four for the Caps and Jason Chimera three. Chimera, whose hit on Adam mcQuaid on March 29 still has the Bruins defenseman sidelined, has been involved in plenty early. He and Chris Kelly were nose to nose for one heated discussion, while Milan Lucic gave Chimera a late shove, though that didn't work out too well for the Bruins with tthe stumbling Chimera then taking out both Andrew Ference and Thomas. Chara and Ovechkin have exchanged some big hits, with Chara also jawing with Troy Brouwer.

Johnny Boychuk played 6:12 and had a blocked shot in his return to the lineup. He appears OK out there in terms of mobility coming off his knee injury.

End First Period, 0-0: The opening frame is in the books, but both teams are still looking for their first goal of the postseason after a scoreless first.

First period, 18:32, 0-0: Beagle comes up high on Krejci for the high-sticking double-minor. B's on PP for four minutes.

First period, 16:45, 0-0: Chara lines up Ovechkin and gets about 70 percent of the speedy forward. Moments later, Ovechkin gets punished in the corner by Seidenberg. No. 8 won't have much breathing room this series.

First period, 14:20, 0-0: Paille and Campbell looking strong on the first half of the kill but the cheers are soon washed out by boos from the crowd … because Wideman was handling the puck.

Shots update: Bruins 9, Caps 4.

First period, 12:54, 0-0: Krejci hits old pal Dennis Wideman from behind and gets called for boarding.

First period, 10:19, 0-0: Chimera with a nifty deflection from the right side of Thomas that goes just wide. That was probably Washington's best scoring chance thus far. B's still outshooting Caps 6-3.

First period, 9:00, 0-0: Seguin just kicked it into high gear along the left wing and snapped a shot off. Bergeron had a nice rebound attempt but the puck was flopping around so he couldnt get good wood on it.

First period, 7:12, 0-0:A nice video tribute to the National Champion BC Eagles going on right now on the video board.

B's outshooting Caps 5-2.

First period, 3:05, 0-0: B's are outshooting the Caps 4-0.

First period, 1:33. 0-0: Pouliot with a nice tip in front, and nearly followed up with the rebound but two Caps defenders were able to knock him away.

First period, :59: A little scrum after the whistle and who else but Brad Marchand was in the middle of it.

7:30 p.m.: The Bruins will open the postseason with a bit of an unusual combination with Patrice Bergeron between Brad Marchand and David Krejci. Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuk start on defnese, with Tim Thomas in goal.

The Capitals counter with Alex Ovechkin, Brooks Laich and Troy Brouwer up front, Karl Alzner and John Carlson on the blue line and Braden Holtby in net.

7:25 p.m.: The Bruins have made it official, Jordan Caron and Mike Mottau are the healthy scratches. Adam McQuaid and Tuukka Rask also remain out, with Anton Khudobin dressing as Tim Thomas' backup.

Former Bruin Mike Knuble, Jeff Halpern, Mattias Sjogren, Cody Eakin, Dmitry Orlov, John Erskine, Tomas Vokoun and Michal Neuvirth are out for Washington. Former Providence Bruin Dany Sabourin will back up Braden Holtby in goal.

7:15 p.m.: As Claude Julien promised this morning, the Bruins had 22 players on the ice for warm-ups, with one extra forward and one extra defenseman.

Based on the line rushes, it's Jordan Caron and Mike Mottau who will sit out for this one. They were passing the puck back and forth at center ice while the rest of the team went through the line rushes. That included Johnny Boychuk, who was paired with Andrew Ference and appears set to return from his knee injury.

The full combinations from the warm-up:

Lucic-Krejci-Peverley

Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin

Pouliot-Kelly-Rolston

Paille-Campbell-Thornton

Defense pairs:

Chara-Seidenberg

Ference-Boychuk

Zanon-Corvo

7 p.m.: The teams have taken the ice for warm-ups here at the Garden, with Tim Thomas and Braden Holtby leading the squads onto the ice.

That will be the veteran vs. youngster goalie matchup in Game 1 of this series.

6:30 p.m.: Stanley Cup action is just an hour away here at the Garden, where the Bruins will open their title defense against the Caps.

The lineup for Game 1 is still to be determined, with Claude Julien saying the Bruins will take warm-ups with one extra forward and one extra defenseman.

The extra defenseman won't be needed if Johnny Boychuk is ready to go. He is coming off a knee injury, but has practiced all week and is expected to play. Adam McQuaid (upper body) will not, putting Joe Corvo back in the lineup and Mike Mottau likely out.

Up front, Jordan Caron is the likely scratch, but the line rushes in the warm-ups will give a better indication of which way Julien will go there.

8 a.m. ET: The real fun is about to begin.

The 82-game preliminary slate to determine the seedings is in the rear-view mirror, and the real tournament is about to start.

Boston opens its defense of the Stanley Cup on Thursday at the Garden when the second-seeded Bruins host No. 7 Washington in Game 1 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

The Bruins will be the favorites in this one. They're the reigning champs, with nearly their entire roster back from last spring's historic title run. They've shown it was no fluke by remaining among the elite in the NHL throughout the season, shaking off a sluggish start and a midseason malaise to finish with 49 wins and 102 points to win the Northeast Division and secure that No. 2 seed and home ice.

After last year, the Bruins understand what it takes to succeed in the postseason. They'll draw upon that experience and the confidence it has engendered, but they know they can't rest on their laurels and expect anything to come easy just because of their past success.

"We’re a team that lives in the present and not in the future, and we don’t live in the past," Bruins coach Claude Julien said after Wednesday's final practice before the start of the series. "Last year was last year, and in order for us to succeed this year, it’s important that we create that same excitement we had last year. So, it’s about recreating it, not about living in the past and saying, 'It’s going to be there, don’t worry, we’ve been there before, we know what’s going to happen.' You’ve got to recreate it, and the opportunity to do that is [Thursday], with having a good start and playing the way we know we can and feeling good about yourself."

The Bruins will be looking for a better start than last year's postseason, when they dropped both games at home to fall into an 0-2 hole against Montreal before rallying to squeak out that series in overtime in Game 7.

They will have to do it without the man who scored that OT winner, as Nathan Horton has been ruled out for the entire postseason with a concussion. Adam McQuaid (upper body) and Tuukka Rask (abdominal/groin) are expected to miss the start of the series as well, but Boston does hope to get Johnny Boychuk (knee) back.

The Capitals are expected to go with rookie goalie Braden Holtby since Tomas Vokoun (groin) and Michal Neuvirth (leg) are both banged up. Holtby only has to try to outduel last year's Vezina and Conn Smythe winner Tim Thomas in the Boston net.

The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Tune in to NESN to watch the game, and stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening at the Garden.

End of Overtime, 3-3: It's shootout time, folks!

Overtime, 4:20, 3-3: The Bruins are playing this OT like they're up a man — Sabres just hanging on for dear life.

Overtime, 3:00, 3-3: Pouliot with a blast from the right wing but Enroth got a pad on it. Benny P., nearly closing out the year with a walkoff slapper.

Overtime, 2:00, 3-3: B's clearly controlling the flow here in extra time. Bergeron keeping the puck on a string and Peverley whizzing form corner to corner — pretty standard.

Sabres call a timeout.

End of regulation, 3-3: The B's turned things up a notch late in the final frame to tie things up and we're heading into sudden death overtime.

Third Period, 19:05, 3-3: Thomas nearly coughs one up as he thought he had it smothered but the puck squirted loose by his pad. Luckily he caught on quick enough to haul it back in

Third Period, 15:00, 3-3: So Tyler Seguin is one away from a hat trick and his 30th goal, Bergeron just hooked up Marchand for his 42nd assist of the season and the B's are controlling the flow with a few minutes to go, despite tied at 3-3.

B's are out-shooting the Sabres 9-1 since Buffalo took a 3-1 lead.

Third Period, 12:25, 3-3: Bergeron causes a turnover and feeds Marchand who fends off a pair of Sabres and slips one over the shoulder of Enroth to tie things up. Holy. Cow. What a crazy couple of minutes!

Third Period, 9:56, Sabres 3-2: Seguin snipes his second goal of the game to bring the B's within one goal as it's now 3-2 Sabres.

Third Period, 8:46, Sabres 3-1: And the Sabres are up a pair, thanks to a Pominville tally.

There was a good Eagle scrap in front as Mottau and Gerbe were really going at it — in fact, Gerbe got leveled by Thomas before the tally and the two appeared to have words.

Third Period, 7:05, Sabres 2-1: Boyes backhands in a loose rebound into an open net to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead.

Roy, who took the initial shot from the right side, and Vanek both get assists on Boyes' eighth of the year.

Third Period, 4:22, 1-1: Enroth starts up a little post-whistle pushfest as Thornton thought he saw a loose puck after a shot from the point.

Third Period, 3:10, 1-1: The organized game of shinny continues as the B's and Sabres slush from end to end. It's pretty obvious the fans are ready for playoff hockey, too, cause the Garden sounds awfully quiet.

Third Period, :55, 1-1: Marchand picks off a loose puck and takes it in alone on Enroth but the keeper closed down the 5-hole as No. 63 attempted to slide it through. The B's are looking great on the PK.

Second intermission, 1-1: Peverley wraps up the second frame with a great shorthanded chance. After the steal in the neutral zone, the speedster came in on Enroth and couldn't bury the backhander. B's looking great on the penalty kill and luckily (?), they'll be down a man in the opening minutes of the third.

Second period, 19:17, 1-1: Chara drops Kaleta in front of the net, knocking the Sabres forward's helmet up and almost off his head and the captain will hit the sin bin for a couple minutes. The call is tripping, which is weird because Chara simply lit Kaleta up — not sure where the stick was, but he could have got called for just about anything.

Second period, 16:26, 1-1: Lucic coughs it up at the point in the Sabres zone which eventually leads to a tying goal by Brad Boyes in the other end.

Boyes with a nice effort in front, hacking away in a swarm to sneak it through as Mottau couldn't get a stick or body on him.

Second period, 13:05, Bruins 1-0: Thornton nearly puts the B's up by two on a good chop pass from Paille from the left side. Thorty tried to hit the near top shelf but Enroth got some threads on it.

Second period, 12:25 Bruins 1-0: B's struggle through the power play, unable to take advantage of the man-up. Corvo had a blast from the point that appeared to hit Lucic who winced a bit but seems perfectly fine. He's a hockey player.

Second period, 11:27, Bruins 1-0: Sabres' Weber is going off for interference to give the B's the man-up about halfway through the frame.

Second period, 10:00, Bruins 1-0: Campbell with a nice defensive play as the puck was sent through the crease and past Thomas. Soupy was there to tie up his man so that no shot could be attempted from the far post.

Jack took advantage of the slow pace to tell Bruins fans about a note he was handed on his way in today from a fan. The note read: "To the 2012 Montreal Canadiens fans: 'Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye.'"

Second period, 6:09, Bruins 1-0: After a piece of glass was broken by the B's bench, we're back to action. Kudos to the TD Garden crew for patching that up with grace and professionalism. Best in the biz.

Second period, 6:09, Bruins 1-0: Back to the goal: Bergeron's feed (his 40th helper of the year) was a beauty but overshadowing the pass was his pick-pocket work in the neutral zone. Is there any NHL player better than Bergie between the blue lines?

Second period, 3:15, Bruins 1-0: Patrice Bergeron just fed Tyler Seguin with a beautiful pass to the far post and Seguin buried it to give the B's a 1-0 lead.

It's Seguin's 28th of the year — think the kid can bag the hat trick to make it an even 30 this year?

Editor's note: John Beattie will be taking the live blog over for Doug Flynn. Mr. Flynn's worked his tail off all season and we want to save his energy for the playoffs.

Second period, 1:30, 0-0: The B's opened up the middle frame with a nice chance in front as Peverley almost tucked a rebound past Enroth but the keeper and his defense were able to swat the puck away before Lucic could come in and help bury it.

End First Period, 0-0: The opening period comes to a close with no scoring in this one as the Bruins can't convert their second power-play chance either. The Bruins are now 1 for 19 on the man advantage over their last 10 games, an area that will need to improve in the playoffs despite last year's successful run without a strong power play.

First Period, 17:48, 0-0: The Bruins go right back on the power play as Drew Stafford is sent off for tripping Tyler Seguin in the Sabres zone.

First Period, 16:02, 0-0: The Bruins can't convert that power-play chance as Weber returns from the box and the sides are back at even strength.

First Period, 14:02, 0-0: The Bruins will get the first power play of the game as Buffalo defensemen Mike Weber is called for high-sticking.

First Period, 12:38, 0-0: The gloves come off as Shawn Thornton makes quick work of Buffalo defenseman Robyn Regehr in scrap in the Buffalo zone.

That's the 20th fighting major of the year for Thornton, who now shares the league lead in that category with the Rangers' Brandon Prust.

First Period, 10:01, 0-0: Both teams trade chances in front as the action picks up. Milan Lucic was denied on a bid from the slot at one end, then Thomas stones Matt Ellis on a shot from a similar distance at the other end of the ice. The shots are now up to 9-8 in favor of the Sabres.

First Period, 6:46, 0-0: Decent pace to start this one, with both teams creating some early chances and dishing out a few hits. Shots are even at 3-3 at this point.

First Period, 2:36, 0-0: The Sabres with an early threat in a scramble in front, but Thomas makes a pad stop on the initial shot a the left post and the rebound is sent just wide of the right post.

First Period, 1:53, 0-0: Some early hitting in this one with Patrick Kaleta ramming Chris Kelly into the boards and nearly into the Bruins bench.

First Period, 0:00, 0-0: And the final game of the regular season is under way here at the Garden. This one won't have any impact on the standings, but the Bruins are looking to head into the playoffs on a high note with a strong performance.

4:05 p.m.: Before the action begins, there was some other business to take care of on the ice with the Bruins handing out their end of season awards.

Zdeno Chara takes home the Eddie Shore Award for hustle and determination, while Brad Marchand wins both the Elizabeth Dufrense Award for his performance in home games and the John Bucyk Award for community service.

The three stars for the season are Milan Lucic No. 3, Patrice Bergeron No. 2 and Tim Thomas No. 1.

4 p.m.: The Bruins will open their final regular season game with Patrice Bergeron between Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin up front, with Andrew Ference and Mike Mottau on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.

The Sabres counter with Nathan Gerbe, Tyler Ennis and Drew Stafford up front, Jordan Leopold and Mike Weber on the blue line and Jhonas Enroth in net.

3:55 p.m.: The Bruins have officially scratched Brian Rolston, Torey Krug, Adam McQuaid (eye), Johnny Boychuk (knee), Marty Turco and Tuukka Rask (groin).

Christian Ehrhoff, Alexander Sulzer and Tyler Myers are out for the Sabres.

3:50 p.m.: Based on the pre-game warm-ups, Jordan Caron will slide into Brian Rolston's spot on the third line for the Bruins.

Here are the full line combinations from warm-ups:

Lucic-Krejci-Peverley

Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin

Pouliot-Kelly-Caron

Paille-Campbell-Thornton

Defense pairs:

Chara-Seidenberg

Ference-Corvo

Zanon-Mottau

3:45 p.m.: The Bruins will have close to their normal lines for this one.

Brian Rolston is the only healthy regular getting the day off to rest, with Torey Krug also out. Krug is not eligible for the playoffs, and Claude Julien wants to give Mike Mottau some time in case he is needed in the playoffs. Injured blueliners Johnny Boychuk and Adam McQuaid remain out.

Tim Thomas is in goal and Julien plans to keep him in for the entire game.

3:30 p.m. ET: The B's have had the No. 2 seed locked up, and fans in Boston have been getting ready for playoff hockey. But before the B's finally embark on what they hope will be another Stanley Cup run, they'll be playing host to the Buffalo Sabres in the regular season finale.

While the game doesn't mean much for Boston, Tim Thomas will get the start in net as Claude Julien looks to keep him ready.

Brian Rolston, meanwhile, will get some rest, while the rest of the forward lines remain intact. Jordan Caron will assume Rolston's spot on the third line.

On defense, Torey Krug will sit, as he's not eligible for the postseason anyways. Adam McQuaid and Johnny Boychuk will also remain out.

The puck drops at 4 p.m., and all of the action can be seen on NESN. Keep it here for additional commentary and analysis.

He made 44 saves for the victory, which was the Bruins' fifth in six contests against Ottawa this season.

The win does put the chances for the clubs to meet in the opening round of the playoffs in some jeopardy though. Ottawa now needs to get at least a point in its final game Saturday at New Jersey or for Washington to lose Saturday against the Rangers to stay in seventh and face Boston. If the Senators lose and Washington wins, the Bruins could face the Capitals instead. Unless, of course,  Florida also loses in regulation to Carolina, which would give Washington the Southeast Division title and the third seed, and keep Ottawa in seventh with Florida dropping all the way to eighth.

Boston reaches 100 points with the victory despite sitting Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Tim Thomas out of this one. They close out the season Saturday at the Garden against the Sabres, who were eliminated with a loss to Philadelphia on Thursday.

Third Period, 18:59, Bruins 3-1: The Senators will be shorthanded again as coach Paul MacLean picks up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty complaining from the bench about an icing call against Ottawa. MacLean was also given a game misconduct.

Third Period, 18:23, Bruins 3-1: The sides are back to 5 on 5, but Ottawa remains up an attacker as they pulled Bishop during the 4 on 4 and the net remains empty with less than two minutes to play.

Third Period, 16:23, Bruins 3-1: Things get heated with a scrum in the Ottawa zone. Andrew Ference actually appeared willing to go with Matt Carkner, but the linesmen stepped in. Both get two minutes for roughing and it will be 4 on 4 action.

Third Period, 15:27, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins get a little breathing room as Milan Lucic scores a late insurance goal.

David Krejci carried the puck down the left wing and dropped it to Lucic in the slot, and Lucic ripped a quick wrister in. Torey Krug gets the secondary assist for his first NHL point.

Third Period, 13:11, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins fail to convert that power play as well, and are lucky to still by one as Erik Karlsson somehow missed a wide-open net from the left slot on a shorthanded bid.

Third Period, 11:11, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins will get a chance for an insurance goal with a late power play as Kyle Turris goes off for two minutes for high-sticking.

Third Period, 10:53, Bruins 2-1: The hitting is picking up, with Jordan Caron nailing Matt Carkner, then Chris Phillips decking Benoit Pouliot.

Third Period, 8:40, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins kill off that penalty, with Khudobin continuing to shine with three more big saves during that power play.

Third Period, 6:40, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins will be shorthanded again as Shawn Thornton is called for delay of game after sending the puck out of play over the glass.

Third Period, 1:53, Bruins 2-1: Ottawa heavyweight Matt Carkner goes out of his way to deliver a big hit on David Krejci, but Krejci is unfazed and comes right back with a hit on Carkner in front of the benches later in the shift.

Third Period, 0:00, Bruins 2-1: The final frame is under way in Ottawa, where the Bruins will look to close out the win in their final road game of the season.

Second Intermission Notes: Anton Khudobin remains the story in this one. He finally gave up a goal, but he's also stopped 33 shots through 40 minutes.

The Senators have attempted 61 shots already to just 29 for the Bruins. Boston's defense has helped Khudobin with 16 blocked shots. Greg Zanon has nine of those already, while Ottawa has just six as a team. Zanon is turning in a strong all-around game. His first goal as a Bruin is the difference right now, and he has two shots, a hit and is a plus-2 in 14:11.

There is some concern on the blue line though. Adam McQuaid, in his first game back after missing three with an eye injury, played just one shift in the second. He remained on the bench, but the Bruins went with five d-men for most of that period.

End Second Period, Bruins 2-1: Two periods are in the books, and the Bruins remain up by one after the clubs exchanged goals in the middle frame. They owe that lead largely to Anton Khudobin, who has been spectacular so far in his Bruins debut.

Second Period,18:16, Bruins 2-1: Khudobin with a pair of huge stops in close, first on Nick Foligno in front, then another on Jesse Winchester a few seconds later.

Second Period,16:14, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins can't convert that power-play chance as their struggles on the man advantage continue. They are now 1 for 15 on the power play in the last nine games.

Second Period,14:14, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins get their first power-play chance of the night as Kyle Turris goes to the box for holding Rich Peverley.

Second Period,13:56, Bruins 2-1: The Senators cut the deficit to one as Jason Spezza finally gets a shot past Khudobin.

Spezza took the puck from the left side, cut to the middle and ripped a wrister up high from the high slot to get Ottawa on the board.

Second Period,13:23, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins use their timeout for a breather with their penalty killers stuck on the ice following an icing after the Krejci penalty expired.

Second Period,13:04, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins survive that penalty despite Daniel Paille playing without a stick for the latter part of the penalty after breaking his stick.

Second Period,11:04, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins will be shorthanded again. This time it's David Krejci going to the box for holding coming back trying to help out on the backcheck.

Second Period, 8:05, Bruins 2-0: Khudobin putting on a show now with a series of sprawling saves to keep the Senators scoreless in this one.

Second Period, 6:29, Bruins 2-0: The Senators nearly answer back, but Khudobin comes up with a big stop on Colin Greening to maintain the two-goal edge.

Second Period, 3:51, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins double the lead as Greg Zanon fires one home from the left point.

Zanon pic ked off a Kyle Turris clearing attempt around the boards and sent in a shot that Bishop got a piece of, but it just sneaked over the line. Rich Peverley provided the screen in front to help distract Bishop.

Second Period, 2:35, Bruins 1-0: Strong shift by the Krejci line and the defense pair of Torey Krug and Adam McQuaid, who combined for several chances while keeping the Senators pinned in their own zone for an extended stretch.

Second Period, 0:00, Bruins 1-0: The middle frame is under way in Ottawa, where the Bruins will look to build on their one-goal lead from the first period while trying to limit Ottawa's chances a little better.

First Intermission Notes: Anton Khudobin was the difference in that period, enjoying a sparkling first frame with the Bruins.

He stopped all 17 shots he faced, including several tough chances as the Senators controlled play for much of the frame. Ottawa had a 17-7 edge in shots, and actually attempted 31 shots to just 10 for Boston. Khudobin got some help in front of him, with the Bruins have eight blocked shots to just two for Ottawa.

The Senators also outhit Boston 16-5, with Chris Neil nearly equalling the entire Bruins team with four all by himself. The only area Boston excelled in was in the faceoff circle. Even with Patrice Bergeron getting the night off, Boston was 12-8 on draws (60 percent). Brian Rolston is 3-0 after sliding over to center from wing with Chris Kelly moving up to Bergeron's spot. Rolston also helped set up Benoit Pouliot's goal to give the Bruins the 1-0 lead.

End First Period, Bruins 1-0: The opening frame comes to a close with some shoving at the final buzzer, but nothing serious develops and the Bruins will take a one-goal lead into the first intermission.

First Period, 16:25, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins kill off that penalty, with Gregory Campbell having a shorthanded chance on a spinning shot from the left wing.

First Period, 14:25, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins will be shorthanded as Brian Rolston picks up the first penalty of the game for slashing Jason Spezza.

First Period, 10:36, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins open the scoring on a pretty passing play by the third line, with Benoit Pouliot finishing the break for the game's first goal.

Jordan Caron started the breakout with a pass to Pouliot, who led a 2 on 1 down the right wing. He passed it over to Brian Rolston, then got it back at the right post and tapped it into the open net.

First Period, 9:45, 0-0: Brad Marchand almost had a chance breaking down the right wing, but Erik Karlsson used his superior speed to close the gap and block the shot.

First Period, 5:15, 0-0: The Bruins take another hit on defense as Greg Zanon goes off in pain after taking a puck up high in the corner. He returns quickly to the bench though, and appears he'll be OK.

First Period, 4:37, 0-0: Khudobin has been tested early, but he's been up to the task so far with four saves already, including a couple of challenging bids.

First Period, 2:19, 0-0: David Krejci with an early bid from the left slot as he's left alone after shaking off a hit, but he can't put it home.

First Period, 0:00, 0-0: The final road game of the regular season for the Bruins is under way in Ottawa, where the Bruins may just be making a couple more trips as they are likely to face these Senators again in the opening round of the playoffs.

7:30 p.m.: The Bruins will open this one with Chris Kelly between Brad Marchand and Rich Peverley up front, Andrew Ference and Dennis Seidenberg on defense and Anton Khudobin in goal.

The senators counter with their top line of Colin Greening, Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek up front, Erik Karlsson and Filip Kuba on the blue line and Ben Bishop in net.

7:25 p.m.: In addition to Chara, Bergeron, Thomas and Boychuk, the Bruins have scratched Mike Mottau and Lane MacDermid. With Mottau out, that means that Adam McQuaid returns to the lineup after missing the last three games with an eye injury.

Zenon Konopka, Bobby Butler, Matt Gilroy, Kaspars Daugavins and Craig Anderson are out for Ottawa. Former Bruin Alex Auld will back up Bishop in goal.

7:15 p.m.: With Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron both sitting this one one, the Bruins are down a captain and an alternate captain.

No one will don the C in this one, but the Bruins will have three alternate captains instead of the usual two. Chris Kelly and Andrew Ference, who usually alternate teh second A between home and away, with both wear it, while David Krejci will have the other A.

7 p.m.: No last-minute surprises in the goalie matchup, as Anton Khudobin and Ben Bishop lead the teams out for warm-ups in Ottawa and they will be the starting netminders in this one.

It will be Khudobin's debut with Boston, but he has played in the NHL before, and quite effectively. He was 4-1-0 with a 1.40 GAA and a .955 save percentage in six games with Minnesota in 2009-10 and 2010-11.

6:30 p.m.: What will likely be a preview of an opening-round playoff clash will take place in about an hour in Ottawa.

The Bruins won't have their full playoff roster for this one though, with Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Tim Thomas staying home in Boston for some extra rest before the postseason.

But the Bruins did already get some good news before the game, with defenseman Johnny Boychuk's injury from Tuesday's loss to Pittsburgh revealed to be only a mild knee sprain. He's listed as day to day.

With Thomas not in Ottawa, Anton Khudobin is expected to get the start for his first action with Boston. He was the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate, a sign that he will likely get the nod over Marty Turco in this one. With Turco ineligible for the playoffs, Khudobin will serve as Thomas' backup if Tuukka Rask is not ready to return from his abdominal/groin injury.

8 a.m. ET: The Bruins can't change their playoff position in their final two games, but they can make a statement heading into the postseason.

Boston is locked into the second seed in the Eastern Conference, putting them on a collision course with seventh-seeded Ottawa in the opening round. Ottawa just happens to be where the Bruins are visiting Thursday for their final road game of the regular season.

The Senators (41-29-10, 92 points) have clinched a playoff spot but can climb no higher than seventh. They can only fall to eighth if they lose both of their remaining games in regulation and Washington wins its last two games. That makes Thursday's clash a likely playoff preview, adding some spice to what has been a lopsided rivalry of late.

The Bruins (47-29-4, 98 points) have won four of the first five meetings with the Senators this season and are 18-4-0 over the last four seasons. That includes a 10-1-0 mark in Ottawa in that span, with 5-2 and 5-3 wins at Scotiabank Place this year.

Ottawa did win the last meeting 1-0 at the Garden, though, and Boston will enter this matchup without several key players. Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Tim Thomas remain in Boston for some well-deserved rest, while Johnny Boychuk will be out after suffering a lower-body injury Tuesday against Pittsburgh.

The Bruins lost that game against the Penguins 5-3, halting their momentum a bit after going 7-1-1 in their previous nine games. Ottawa also lost Tuesday, falling 2-1 to Carolina. But the Senators won their previous four games by a combined 23-12 count.

With Thomas resting, Anton Khudobin could get his first start with Boston. He and Marty Turco will dress as the Bruins netminders, but with Turco ineligible to play in the postseason, Khudobin would serve as Thomas' backup in the playoffs if Tuukka Rask remains sidelined. Youngster Ben Bishop is expected to start for Ottawa, with starter Craig Anderson 0-3-0 with a 4.75 GAA and .860 save percentage against the Bruins this season.

The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Tune in to NESN to watch the game, and stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening.

The Bruins got two goals from the Krejci line, one each by Milan Lucic and Rich Peverley, but Sidney Crosby scored a pair and the Penguins cashed in on two power plays late in the second period to pull this one out.

The Bruins next head to Ottawa on Thursday for a possible preview of a opening-round playoff clash.

Third Period, 19:30, Penguins 5-3: Turco has to head back to the net as the Bruins are shorthanded with Zdeno Chara taking a late tripping penalty.

Third Period, 18:41, Penguins 5-3: The Bruins' net is empty as Marty Turco heads to the bench for the extra attacker.

Third Period, 15:27, Penguins 5-3: Another player goes down in what has been a costly game to both sides. This time it's Pittsburgh forward Joe Vitale, who is hit up high by a Chara shot and heads to the locker room after staying down for several minutes.

Third Period, 15:13, Penguins 5-3: Zdeno Chara nearly pulls Boston within a goal with a strong drive to the net, but can't put it home at the right post and the Bruins also can't get to the rebound left in the crease.

Third Period, 12:21, Penguins 5-3: The Bruins can't convert that power-play chance and time has now become their enemy as well as the Penguins with Boston trailing by two with less than eight minutes to play.

Third Period, 10:21, Penguins 5-3: The Bruins will get their first power play of the night as Sidney Crosby is called for delay of game for sending the puck out of play.

Third Period, 8:04, Penguins 5-3: The Bruins get one back off a nice rush by Milan Lucic, setting up Rich Peverley for the goal.

Lucic came down his off wing, flipping a backhand pass across the crease to Peverley, who put it home at the left post with a backhand of his own.

Third Period, 6:45, Penguins 5-2: Things go from bad to worse for the Bruins as Johnny Boychuk is injured in a collision with Asham. Boychuk went down in pain in the Bruins zone and had to be helped off the ice.

Third Period, 6:15, Penguins 5-2: The Penguins extend the lead as the Pittsburgh fourth line strikes for a goal.

Craig Adams fired in the shot from the left circle and Arron Asham redirected it in front from the top of the crease.

Third Period, 3:15, Penguins 4-2: Mark Recchi is in the building and gets a big ovation when shown on the jumbotron. Recchi has strong ties to both of these organizations, having started his hall of fame career with Pittsburgh and ended it winning a Cup with Boston.

Third Period, 1:15, Penguins 4-2: Tyler Seguin is in alone with another breakaway chance, but fires high from the top of the crease.

Third Period, 0:32, Penguins 4-2: The Bruins almost get another goal at the start of a period as Benoit Pouliot nearly deflects home a Torey Krug point shot.

Third Period, 0:00, Penguins 4-2: The final frame is under way here at the Garden, where the Bruins will need a rally to pull this one out down two goals with 20 minutes to play.

Second Intermission Notes: The action picked up quickly late in the second period, but not to the Bruins' benefit. Pittsburgh took advantage of two Boston penalties eight seconds apart to score two late power-play goals for a 4-2 lead after two periods at the Garden.

Those goals sandwiched a lengthy and spirited scrap between Andrew Ference and James Neal in the eventful closing minutes.There was nearly another fight earlier when the Penguins took exception to Daniel Paille's hit on Matt Niskanen. Arron Asham challenged Paille, but was grabbed by Gregory Campbell, while Shawn Thornton cut off Deryk Engelland as he tried to get to Paille. Niskanen went to the locker room and Paille was given a minor for charging for the lone penalty on the play.

The Bruins did a better job in most of the physical areas in the second, although Pittsburgh still has the edge overall. Boston and Pittsburgh each had 11 hits in the middle frame, with the Penguins up 29-19 overall. Boston also had a 4-2 advantage in blocked shots in the period, but Pittsburgh remains up 10-5 overall in that category. The faceoffs likewise evened out at 11-11 in the second, but remain 24-20 in favor of Pittsburgh for the game.

Torey Krug has played 12:34 so far in his pro debut with the Bruins. He has a pair of shots, but has struggled at times, most notably with a turnover deep in the Boston zone that led to a Pittsburgh scoring chance early in the second period.

End Second Period, Penguins 4-2: After pulling even early in the second, the Bruins find themselves down a pair once again as the Penguins take advantage of a pair of late Boston penalties.

Second Period, 18:59, Penguins 4-2: The Penguins add another power-play goal as Sidney Crosby scores his second of the night on a tap-in at the left post.

Second Period, 18:27, Penguins 3-2: The gloves come off as Andrew Ference and James Neal engage in a furious fight behind the Boston net. Ference gave up a lot of size and took some shots, but landed a few of his own as well in a very spirited scrap.

Second Period, 18:11, Penguins 3-2: The Penguins take advantage of the penalties and take the lead again on a James Neal goal.

Neal fired the shot from the right circle for the goal.

Second Period, 17:29, 2-2: The Penguins will have a two-man advantage for 1:52 as Rich Peverley joins Paille in the box for high-sticking.

Second Period, 17:20, 2-2: The Penguins will now have a power-play chance as Daniel Paille goes for charging after a hit on Matt Niskanen, who heads to the locker room.

Second Period, 16:05, 2-2: The Penguins putting some pressure on the Bruins now, but Turco has been up to the task. His biggest save came on Tyler Kennedy, who was wide open for a clear shot from the right circle that caught Turco up high.

Second Period, 13:15, 2-2: The hitting is picking up again, with the Bruins doing a better job of delivering the blows this period. Daniel Paille just nailed Arron Asham into the boards in front of the Bruins bench, not far from where Milan Lucic slammed Brooks Orpik a few shifts earlier.

Second Period, 10:27, 2-2: The Bruins are up to 20 shots on Brent Johnson just over midway through the game. Marty Turco has faced 15 thus far as it remains deadlocked midway through the second period at the Garden.

Second Period, 7:40, 2-2: The Penguins nearly sneak one in as Pascal Dupuis fires a quick shot in from the left slot that appeared to take Turco a bit by surprise, but it hits the outside of the post as the game remains tied.

Second Period, 3:37, 2-2: Some trouble for the youngster as Torey Krug coughs up the puck deep in his own zone. Johnny Boychuk covers for him to help break up the threat, but the Bruins can't clear and eventually have to ice the puck, and the Crosby line threatens again off the faceoff before Turco can tie up the puck for another whistle and a line change.

Second Period, 1:08, 2-2: The Bruins nearly take the lead as Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin break in 2 on 0. Marchand sends the pass over to Seguin on the right side, but Johnson gets a piece to deny the bid.

Second Period, 0:18, 2-2: The Bruins need just 18 seconds to pull even, as Milan Lucic scores off a great feed from David Krejci.

Krejci collected a rebound in front and flipped a pass behind his back to Lucic for the easy tap-in from the left slot.

Second Period, 0:00, Penguins 2-1: The middle frame is under way here at the Garden, where the Bruins will look to try to build upon their late goal by Benoit Pouliot and pull even in this clash between playoff-bound Eastern Conference clubs.

First Intermission Notes: The Bruins fell behind early, but managed to pick up a little momentum late and go into the first intermission down just a goal at 2-1.

Boston outshot the Penguins 13-10 in the first, but that was about the only area the Bruins had the better of the visitors. Even in areas where the Bruins usually excel, they were beaten at their own game. That included the faceoff circle, where Boston is just 9-13 (41 percent) and in the physical play, where the Penguins hold an 18-8 lead in hits. Just five Bruins recorded hits in the first, led by Milan Lucic's three. Pittsburgh had double that with 10 players with hits, led by Jordan Staal's game-high four.

The Bruins got their goal from the third line with Benoit Pouliot scoring from Chris Kelly and Brian Rolston. That trio was separated on Sunday when Rolston had to center the fourth line with Gregory Campbell out, but they picked up right where they left off when reunited. Pittsburgh's surprising scoring star has continued his torrid play as well, with Pascal Dupuis setting up Sidney Crosby's goal to start the scoring. Dupuis has now scored a point in 15 straight games, the longest streak in the NHL this season.

End First Period, Penguins 2-1: The opening frame comes to a close with Pittsburgh up a goal but Boston grabbing some momentum late after Benoit Pouliot cut the deficit in half in final minutes of the period.

First Period, 18:49, Penguins 2-1: Milan Lucic and Evgeni Malkin exchange hits as things start to heat up again late in the opening period.

First Period, 16:57, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins answer back on a pretty goal from Benoit Pouliot.

Pouliot drove down the middle, around Paul Martin and lifted a backhander up and over Brent Johnson and just under the crossbar from the left slot. Chris Kelly and Brian Rolston pick up the assists as that line continues to produce.

First Period, 14:58, Penguins 2-0: The Penguins extend the lead with defenseman Paul Martin joining the attack and scoring on a rebound in front.

Tyler Kennedy had the initial shot from the right wing, with Martin driving the net for the follow-up, which Turco got a piece of. But the puck just dribbled over the line. After a review, the goal stands and the Penguins are up a pair late in the first.

First Period, 13:44, Penguins 1-0: The Bruins threaten again as Daniel Paille takes advantage of Deryk Engelland playing without a stick after the Penguins defenseman broke his twig. Paille skates around him down the left wing and centers it out through the crease, where the puck nearly deflects in off the traffic in front.

First Period, 11:09, Penguins 1-0: The Bruins nearly pull even as Tyler Seguin is sent in a partial breakaway down the right wing, but Johnson makes the stop as Seguin drives to the net.

First Period, 7:41, Penguins 1-0: The extra space pays off for the Penguins, with Sidney Crosby opening the scoring.

Pascal Dupuis extends his point streak to 15 games as he drops the puck from the side of the net to Crosby in front, and Crosby roofs it to the far top corner for the goal.

First Period, 7:20, 0-0: Things heat up a bit as Milan Lucic and James Neal start jawing and shoving in front of the benches. Both get two minutes for roughing and it will be 4-on-4 action for the next couple minutes.

First Period, 6:52, 0-0: This one is off to a bit of a slow start as the clubs feel each other out in the early going. They've combined for just four shots so far, though the Bruins do have three of them.

First Period, 2:28, 0-0: The Bruins kill that penalty off, with Rich Peverley actually having the best scoring chance shorthanded with a wraparound attempt at the left post.

First Period, 0:28, 0-0: The Bruins will have an early penalty to kill as David Krejci is called for delay of game on the contest's opening shift.

First Period, 0:00, 0-0: This one is under way here at the Garden, where the Bruins and Penguins will clash for the final time this season barring a possible playoff matchup down the road.

7:35 p.m.: Before the start of this one, there was a little hardware, not to mention a couple of Mazdas, to give out with the awarding of the NESN 7th Player Award as voted by fans on NESN.com.

Tyler Seguin takes the award as he leads the Bruins with 27-38-65 totals in a breakthrough sophomore campaign.

7:30 p.m.: The Bruins will open with David Krejci between Milan Lucic and Rich Peverley up front, with Andrew Ference and Joe Corvo on defense and Marty Turco in goal.

The Penguins counter with Sidney Crosby between Pascal Dupuis and Steve Sullivan up front, with Paul Martin and Kris Letang on the blue line and Brent Johnson in net.

7:25 p.m.: The Bruins have officially scratched Adam McQuaid (eye), Jordan Caron (flu), Greg Zanon, Mike Mottau and Tim Thomas.

Ben Lovejoy, Eric Tangradi, Dustin Jeffrey and Richard Park are out for Pittsburgh.

7:15 p.m.: The Bruins had rookie Torey Krug skating with Johnny Boychuk in warm-ups and it appears he will make his NHL debut on that pairing.

Mike Mottau, Greg Zanon and Adam McQuaid (eye) look to be the scratches on defense. Mottau was the only one of the three who took the warm-up, but did not skate in the line rushes.

The forward line combinations from warm-ups:

Lucic-Krejci-Peverley

Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin

Pouliot-Kelly-Rolston

Paille-Campbell-Thornton

Defense pairs:

Chara-Seidenberg

Ference-Corvo

Krug-Boychuck

7 p.m.: It's a battle of backups in the net, with Marty Turco and Brent Johnson leading the teams out for warm-ups.

That will be the goalie matchup in this one as expected.

6:45 p.m.: The Bruins will give Tim Thomas some needed rest as he will not only not start this game, but will not even dress.

Marty Turco will get the nod in goal, with recently recalled netminder Anton Khudobin backing him up.

In addition to the goalie switch, rookie Torey Krug will make his NHL debut on defense. Adam McQuaid remains out after suffering a cut over his eye that required 18 stitches to close last Thursday.

Jordan Caron is also out up front with the flu, while Gregory Campbell returns after sitting out Sunday's game in New York.

Sidney Crosby is a little sick himself, but it's not a virus ailing the Pittsburgh star. Instead, he was none too pleased about the comments Mike Milbury made about him on Monday.

The Bruins were in better spirits on Tuesday, enjoying the fact that they have become the first Northeast Division team to repeat as champions. Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand are also in good spirits as they enjoy some friendly competition going for the 30-goal milestone and the team lead in goals.

6:30 p.m.: The Bruins and Penguins will clash here at the Garden in about an hour.

The Bruins are locked into their playoff spot having clinched the Northeast Division and the No. 2 seed in the East, but the Penguins still have plenty to play for as they are battling for home ice in the likely 4-5 matchup in the East.

The Penguins currently have the fourth spot, but they are just one point ahead of Philadelphia, which hosts the Rangers on Tuesday.

8 a.m. ET: With just three games remaining in the regular season and the No. 2 seed in the East locked up, the Bruins will spend the next week readying for the playoffs while trying not to lose the edge they've gained on their recent torrid streak.

Boston enters Tuesday night's contest against the Penguins having gone 7-1-1 in its last nine games. The biggest win was Sunday against the New York Rangers, where the B's came out of Madison Square Garden with a 2-1 come-from-behind win.

The Bruins (47-28-4, 98 points) now turn their attention to the Penguins (48-25-6, 102 points), who have clinched a playoff spot and look to be a major contender in the fight for the Stanley Cup.

Pittsburgh has been uneven lately, losing five of its last nine, but the Penguins reeled off 11 in a row before that.

Pittsburgh holds the edge over the Bruins this season, winning 5-2 in March and 2-1 in February to Boston's sole victory in the series, a 3-1 win in December.

The Bruins called up AHL goalie Anton Khudobin on Monday to spell Tim Thomas as Boston prepares for the playoffs. Tuukka Rask is still not ready to return, and Marty Turco is unavailable for the playoffs.

Boston returns home with Dennis Seidenberg looking healthy. The defenseman missed a couple of games with an infected cut on his leg but returned Sunday against the Rangers and scored the equalizer in the win.

Still in question is Adam McQuaid, whose hard hit into the boards against the Washington Capitals on Thursday knocked him out of the game. He did not make the trip to New York after being rattled by the injury.

The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Tune in to NESN to watch the game, and stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening.

David Krejci had a pair of goals, Chris Kelly scored his 20th and the line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin combined for three goals and eight points as the Bruins continue to build momentum heading toward the postseason.

Boston is now 6-1-1 in its last eight games and will clinch the Northeast Division if Ottawa loses to Philadelphia in regulation. The Senators and Flyers are tied 3-3 late in the third period. The Bruins head into Manhattan on Sunday to complete their tour of the Big Apple by taking on the East-leading Rangers.

UPDATE: Ottawa prevailed 4-3 in a shootout in Philadelphia. That keeps the Bruins’ lead in the Northeast at six points, with both teams having four games remaining. The Bruins hold the tiebreakers, so even if Ottawa wins out, the Bruins just need to get two points to clinch the division title. Boston can actually clinch before they even take the ice Sunday night if Ottawa loses in regulation to the Islanders Sunday afternoon.

Third Period, 16:43, Bruins 6-3: The Bruins add another as David Krejci scores his second of the day.

Milan Lucic set it up with a strong drive to the net, then drops the puck back to Krejci in front for the goal.

Third Period, 16:19, Bruins 5-3: The Bruins answer right back as Patrice Bergeron extends the lead back to two goals.

Marchand sent the puck up to Seguin and Bergeron followed up with the rebound at the right post.

Third Period, 14:53, Bruins 4-3: The Islanders pull within one as P.A. Parenteau scores his second of the game.

John Taveres won possession of the puck behind the net from Boychuk and feed it out to Matt Moulson, who sent it along to Parenteau in front for the goal.

Third Period, 14:02, Bruins 4-2: The Bruins can’t convert the power play, and needed some strong defensive work from Zdeno Chara to break up a pair of shorthanded chances for the Islanders before the sides return to even strength.

Third Period, 12:02, Bruins 4-2: The Bruins finally get their first power-play chance of the day as Mark Streit is called for delay of game for sending the puck over the glass out of play.

Third Period, 10:37, Bruins 4-2: The Bruins get their two-goal lead as Tyler Seguin gives Boston a huge insurance goal.

Seguin fired in a wrister from long range, shooting from beyond the top of the left faceoff circle. Montoya had a clear look at it, but couldn’t get the glove up in time to snare it.

Third Period, 9:57, Bruins 3-2: The other revised Bruins lines have Jordan Caron up with Milan Lucic and David Krejci and Brian Rolston down with Shawn Thornton and Gregory Campbell. Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin remain together.

Third Period, 7:24, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins are pressing for some separation and their first two-goal lead of the day, which they almost get on a Rich Peverley attempt to stuff it home at the right post. Peverley is now skating with Kelly and Pouliot as Claude Julien has shaken up the lines in the third.

Third Period, 3:13, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins do take the lead again on a pretty move down the slot by Brad Marchand.

Tyler Seguin carried the puck down the right side and passed it over to Marchand in the middle, where he weaved through the defense, deked Montoya and slipped the puck between the pads for the goal.

Third Period, 1:35, 2-2: The Bruins nearly take the lead, but Jordan Caron rings the post with a bid for the go-ahead goal.

Third Period, 1:04, 2-2: The Bruins kill off the rest of the penalty, and nearly score shorthanded as Brad Marchand had a breakaway bid. That came after Johnny Boychuk nailed Parenteau with a huge hit at the blue line, but Boychuk went to the bench in pain and is being checked out there.

Third Period, 0:00, 2-2: The final frame is under way on Long Island, where the Bruins will have to kill off the rest of David Krejci’s penalty to start the third.

Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins took another one-goal lead, but once again couldn’t hold it as the teams head to the third tied 2-2.

Chris Kelly scored Boston’s second goal, netting his career-high 20th of the season. Boston now has six 20-goal scorers this season, the most since have seven back in 2008-09. Kelly’s goal came shortly after Gregory Campbell dropped the gloves with Michael Haley, and that bout appeared to spark the Bruins. It was Campbell’s 10th fighting major of the year, and he now needs just two goals to hit double figures in both fights and goals for the second straight season.

Beyond the score, the rest of the statsheet remains very even as well. The Isles have a slim 16-14 edge in shots with a 9-7 advantage in the second, and also lead 14-13 in hits, while Boston has a 12-11 edge in blocked shots. Faceoffs remain the one area that is not close, with the Bruins continuing to dominate the draws at 27-11 (71 percent). Patrice Bergeron is 11-4, David Krejci 8-3 and Campbell 3-0.

End Second Period, 2-2: The middle frame comes to a close with the game still deadlocked after the clubs exchanged goals again in the second. Marty Turco came up big with a couple huge saves on Matt Moulson late on the power play, but the Bruins will still have 1:04 left on David Krejci’s penalty to start the third.

Second Period, 19:03, 2-2: The Bruins will be shorthanded again late in the second as David Krejci is sent to the box for slashing.

Second Period, 18:15, 2-2: The Bruins survive some pressure after Mike Mottau breaks his stick and the Islanders get Boston hemmed in their own zone.

Second Period, 17:20, 2-2: The Bruins are able to kill that penalty off and Shawn Thornton, who served the penalty for Turco, is back on the ice as the sides return to even strength.

Second Period, 15:20, 2-2: The Bruins will now be shorthanded as Turco gets the first minor penalty of the day after tripping up Kyle Okposo trying to drive around the net. This will be a huge kill for the Bruins as the Isles have the momentum now after tying this one up.

Second Period, 14:26, 2-2: The Islanders tie it again as P.A. Parenteau scores off a beautiful feed from John Tavares.

Tavares gathered the puck in the left circle, spun and dished a pass to Parenteau for an easy tap-in behind Turco at the right post.

Second Period, 11:36, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins with another bid as Seguin sets up Bergeron in front, but Montoya makes the point-blank save to keep it a one-goal game.

Second Period, 10:06, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins continue to pressure as they appear to have come out here in the second with even more jump than they showed in the opening frame, perhaps noticing that Ottawa had built a 3-0 lead in Philadelphia, which the Flyers have now cut to 3-1.

Second Period, 4:58, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins appear to have gained the boost from that bout, as Chris Kelly gives Boston the lead again with his 20th goal of the season.

Kelly cut across the middle right to left, then went back across the grain with a shot back inside the right post.

Second Period, 2:56, 1-1: The gloves come off as Gregory Campbell and Michael Haley square off at center ice. They come together after some shadow boxing and both land some solid shots, with Haley scoring on a couple of lefts before the brief bout comes to a close.

Second Period, 1:50, 1-1: The teams have picked up right where they left off in the first with both sides creating chances in the early stages of the second. The Bergeron line had a chance for the Bruins, while Turco was forced to make tough saves on both Okposo and Marty Reasoner at the other end.

Second Period, 0:00, 1-1: The middle frame is under way on Long Island, where the Bruins are trying to break a deadlock with the Islanders after exchanging goals late in the first.

First Intermission Notes: The Bruins and Islanders are separated by 11 spots in the Eastern Conference standings, but there was absolutely no separation between the clubs in the opening period.

Not only is the score tied 1-1, but the teams are also tied 7-7 in shots, 7-7 in hits and even 4-4 in missed shots. The Bruins do have a 7-6 edge in blocked shots, as the Isles are up 18-17 in shot attempts.

The one area that hasn’t been even is the battle in the faceoff circle, where the Bruins are 13-4 (76 percent). Patrice Bergeron (7-1) and David Krejci (4-1) are leading the way there. Krejci also has Boston’s lone goal, with the Bruins flipping the right wings on the top two lines yet again with Rich Peverley back with Krejci and Milan Lucic, while Tyler Seguin has returned to the Bergeron line with Brad Marchand on the opposite wing.

Mike Mottau has returned to action after being a healthy scratch for the last several weeks. He was solid in the first period against his old club, registering a hit in 6:12 of ice time.

End First Period, 1-1: The opening frame comes to a close. After a slow start, the teams traded goals late in the period, with the Bruins also creating several other chances in the final minute.

First Period, 18:40, 1-1: The Islander answer less than a minute later with Kyle Okposo scoring from the left side near the top of the circle to pull New York even.

First Period, 18:11, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins open the scoring with a David Krejci goal late in the first.

Krejci’s initial drive was blocked in front, but Milan Lucic tracked the puck down and fed a backhand pass from below the goal line to Krejci in the right slot for the quick shot.

First Period, 15:14, 0-0: Turco has been sharp early in this one, carrying over his strong performance in Anaheim last weekend. He stoned Josh Bailey with a pad save on a shot in tight from the right side.

First Period, 14:12, 0-0: The first sign of any nastiness in this one as Mike Mottau and then Brad Marchand each exchange shoves with Islanders forward Nino Niederreiter in front of the Boston net. No penalties are called and there still has not been a need to open the sin bin doors in this one yet.

First Period, 10:32, 0-0: After a good pace early, things have slowed a bit with the Bruins charged with back-to-back icings. Still, overall Boston has had pretty good jump despite the injuries on defense and knowledge that a playoff spot has been clinched.

First Period, 7:30, 0-0: The Islanders with another threat with their fourth line showing some nifty passing that ends with call-up Micheal Haley getting a shot from the left slot that Turco ties up for a faceoff.

First Period, 3:52, 0-0: The Islanders answer by testing Turco as John Tavares has a chance in the high slot after a Bruins turnover at the blue line, but Turco flashes the glove for the save.

First Period, 2:10, 0-0: The Bruins threaten early as Chris Kelly barrels down the middle of the ice fires in a shot from the slot. He beats Montoya, but the puck clangs the left post and stays out.

First Period, 0:00, 0-0: This one is under way on Long Island, where the Bruins, fresh off clinching a playoff spot with Buffalo’s loss on Friday, will look to strengthen their hold on the Northeast Division lead against an Islanders team that’s 13th in the East, but suddenly very hot. The Isles are coming off three straight wins against playoff-bound opponents after beating Florida and sweeping a home-and-home series with Pittsburgh.

1 p.m.: The Bruins will open with some combos a little different than what they showed in warm-ups, with Tyler Seguin back with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand up front, Andrew Ference and Johnny Boychuk on defense and Marty Turco in goal.

The Islanders counter with their top line of Matt Moulson, John Tavares and P.A. Parenteau up front, Travis Hamonic and Andrew MacDonald on the blue line and Al Montoya in net.

12:55 p.m.: The Bruins have officially scratched Daniel Paille, Dennis Seidenberg (leg infection), Adam McQuaid (eye), Torey Krug and Tuukka Rask (groin).

Milan Jurcina, Casey Cizikas and Evgeni Nabokov (lower body) are out for the Islanders.

12:45 p.m.: The Bruins will stick with the same lines up front for this one, but the injuries will force some changes on defense.

Here are the combinations the Bruins appear to be using for this one.

Forwards:

Lucic-Krejci-Seguin

Marchand-Bergeron-Peverley

Pouliot-Kelly-Rolston

Caron-Campbell-Thornton

Defense:

Chara-Boychuk

Ference-Zanon

Mottau-Corvo

12:30 p.m.: As expected, Marty Turco and Al Montoya led the teams out onto the ice for warm-ups and that will be the goaltending matchup for this one.

12:15 p.m.: The Bruins kick off a quick tour of New York with a matinee against the Islanders in a little less than an hour.

They follow that up with a showdown against the East-leading Rangers on Sunday, but can’t afford to look past the Isles, who have won three straight against playoff competition.

The Bruins will go will Marty Turco in goal, while Dennis Seidenberg (leg infection) and Adam McQuaid (eye) will be out on defense. Mike Mottau and Joe Corvo will replace them.

8 a.m. ET: The Bruins locked up a playoff berth without even playing on Friday, clinching a spot when Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 5-3.

But there’s still plenty for Boston to play for as the Bruins kick off a weekend tour of New York with a clash against the Islanders on Saturday. Boston is still looking to lock up the Northeast Division title and the second seed in the East. The Bruins lead Ottawa in the division by six points with each team having five games left, while holding a four-point edge and a game in hand on Southeast Division-leading Florida for the No. 2 seed.

Picking up more points against the Islanders won’t be easy though despite New York currently sitting 13th in the East. The Isles have won three straight over playoff-bound teams, beating Florida 3-2 and sweeping Pittsburgh in a home-and-home series by identical 5-3 scores. The Islanders also won the last matchup with the Bruins 3-2 in Boston on March 3, a loss that was especially costly for the Bruins as Tuukka Rask was injured during the contest.

The Islanders (33-33-11, 77 points) have health issues of their own in goal with Evgeni Nabokov suffering a lower-body injury Tuesday against Pittsburgh. With Rick DiPietro already out for the season with a groin injury, the Islanders were desperate enough to sign former Bruin John Grahame, who last played in the NHL in 2008 with Carolina, on Wednesday.

The Bruins (45-28-4, 94 points) are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to Washington on Thursday, but are still 5-1-1 in their last seven games as they appear to be gaining momentum heading toward the postseason.

The puck drops at 1 p.m. Tune in to NESN to watch the game, and stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we’ll keep you up to speed on everything happening.

Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron scored for the Bruins, but David Krejci and Rich Peverley were stopped. Matt Hendricks and Alexander Semin also scored for Washington.

The Bruins don't clinch a playoff spot with the single point for the shootout loss, but the late rally to force overtime and earn that point does strengthen their hold on the top spot in the Northeast Division. Boston now leads Ottawa by six points, but no longer has a game in hand as both teams have five games remaining. The Bruins also remain four points up on Florida in the battle for the No. 2 seed in the East with the Panthers losing in overtime to Minnesota.

Boston hits the road for two games in New York, facing the Islanders on Saturday and the Rangers on Sunday.

End Overtime, 2-2: This one will be settled in a shootout. The Caps had a late chance but Ovechkin missed from the right slot with 23 seconds left, and now it will come down to the breakaway competition.

Overtime, 4:44, 2-2: The Bruins with the best chance in a fast-moving overtime as Brad Marchand fires a shot from the right slot and Johnny Boychuk follows up trying to stuff it home at the right post in a wild scramble in the crease.

The Capitals use their timeout after the whistle with a key faceoff coming in the Washington zone.

Overtime, 0:00, 2-2: The five-minute sudden death extra session is under way. the teams will skate 4 on 4 to try to earn the extra point in this one.

End Regulation 2-2: This one will be going to overtime. The Bruins strike twice in the closing minutes to earn at least a point, but still need the second point to clinch a playoff spot.

Third Period, 18:44, 2-2: The Bruins pull even with another late strike, this one from Andrew Ference.

The Boston defenseman fired in a shot from just inside the center of the blue line through a screen in front to tie it. Thomas was still in the net, as the Bruins had yet to pull him for the extra attacker.

Third Period, 16:50, Capitals 2-1: The Bruins are back in this one late as they cut the deficit to one.

Zdeno Chara sent in the shot from the blue line with David Krejci and Rich Peverley providing the screen in front. Krejci got a piece of it going by and gets the goal.

Third Period, 16:05, Capitals 2-0: The hitting continues as Ovechkin catches Gregory Campbell and levels him in the Capitals zone.

Third Period, 14:23, Capitals 2-0: Things are heating up a bit. Zdeno Chara manhandled Matt Hendricks throughout that shift, sending him down several times. But Hendricks got the last shot, coming in low and taking down the big blueliner behind the net.

Third Period, 13:24, Capitals 2-0: The Bruins have again shuffled their lines up front, putting Tyler Seguin back with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, while Rich Peverley moves up with David Krejci and Milan Lucic.

Third Period, 9:54, Capitals 2-0: The Capitals strike again, this time with Marcus Johansson scoring off an Ovechkin feed,

That pair broke in 2 on 1 with Chara back. Ovechkin carried the puck down the left wing and crossed it over to Johansson. he broke his stick on the shot, but got enough on it to get it past Thomas.

Third Period, 7:59, Capitals 1-0: The Capitals finally break the ice, and its ex-Bruin Dennis Wideman with the goal.

Wideman took a drop pass from Alex Ovechkin and fired a shot that beat Thomas uo high from the slot.

Third Period, 4:52, 0-0: The Krejci line with a strong shift creating pressure in the Washington zone, but even with Caps defenseman Dennis Wideman caught without a stick the Bruins couldn't put one of those opportunities home.

Third Period, 2:27, 0-0: Patrice Bergeron has a chance driving hard to the net, but loses control of the puck trying to go to the backhand in front and can't get a shot off.

Third Period, 0:00, 0-0: The final frame is under way here at the Garden, but it won't be the final frame unless somebody finally scores. The Bruins can clinch a playoff spot with a win, while the Caps are trying to claw back into a playoff position.

Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins and Caps are still struggling to get anything going offensively. Boston has a 15-9 edge in shots, but that was just 8-7 in the second and neither team has been particularly accurate with their shots so far.

Boston has put just 15 of 43 attempts on net, with 13 others blocked and 15 missing the net. The Caps have nine shots on goal on 24 attempts (7 blocked, 8 missed).

The Bruins did ramp up their physical game in the second. After being outhit 8-4 in the first, they had a 14-2 edge in the second for an 18-10 overall lead. Johnny Boychuk leads the way with four, followed by Greg Zanon with three. The Bruins are also controlling the draws, going 22-14 on faceoffs (61 percent). As usual, Patrice Bergeron is leading that effort at 14-5.

End Second Period, 0-0: the middle frame comes to a close with the game still scoreless. Neither goalie has been especially busy, with the Bruins managing 15 shots on goal and the Capitals just nine.

Second Period, 18:11, 0-0: The Caps have come alive with three whole shots in the last minute. That ups their total in the game to nine as they remain short of double digits with the second period nearly complete.

Second Period, 15:08, 0-0: Milan Lucic finishes a big hit on Cody Eakin the Washington zone. That's some payback for the hit Eakin put on Lucic in the first period.

Second Period, 13:08, 0-0: The Bruins kill that penalty off without allowing a shot as the sides return to even strength. Boston's penalty killers get a nice ovation from the Garden faithful as the penalty expires.

Second Period, 11:08, 0-0: The Bruins will have to kill off their first penalty of the night as David Krejci is called for high-sticking. Boston is up 14-6 in shots, but it remains a scoreless draw more than halfway through this game.

Second Period, 8:44, 0-0: The Bruins come right back with their best chance of the night. Greg Zanon sent a shot in from the point that hit the post, then the back of Neuvirth's leg. Bergeron tried to bang home the rebound from the left side below the goal line but it stayed out.

Second Period, 8:21, 0-0: Washington with a rare chance as Alex Ovechkin uses his speed to get outside down the right wing and feeds Brooks Laich in front for a shot from the slot that Thomas turned aside.

Second Period, 4:50, 0-0: The Capitals get their first shot of the period and just their third shot of the game nearly five minutes into the second with a Mike Green point shot. The Bruins have just nine shots in the game.

Second Period, 2:00, 0-0: The Bruins have announced that Adam McQuaid will not return to the game after being injured in the first period on hit from Jason Chimera.

Second Period, 0:00, 0-0: The middle frame is under way here at the Garden. Adam McQuaid has not returned to the Bruins bench to start the second.

First Intermission Notes: The Bruins and Capitals have both struggled to get anything going offensively so far, though the Bruins are at least trying.

Boston has attempted 25 shots to just six for Washington, but only seven of those attempts have reached the net. Nine others were blocked and nine missed the net. Wasington got two of their attempts on Tim Thomas, with three others blocked and one missing.

The Bruins were helped in compiling that shot advantage by the five-minute power play late in the first, but the inability to cash in on that chance could prove costly in this game. The severity of the injury to Adam McQuaid on the play could be far more costly going forward.

Washington also has an injury issue to deal with, as starting goalie Tomas Vokoun left late in the first. He was playing his first game since March 16 after suffering a groin injury and may have re-injured that. Michal Neuvirth came on in relief with 1:35 left, but did not face a shot before the end of the period.

End First Period, 0-0: The opening frame has come to a close with neither team scoring despite the Bruins holding a 7-2 advantage in shots. The bigger concern is the condition of Adam McQuaid, who went off injured late in the period after a hit that earned Jason Chimera a five-minute major and game misconduct.

First Period,19:00, 0-0: The Bruins created some chances, but could not convert on the five-minute power play and the sides are now back at even strength.

First Period,18:25, 0-0: The Capitals have switched goalies as Tomas Vokoun headed to the locker room. He was in his first game back from a groin injury and may have aggravated it. Michal Neuvirth is now in goal for Washington.

First Period,14:00, 0-0: The Bruins will be going on a five-minute power play, but it comes at the cost of an injury to Adam McQuaid. McQuaid was hurt on a hit from behind by Jason Chimera, who gets a major for charging and a game misconduct.

McQuaid was turning as Chimera hit him and went face first into the boards behind the Bruins net. He was down for several minutes and helped to the locker room holding a towel to his face with an apparent cut.

First Period,11:19, 0-0: Rich Peverley fires wide on a bid from the right slot and there have still been just three shots combined more than halfway through the opening period. The Bruins have two to the Caps' one.

First Period, 7:18, 0-0: The Bruins had their best scoring chance yet when Zdeno Chara fired in a shot from the left point and the rebound went right to Brad Marchand alone along the goal line to the right of the cage, but Marchand couldn't get the bad-angle shot on net.

First Period, 5:10, 0-0: The physical play is picking up a little in the early going, but it's a guy who usually dishes out the hits that was on the receiving end. Milan Lucic was nailed hard into the boards in front of the Bruins bench by Cody Eakin.

First Period, 3:19, 0-0: Bit of a slow start to this one with neither team putting a shot on goal yet and the Bruins' timing a bit off with back-to-back offsides trying to gain the Washington zone.

First Period, 0:00, 0-0: This one is under way here at the Garden, where the Bruins can clinch a playoff spot with a win over Washington.

7 p.m.: The Bruins will open this one with the red-hot third line of Benoit Pouliot, Chris Kelly and Brian Rolston up front, with Greg Zanon and Joe Corvo on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.

The Capitals counter with ex-Bruin Mike Knuble, Jay Beagle and Matt Hendricks up front, with Roman Hamrlik and Mike Green on the blue line and Tomas Vokoun in net.

6:50 p.m.: The Bruins have officially scratched Daniel Paille once again, along with Mike Mottau and Torey Krug. Dennis Seidenberg (leg laceration) and Tuukka Rask (groin) are out with injuries.

John Erskine, Jeff Halpern, Joel Ward and Jeff Schultz are out for Washington.

6:45 p.m.: Based on warm-ups, the Bruins will be going with the same forward lines, while Joe Corvo replaces the injured Dennis Seidenberg on defense.

The full line combinations from warm-ups:

Lucic-Krejci-Seguin

Marchand-Bergeron-Peverley

Pouliot-Kelly-Rolston

Caron-Campbell-Thornton

Defense pairs:

Chara-Boychuk

Ference-McQuaid

Zanon-Corvo

6:40 p.m.: Torey Krug, a free-agent defenseman out of Michigan State signed earlier this week, is taking his first warm-up with the Bruins.

He was not in the line rushes and won't be playing, but Claude Julien has used warm-ups in the paast to help youngsters get acclimated to the NHL as they adjust to the pro game.

6:30 p.m.: It's a Thomas vs. Tomas showdown at the Garden.

Tim Thomas and Tomas Vokoun lead their respective clubs onto the ice for warm-ups. That will be the goaltending matchup in this one.

6 p.m.: The Bruins will get a chance to clinch a playoff spot when they take on the Capitals here at the Garden in about an hour.

Washington's playoff hopes are a little dimmer, but the Caps are still alive, sitting in ninth place just two points out of the final spot in the East.

They should be a desperate bunch in this one, and the Bruins will have to face them without defenseman Dennis Seidenberg. He will miss his first game of the season with an infection in his leg from a cut from a skate originally suffered Saturday in Los Angeles. Joe Corvo will return to the lineup to replace him.

The Bruins will still have an intimidating presence on the blue line, as Adam McQuaid has once again unveiled his frightening buzz cut/mullet hybrid after Wednesday's Cuts for a Cause event.

Tim Thomas was the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate and is expected to get the start, with Tomas Vokoun returning from a groin injury to start in net for Washington.

8 a.m. ET: The Bruins have strung together three straight victories, their longest win streak since a seven-game run all the way back in December.

But extending that streak to four won't be easy when a desperate Washington Capitals club comes to the Garden on Thursday.

Washington is battling for its playoff life, currently sitting in ninth place in the East. The Capitals are two points behind Buffalo for the final playoff spot after dropping a 5-1 decision to the Sabres on Tuesday. But Washington was 6-2-2 in its previous 10 games, making a late push for the postseason after a disappointing campaign.

The Bruins still have plenty to play for themselves as they look to lock up the Northeast Division crown and the second seed in the East. Boston is up by five points on Ottawa with a game in hand in the battle for the division crown, and the Bruins lead third-seeded Florida by four points.

Obviously, the Capitals will have even more urgency in this one, but Bruins coach Claude Julien said he welcomes the challenge of facing a desperate foe to help prepare his club for the intensity of the upcoming postseason.

"I think for us it's great," Julien said after Wednesday's practice. "It's the kind of competition we need this time of year to get ourselves ready for the playoffs. If you can't handle those kind of games now, how are you going to handle them in a couple weeks? I don't mind those at all. I think it's going to be a great title [Thursday], and I'm looking forward to it."

The Bruins have already lost twice to the Capitals this season, falling 5-3 in Washington on Jan. 24 and 4-3 at the Garden on March 10. Boston did win the meeting in between, prevailing 4-1 in Washington on Feb. 5.

The Capitals could get goalie Tomas Vokoun back for this game. He's been out since March 16 with a groin injury. Center Nicklas Backstrom, sidelined since Jan. 3 with a concussion, is traveling with the team but has been ruled out for Thursday.

The puck drops at 7 p.m. Tune in to NESN to watch the game, and stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening at the Garden.

Boston takes 2 of 3 on the swing through California. Just as important, Marty Turco was instrumental in the win, giving the Bruins, and Tim Thomas, some much-needed relief with a strong performance. Turco made 25 saves for his first win as a Bruin and first victory in the NHL in over a year.

He had some help, especially from the red-hot third line as Chris Kelly, Brian Rolston and Benoit Pouliot combined for two more goals and four assists. That line now has 9-17-26 totals and is a combined plus-23 in the last six games.

The win pushed Boston's lead over Ottawa to five points and over Buffalo to seven points for the top spot in the Northeast Division. The Bruins still have one game in hand on both the Senators and the Sabres. Boston also picked up a point on Florida, which lost in a shootout to the Islanders and is now four points behind Boston for the second seed in the East.

The Bruins return home to face Tampa Bay on Tuesday at the Garden.

Third Period, 18:56, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins use their timeout as the Ducks continue to press for the tying goal with Hiller pulled for the extra attacker. He has to go back into the net with the faceoff at center ice.

Third Period, 17:31, Bruins 3-2: The Ducks do pull within one as Lubomir Visnovsky scores off a wild scramble in front.

Zdeno Chara coughed up the puck after a borderline hook, and Visnovsky eventually converted with a shot up high from the slot.

Third Period, 16:01, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins kill off that penalty with Turco making a pair of huge saves to keep the lead at two goals with the sides now back at even strength less with than four minutes to play in regulation.

Third Period, 14:01, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins will have a key penalty to kill here late in the third as Tyler Seguin is called for high-sticking to give the Ducks a power play.

Third Period, 13:06, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins add a huge insurance goal, and once again, it's the third line providing the key score.

Brian Rolston stays red hot with another goal, scoring on a one-timer from the right circle off a feed from Chris Kelly on a 2 on 1. Benoit Pouliot sprung the odd-man break by taking a huge hit to make the play.

Third Period, 10:38, Bruins 2-1: Andrew Ference is back on the ice for the Bruins. That's a good sign for sure, although he is still moving a little gingerly out there.

Third Period, 8:35, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins now just miss out on a goal as Brad Marchand beats Hiller with a shot from the left wing, but the puck clangs off the post and stays out.

Third Period, 7:22, Bruins 2-1: The Ducks appeared to pull even as Matt Belesky scored from the slot, but the goal is waved off because Andrew Cogliano interfered with Turco. It's not a penalty, but the contact was enough to negate the goal and keep the Bruins in the lead.

Third Period, 6:40, Bruins 2-1: The fourth line puts plenty of pressure on the Ducks with some strong work by Thornton, Campbell and Caron creating a series of scoring chances for the Bruins.

Third Period, 4:51, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins had some near misses but just couldn't quite connect on the opportunities created during the power play, and the sides are back to even strength.

Third Period, 2:51, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins will go on the power play looking for an insurance goal as Shawn Thornton draws an interference call on Luca Sbisa.

Third Period, 1:22, Bruins 2-1: The Ducks nearly tie it as Saku Koivu rings the near post from the right circle. Andrew Ference blocked a shot earlier in that shift and has gone to the locker room after struggling through the rest of the shift.

Third Period, 0:00, Bruins 2-1: The final frame is under way in Anaheim, where the Bruins will need a strong final 20 minutes to close out a key win to cap this West Coast trip before returning home.

Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins are one period away from collecting a huge win on the road, but they still have a lot of work to do to secure those two points.

Boston's offense broke through in the second, with Zdeno Chara opening the scoring and Benoit Pouliot adding another goal 1:22 later. The third line continues to produce with Brian Rolston and Chris Kelly each getting assists on that Pouliot goal. That trio now has 8-15-23 totals in the last six games.

Marty Turco continues to look strong with 12 saves on 13 shots so far. Rich Peverley has also played well in his return. He has a pair of shots and is a plus-1 in 10:26 of ice time through two periods. Peverley is also 2-0 on faceoffs, with the Bruins still dominating the draws 25-17 (60 percent). David Krejci leads the way there at 7-1.

End Second Period, Bruins 2-1: The middle frame comes to a close with the Bruins still up a goal despite a strong push from the Ducks after Anaheim got on the board to cut into Boston's two-goal lead.

Second Period, 18:55, Bruins 2-1: Zdeno Chara with quite a shift, jumping up in the attack to try to get something going offensively, then hustling back to break up an Anaheim 2-on-1 break.

Second Period, 15:20, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins nearly get their two-goal lead back, but Jordan Caron can't get a stick on the feed from Gregory Campbell with an open net in front of him at the right post.

Second Period, 12:10, Bruins 2-1: The Ducks have taken over the momentum after that goal, but the Bruins finally muster a counterattack with Krejci nearly setting up Seguin on the left wing with a chance.

Second Period, 9:11, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins don't keep that two-goal lead for long as Teemu Selanne needs just 11 seconds of power-play time to get Anaheim on the board.

Selanne tipped a blast from Cam Fowler from the left post, redirecting it just enough to get by Turco.

Second Period, 9:00, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins will be shorthanded with Adam McQuaid called for holding, but they still have a two-goal lead as Turco robs Nick Bonino all alone in the right slot during the delayed call.

Second Period, 5:59, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins add another one quickly as Benoit Pouliot doubles the lead.

Chris Kelly took a pass from Brian Rolston, faked a shot from the slot and left the puck for Pouliot, who ripped in a quick wrister from the left slot past Hiller.

Second Period, 4:37, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins strike first as Zdeno Chara opens the scoring.

Chara snapped in a quick wrister from the left point that deflected off the stick of a defender in front and got past Hiller.

Second Period, 3:01, 0-0: The Bruins fourth line has a chance as Gregory Campbell flips the puck to the front of the net, where Shawn Thornton nearly put it home with a nifty move to the backhand from the top of the crease.

Second Period, 2:08, 0-0: The Bruins have come out strong to start the second, creating several chances. The best was from Peverley, but his one-timer in the slot was blocked in front by the defense.

Second Period, 0:00, 0-0: The middle frame is under way in Anaheim, where both teams are still searching for the first goal in this defensive struggle.

First Intermission Notes: It was a solid road period for the Bruins in the first. They kept Anaheim's chances to a minimum, and Marty Turco took care of the few shots that the Ducks did manage.

Turco only faced one shot in the first half of the period but was tested more later on, especially on the Ducks' lone power play. The shots finished even at 6-6, but it's a very encouraging sign for the Bruins that Turco looks as strong and poised as he did after his rough outing in Tampa.

Rich Peverley also looked strong in his first game back. He saw time at even strength, on the power play and on the penalty kill as he wasn't exactly eased back into action. But he looks up to the challenge. He had one shot on a good scoring chance early and was 2-0 on faceoffs in 4:50. Peverley was just part of Boston's domination on draws, with the Bruins 14-4 overall (78 percent) on faceoffs.

End First Period, 0-0: The opening frame comes to a close with no scoring. Marty Turco was a big reason for that, delivering a strong bounce-back performance after his struggles the last time out in Tampa.

First Period, 16:01, 0-0: The Bruins kill off that penalty, with Turco coming through when tested for the first time. He denied Teemu Selanne on a redirection of a Cam Fowler shot, then stopped a Fowler blast and Bobby Ryan's rebound in front as the Ducks put three shots on goal during the power play.

First Period, 14:01, 0-0: The Bruins will be shorthanded for the first time in this one with Andrew Ference sent off for tripping. Boston is up 3-1 in shots at this point.

First Period, 12:58, 0-0: The Bruins have a rare offensive chance as Benoit Pouliot steals the puck from Cam Fowler and breaks in alone but can't put the shot home against Hiller.

First Period, 10:35, 0-0: Not much offense early in this one, with each team managing just one shot on goal more than halfway through the period.

Greg Zanon did land a different kind of shot with a big hit on Corey Perry behind the net as the physical play has picked up a bit.

First Period, 7:12, 0-0: The Bruins can't get much going on that power play, struggling to sustain any time in the Anaheim zone and not even getting a shot on goal before the sides return to even strength.

First Period, 5:12, 0-0: The Bruins will get the first power-play chance of the night as Lubomir Visnovsky goes off for tripping Brian Rolston just outside the Anaheim blue line.

First Period, 3:26, 0-0: Peverley almost makes his presence felt right away as he's set up for a scoring bid from the slot off a feed from the left side by Bergeron, but Jonas Hiller robs Peverley with a glove save.

First Period, 0:30, 0-0: Rich Peverley takes his first since since being hurt Feb. 15 as he's out with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand in the opening minute of this one.

First Period, 0:00, 0-0: This one is under way in Anaheim, where the Bruins will look to finish their West Coast trip in style. They'll do it with Marty Turco in goal and Rich Peverley back in the lineup after missing 19 games with a knee injury.

8 p.m.: The Bruins will open with the red-hot third line of Chris Kelly between Benoit Pouliot and Brian Rolston to start. Andrew Ference and Zdeno Chara will start on defense, with Marty Turco in goal.

The Ducks counter with Devante Smith-Pelly, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry up front, Lubomir Visnovsky and Luca Sbisa on the blue line and Jonas Hiller in net.

7:55 p.m.: Rich Peverley is officially back for the Bruins. Daniel Paille joins Trent Whitfield, Joe Corvo and Mike Mottau as the healthy scratches.

The Ducks have scratched tough guy George Parros, Rod Pelley and defenseman Nate Guinen (orbital bone).

7:45 p.m.: Based on the lines in warm-ups, it appears that Rich Peverley may be returning in this game, with Daniel Paille the likely scratch.

The warm-up lines had Tyler Seguin back up with Milan Lucic and David Krejci, while Peverley skated with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. the third line of Benoit Pouliot, Chris Kelly and Brian Rolston remained intact, with Jordan Caron joining Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton on the fourth unit.

Official scratches will come in a few minutes.

7:30 p.m.: Marty Turco leads the Bruins onto the ice for warm-ups. He'll get a shot for his second start with the Bruins, and both Turco and the Bruins will hope this goes better than his first effort in Tampa.

Jonas Hiller led out the Ducks and will start for Anaheim, as expected.

7:15 p.m.: Claude Julien didn't tip his hand on any of his tough decisions while meeting with the media moments ago.

Rich Peverley will take warm-ups again, but Julien hasn't made a decision if he will play or who will sit if he does.

"It is tough," Julien said of deciding who to scratch if Peverley plays. "It's never an easy decision to make."

Julien did add that he'd rather have to make those tough decisions with more players available then continue to deal with injuries to key players.

Julien also wouldn't reveal his starting goalie, instead having some fun with the reporters on hand. "That's a good question," Julien joked, adding that he wouldn't say because he got out of the "wrong side of the bed. You guys can see who comes out first [in warm-ups]."

7 p.m.: The Bruins will close out their West Coast trip in Anaheim, with the faceoff in just about an hour.

The Bruins need a victory to end the trip with a winning record after splitting games in San Jose and Los Angeles. They also need a win to maintain their lead in the Northeast Division, with the Senators and Sabres still breathing down their necks.

8 a.m. ET: The Bruins ended their four-game road losing streak Saturday in Los Angeles. Now they'll look to close out their California trip with back-to-back victories as they take on the Ducks in Anaheim on Sunday.

That won't be easy, though. The Ducks are out of the playoff mix, in 12th place in the West, thanks to a brutal first half of the season, but they've been among the hottest teams in the league in the second half. Anaheim was just 10-22-6 on Jan. 4 but has gone 22-10-5 since. That includes victories in the Ducks' last two games, beating a San Jose club that defeated Boston to open the Bruins' trip and a St. Louis team that leads the Western Conference.

The Bruins have also lost three straight games to the Ducks and have not won in Anaheim since before the owners' lockout, with their last victory at the then Pond, now Honda Center, back on Oct. 19, 2003.

Boston needs to win this one, though. Even with Saturday's 4-2 win over the Kings, the Bruins are just three points ahead of Ottawa and five points ahead of Buffalo for the Northeast Division lead. They do have two games in hand on both the Senators and Sabres. They're even in games with Florida, which is just three points back of Boston for the second seed in the East.

The Bruins could get some reinforcements in this one. Rich Peverley, who has been out since Feb. 15 with a knee injury, took warm-ups Saturday in Los Angeles. He didn't play against the Kings but should return soon, perhaps as early as Sunday in Anaheim.

The puck drops at 8 p.m. Tune in to NESN to watch the game, and stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening.

That was a much-needed win, with the Bruins snapping a four-game road losing streak. They also maintain their three-point edge on Ottawa and five-point lead on Buffalo for the Northeast Division lead, with Boston holding two games in hand on both teams.

Thomas was the star of the game, finishing with 41 saves as he appears to have finally found his old form. He's now 3-1-0 with a 1.48 GAA and a .946 save percentage in his last four games after going 2-5-0 with a 4.26 GAA and an .830 save percentage in his first eight appearances after Tuukka Rask was injured.

The Bruins will look to carry the momentum into Sunday's clash with the Ducks in Anaheim as they close out their three-game road trip. 

Third Period, 18:54, Bruins 3-2: The Kings have pulled Quick for the extra attacker, leaving the Los Angeles net open for the final minute.

Third Period, 17:57, Bruins 3-2: The Kings had a lot of pressure in the Boston zone again, but managed just one shot on net and are now 0 for 4 on the power play as the Bruins hold on to their one-goal lead with just over two minutes left in regulation.

Third Period, 15:57, Bruins 3-2: The Kings will now have a late power-play chance to pull even as Jordan Caron is sent to the box for high-sticking.

Third Period, 14:46, Bruins 3-2: The Kings pull within one as Slava Voynov scores from the right point.

That came off a clean faceoff win after a Bruins icing, with Voynov taking advantage with the shot eludes Thomas.

Third Period, 14:00, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins now inches away from adding another goal, with Milan Lucic leading a 2 on 1 down the left wing and setting up David Krejci in front. But Quick gets the pad over to rob Krejci from the top of the crease.

Third Period, 13:13, Bruins 3-1: The Kings are surging now with plenty of pressure in he Boston end. Willie Mitchell comes within inches of making a one-goal game, as his blast from the point trickles through Thomas' pads and dribbles just wide of the net behind him.

Third Period, 9:53, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins nearly get another as Brad Marchand picks off a Dustin Penner pass up the middle of the ice at the L.A. blue line and moves in for a scoring bid, but Quick makes the stop to keep the Kings alive in this one.

Third Period, 5:56, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins add a huge insurance goal as Chris Kelly scores from in front.

Brian Rolston started the play with a pass up to Benoit Pouliot on the left wing. Pouliot then centered it to Kelly, with the puck going in off Kelly's skate. A review showed there was no distinct kicking motion, and the goal was upheld to give Boston a two-goal advantage.

Third Period, 4:37, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins take the lead again as Milan Lucic breaks the tie.

After Mike Richards blasted David Krejci with a huge hit in the Boston zone, the Bruins counterattacked and Lucic finished the rush with a shot from the right circle through Quick's pads.

Third Period, 3:36, 1-1: The Kings continue to pressure, but Thomas comes up with another stop on Dustin Brown from the slot, then later in the shift stones both Brown and Justin Williams in front.

Third Period, 0:00, 1-1: The final frame is under way with both clubs in need of a victory with division rivals of both teams already posting wins.

Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins and Kings remained deadlocked after exchanging goals in the second, but it was a much stronger period for Boston.

The Bruins came out playing with more of a physical edge, and that eventually got the offense going a bit. Patrice Bergeron scored the lone goal with a shorthanded tally set up by Brad Marchand. Bergeron is having his typical strong all-around night with three shots, a hit, two blocked shots to go with his goal in 11:24 of ice time. He's also 6-5 on draws, one of the few Bruins holding their own in the faceoff circle, where Boston is just 14-21 as a team (40 percent).

The Bruins still trail in hits as well at 23-21, but did have a 10-7 edge in the second period. Beyond the stats, the Bruins were winning more battles and playing more aggressively, which translated into offensive opportunities. They need more of that in the third.

End Second Period, 1-1: The Bruins survive more than kill that penalty as the Kings created several stellar scoring chances and had five shots in all on the power play, but the Bruins will be back at full strength with the game tied to start the third period.

Second Period, 17:58, 1-1: The Bruins will have to kill off another penalty, and do it without their top penalty killer as Zdeno Chara is sent to the box for high-sticking.

Second Period, 16:44, 1-1: The Bruins survive a stretch with Thomas playing without a stick after losing it, but Boston finally gets a clear and he's able to retrieve his lumber.

Second Period, 13:17, 1-1: The Kings pull even as Colin Fraser scores from the left slot.

After Quick made a series of saves with the Bruins threatening to extend the lead, the Kings countered with Kyle Clifford leading the rush and passing it to Drew Doughty on the right. Doughty then crossed it to Fraser for the shot from the left slot.

Second Period, 11:27, Bruins 1-0: The Kings threaten with Dustin Brown creating a chance with a shot from the slot, but Thomas comes up with a huge stop to keep the Bruins up by a goal.

Second Period, 10:15, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins have outshot Los Angeles 5-0 in the first 10-plus minutes of the second period. Boston has the last 11 shots in the game overall, and now leads 16-15 in shots for the game.

Second Period, 8:56, Bruins 1-0: Bergeron nearly gets his second goal of the night with a chance in front off a feed from Benoit Pouliot from the left of the net.

Second Period, 6:53, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins kill off the rest of the penalty and are now back at full strength with a one-goal lead.

Second Period, 5:18, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins strike first with a shorthanded tally by Patrice Bergeron.

Brad Marchand made the steal and drove in for a bid at the right post. he drew a delayed penalty for a hook but couldn't finish his backhand bid. But Bereron followed the play up and banged home the rebound in front.

Second Period, 4:53, 0-0: The Bruins will have to kill off another penalty as Brian Rolston gets called for holding after Dustin Brown got behind the defense and had a partial breakaway.

Second Period, 2:41, 0-0: the Bruins kill off that penalty without allowing a shot on goal. They also continued to ramp up the physical play as Dennis Seidenberg bloodied Drew Doughty with a huge hit behind the net early in the penalty kill.

Second Period, 0:41, 0-0: Brad Marchand nails Justin Williams with a huge hit. That was perfectly clean, but the Kings get a power play anyway as Tyler Seguin is called for hooking away from that hit.

Second Period, 0:00, 0-0: The middle frame is under way in Los Angeles, where both teams are still searching for the first goal in this defensive struggle.

First Intermission Notes: The Bruins came away from the opening period in a scoreless tie thanks largely to another strong start by Tim Thomas.

The Kings outshot Boston 15-11 in the first, and that margin would have been much larger if not for the five shots the Bruins got on a late power play. The Bruins still need to generate more up front, as seven of their 11 shots have come from defensemen and two more from Brian Rolston while he was playing the point on the power play. Single shots by Patrice Bergeron and Jordan Caron were the only true shots on goal from Bruins forwards in that period. The Bruins are also having trouble getting shots through the Kings defense, with six attempts blocked and four more missing the net.

It was a physical period, with the Kings getting the edge there as well. Los Angeles outhit the Bruins 16-11, including a number of thunderous checks. Chris Kelly did get the upper hand in the lone fight in the period, but the Bruins need to match the Kings' physical game with the gloves on. They also need to do better on the draws, where they are just 7-13 (35 percent), with David Krejci 1-6.

Both the Senators and Sabres have already won, putting even more pressure on the Bruins. Ottawa is now just a point back after an 8-4 victory over the red-hot Penguins, while Buffalo beat Minnesota 3-1 to pull within three points.

End First Period, 0-0: The opening frame ends scoreless as the Bruins weathered some early pressure from the Kings, then created some chances of their own on a late power play.

First Period, 19:32, 0-0: The Bruins with a lot of pressure and some decent chances on that power play, but they come up empty on the scoreboard as the sides return to even strength.

First Period, 17:32, 0-0: The Bruins will get the first power-play chance of the night as Justin Williams is sent off for roughing.

That came just seconds after Dustin Brown nearly broke the scoreless deadlock with a shot from the right circle that clanged off the far post.

First Period, 16:43, 0-0: The game comes to a halt as the officials try to sort out an issue with the game clock.

First Period, 15:49, 0-0: Things get nasty again with some unlikely participants as Jarret Stoll tackles Daniel Paille and gives him a few extra shoves. Paille chases him into the LA bench, but a lineman was in between to prevent anything further from developing. No penalties called in that altercation.

First Period, 13:40, 0-0: Thomas being tested early and often in this one, but comes up with back-to-back saves on Jeff Carter from the right side and Mike Richards on the rebound at the left post.

First Period, 10:37, 0-0: The gloves come off with a pair of unlikely combatants in Chris Kelly and Trevor Lewis.

Kelly took exception to a hit from Lewis along the boards, then got the better of a exchange of rights in a quick but spirited scrap.

First Period, 6:02, 0-0: Tyler Seguin with a chance off a steal outside the blue line. Drew Doughty deflects the shot, but gets his stick sent flying in the process. The Kings with a 7-2 edge in shots early in this one.

First Period, 3:52, 0-0: The Bruins with some pressure on a strong shift by the Krejci line, with Milan Lucic winning some battles in the offensive zone. He looks like he has come to play in this one after a slow start Thursday in San Jose.

First Period, 1:30, 0-0: The Kings with an early threat in a big flurry in front of the Bruins net, but Tim Thomas holds the fort to keep it scoreless in the early going.

First Period, 0:00, 0-0: They're under way in Los Angeles, where Zdeno Chara is hitting a milestone with his 1,000th NHL game and the Bruins and Kings are both lookng for wins to try to secure leads in their respective divisions.

9 p.m.: The Bruins will open with Zdeno Chara starting his 1,000th career game on defense with Johnny Boychuk. Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin will open up front, with Tim Thomas in goal.

The Kings counter with Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams up front, Drew Doughty and Rob Scuderi on the blue line and Jonathan Quick in net.

8:55 p.m.: The Bruins will have the same lineup again for this one, with Joe Corvo, Mike Mottau and Trent Whitfield again the healthy scratches. Rich Peverley did skate in warm-ups as planned, but he remains out as well.

Kevin Westgarth, Brad Richardson and Davis Drewiske are out for the Kings.

8:30 p.m.: Tim Thomas and Jonathan Quick led the teams out for warm-ups and that will be the goalie matchup in this one.

Both netminders have been hot of late with Thomas 2-1-0 with a 1.30 GAA and .942 save percentage in his last three games and Quick 5-0-0 with a 1.55 GAA and .942 save percentage in his last five games.

Quick does have the edge head to head, as he's 5-1-0 with a 2.06 GAA and .928 save percentage against the Bruins, while Thomas has never beaten the Kings. He's 0-1-4 with a 2.39 GAA and .919 save percentage.

8:15 p.m.: This is a matchup of teams that both began the day atop their divisions, but both teams still have work to do to secure those division crowns.

The Bruins have a three point lead and two games in hand on Ottawa in the Northeast Division, with Buffalo also sneaking into the picture five points back, though Boston has two games in hand on Buffalo as well. Ottawa is playing Pittsburgh on Saturday, while Buffalo is taking on Minnesota

Los Angeles has actually already dropped out of the top spot in the Pacific Division with Dallas passing the Kings with a 4-1 win over Calgary Saturday afternoon. The Kings can retake the lead with a win over the Bruins, while Phoenix and San Jose also play Saturday night. The Coyotes are tied with Los Angeles and the Sharks are just two points back. Regulation wins by the Bruins and Sharks would leave all three teams tied at 86 points, one behind Dallas.

8 p.m.: The Bruins will continue their tour of California with a stop in Los Angeles, facing off with the Kings in about an hour.

It will be a milestone game for the Bruins captain, with Zdeno Chara playing his 1,000th NHL game.

Rich Peverley is still waiting to play his 326th game. he is expected to skate in warm-ups, but will not play in this game. His return from the knee injury that has kept him out of the lineup since Feb. 15 is close though, and could come as soon as Sunday in Anaheim.

8 a.m. ET: The Bruins had their two-game winning streak snapped in the opener of their West Coast trip  Thursday in San Jose, but will get a chance to get back on track Saturday night in Los Angeles.

It won't be easy though, as the Kings come into this matchup having won six straight games. Los Angeles outscored its opponents 22-10 in that span, and they haven't been beating up on weak competition with victories over Central Division powers Chicago, Detroit, Nashville and St. Louis. All four of those teams are solidly in playoff position, with the Blues leading the entire NHL with 100 points.

The Kings (37-25-12, 86 points) are now atop the Pacific Division, but they are locked in a tight battle there. Phoenix is even in points but has played one more game, while Dallas is one point back and San Jose two points behind the Kings.

The Bruins (42-28-3, 87 points) have their own division race to worry about. They are just three points ahead of Ottawa in the Northeast, but did get some help from an unlikely source as Montreal beat the Senators 5-1 on Friday, leaving the Bruins with two games in hand on Ottawa again. Boston is also trying to hold off Southeast Division leader Florida to retain the second seed in the East. The Panthers are just one point back of the Bruins after a shootout loss to Edmonton on Friday.

The Bruins beat Los Angeles 3-0 in Boston back on Dec. 13. That game featured a 41-save shutout by Tuukka Rask and a game-winning goal by Rich Peverley. Both of those player are now sidelined with injuries, though Peverley has resumed practicing with the team and could return soon.

The puck drops at 9 p.m. Tune in to NESN to watch the game, and stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening.

Final, Sharks 2-1: The Sharks hold on to take this one despite a late push by the Bruins.

Zdeno Chara cut the deficit to one late and Tim Thomas kept the Bruins in the game with some strong work in goal, but it wasn't enough as Boston opens in three-game California tour with a loss in San Jose.

The Bruins had a season-low 17 shots in the game as their road struggles continued. They've now lost four straight away from Boston and are just 5-9-1 in their last 15 road games. They'll look to reverse that trend when the road trip continues Saturday night against the Kings in Los Angeles.

Third Period, 19:01, Sharks 2-1: Thomas now goes to the bench as the Bruins have the extra attacker out with the net empty looking for the tying goal in the final minute.

Third Period, 18:42, Sharks 2-1: Thomas keeps the Bruins hopes alive as he robs Joe Thornton at the left post off a feed from Dan Boyle.

Third Period, 15:45, Sharks 2-1: The Bruins pull within one on a crafty goal by Zdeno Chara.

Chara followed up the play and collected a loose puck in the slot, then drove down the left side. He went below the goal line, but banked a shot in off Niemi for Boston's first goal.

Third Period, 14:56, Sharks 2-0: The Bruins have put Tyler Seguin back up with David Krejci and Milan Lucic in an effort to spark some offense late in this one.

Third Period, 11:38, Sharks 2-0: Adam McQuaid with a nice save at the blue line that leads to a Greg Zanon shot from the opposite point. That followed a Benoit Pouliot one-timer a few shifts earlier as the Bruins are starting to get more chances, but Niemi has been up to the challenge so far.

Third Period, 9:15, Sharks 2-0: The Bruins are running out of time to rally in this one, down two goals nearly halfway through the third period. The Bruins are outshooting San Jose in the third, but just by a 3-2 margin. Three shots in the third, and just 12 shots total in nearly 50 minutes of play, aren't going to get the job done.

Third Period, 6:05, Sharks 2-0: The Bruins are playing with some desperation now and starting to create some pressure, but they have yet to get anything past Niemi.

Third Period, 2:17, Sharks 2-0: The Sharks add a huge insurance goal early in the third as Daniel Winnik scores to put the Bruins in a deep hole in this one.

Boston had an odd-man rush in the San Jose zone, but Tyler Seguin lost the puck on his shot attempt and the Sharks turned it into a 3 on 2 the other way, with Winnik firing home a shot to the near top corner from the left side.

Third Period, 0:00, Sharks 1-0: The final frame is under way in San Jose, where the Bruins need to get something going offensively after being blanked in the first two periods and managing just nine shots.

Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins continue to struggle to generate offense, managing just four shots in the second period and only nine through 40 minutes.

Only the strong play of Tim Thomas has kept the Bruins in this one, down just 1-0 despite San Jose leading 20-9 in shots overall and 12-4 in the second. Thirteen different Sharks have shots on goal, while just seven Bruins have managed to get a shot on net. Of those, only Zdeno Chara and Brian Rolston have more than one, with two each.

Chara is leading the way physically with seven hits through two periods. That's one area the Bruins have a big edge, up 22-9 in hits. Milan Lucic also has three hits and came within inches of tying the game late in the second with a redirection in front off the crossbar. But Lucic also has three giveaways, including one early that helped lead to the only goal of the game.

End Second Period, Sharks 1-0: Two periods are in the books and the Bruins remain down a goal. the deficit is still just one thanks largely to a strong effort by Tim Thomas so far.

Second Period, 18:34, Sharks 1-0: The Sharks threaten again with Dan Boyle open for a bid from the right circle, but Thomas comes up big again to turn the shot aside.

Second Period, 17:12, Sharks 1-0: The Bruins come within inches of tying it as Lucic drive hard to the net down the middle. David Krejci sends the puck in from the right boards and Lucic redirects it on, but it clangs off the crossbar.

Second Period, 16:50, Sharks 1-0: Thomas continues to keep the Bruins in this one, and Boston is finally starting to create some offensive pressure and push the play into the San Jose end.

Second Period, 13:27, Sharks 1-0: The Bruins can't get much going on that man advantage, managing just one shot before the sides return to even strength.

Second Period, 11:27, Sharks 1-0: The Bruins finally get their first power-play chance of the night with Justin Braun going to the box for slashing.

Second Period, 7:35, Sharks 1-0: The Bruins finally get a chance of their own as Brian Rolston fires in a blast from the right circle. The Sharks had a 7-1 edge in shots in the second period before that bid.

Second Period, 4:24, Sharks 1-0: The Sharks are creating chances now, but Tim Thomas has come up big with several stops. He snared a blast from Dan Boyle through traffic in front, then made an even better save, going post to post to rob Martin Havlat at the left post off a crossing pass through the crease to keep this a one-goal game.

Second Period, 3:06, Sharks 1-0: The Bruins continue to try to ramp up the physical play, with Adam McQuaid landing a big hit on Daniel Winnik at center ice that sends Winnik's stick flying.

Second Period, 1:35, Sharks 1-0: The Bruins create a chance with Brad Marchand snagging the puck off a faceoff and leading a 2-on-1 break down the right side. he had Seguin with him, but took the shot himself, which was turned aside by Niemi on Boston's best scoring chance of the game so far.

Second Period, 0:00, Sharks 1-0: The middle frame is under way in San Jose, where the Bruins will try to bounce back from a sloppy start and overcome the early deficit they face in this one.

First Intermission Notes: The Bruins got off to a sloppy start in this one, but settled in as the period wore off, perhaps shaking off the effects of the cross-country travel.

They didn't survive that early sluggishness unscathed though, with San Jose taking advantage of a Bruins turnover for the lone goal of the game and a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. Old friend Joe Thornton started that scoring play, swiping the puck from Milan Lucic for a chance in front. Joe Pavelski eventually put home a second-chance opportunity at the right post. Thornton picked up an assist, and also has a shot, two takeaways and is a plus-1 in 6:15 against his original club.

the Bruins have been outshot 8-5, with the Sharks attempting 17 shots to just 13 for Boston. that reverses trends for both teams, as the Bruins have limited shots on Tim Thomas of late, while San Jose has given up 40-plus shots in each of their last two games.

The Bruins turned up their play after a key penalty kill midway through the period, then ramped up the physical play a bit to get back into things. They have an 11-4 edge in hits, with Zdeno Chara matching the entire Sharks squad with four hits of his own. The Bruins also have a 7-5 edge in faceoffs, with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci each 3-0.

End First Period, Sharks 1-0: The opening frame comes to a close and the Sharks will take a one-goal lead into the break thanks to a series of early Bruins defensive breakdowns leading to the lone goal of the game so far.

First Period, 17:40, Sharks 1-0: The Bruins threaten thanks to Chara's long reach, which he uses to keep the puck in at the blue line, then fire it on goal with Tyler Seguin in front, but Seguin can't get a stick on the puck to tip it home.

First Period, 15:25, Sharks 1-0: The Bruins have settled down after that sloppy start and have begun to mount some pressure on San Jose. The Krejci line had a solid shift in the Sharks zone, but Boston still remains down a goal with less than five minutes left in the opening period.

First Period, 13:10, Sharks 1-0: The Bruins are able to kill off that penalty despite the Sharks setting up in the Boston zone for most of that power play, and Campbell is out of the box to put the sides back at even strength.

First Period, 11:10, Sharks 1-0: The Sharks will now go on the power play as Gregory Campbell picks up the first penalty of the night for tripping Jason Demers.

Shawn Thornton got involved in a shoving match with Demers after play was finally whistled down following the delayed call, but no further penalties were called.

First Period, 10:03, Sharks 1-0: The Bruins came within inches of being down two goals as Dan Boyle blasts a one-timer from the left point that clangs off the post.

First Period, 6:47, Sharks 1-0: The Bruins continue to be sloppy in their own end, with Joe Thornton again stealing the puck from Lucic for another chance. The Bruins have given up more scoring chances to San Jose in the opening minutes of this one than they did in the entire game against Toronto on Monday.

They'll have to clean up their defensive play if they want to extend their win streak to three games.

First Period, 3:57, Sharks 1-0: The Sharks strike early as Joe Pavelski bangs home a rebound at the right post.

The play began with a giveaway by Milan Lucic to Joe Thornton, who had a chance in front. Thomas made the stop there, but the sharks kept the puck in and got another opportunity in front, which Pavelski finally put home on a second chance.

First Period, 0:00, 0-0: This one is under way in San Jose, where the Bruins will look to extend their two-game win streak and the Sharks will try to snap a two-game skid.

10:30 p.m.: The Bruins will open this one with Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Jordan Caron up front, Zdeno Chara and Andrew Ference on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.

The Sharks counter with Ryan clowe, Logan Couture and Martin Havlat up front, Douglas Murray and Brent Burns on the blue line and Antti Niemi in net.

10:25 p.m.: The Bruins will have the same lineup as their last two games, with Joe Corvo, Mike Mottau and Trent Whitfield remaining the healthy scratches and Rich Peverley (knee), Nathan Horton (concussion) and Tuukka Rask (groin) still out injured.

The Sharks have scratched Jom Vandermeer, Colin White, Brad Winchester, TJ Galiardi and Benn Ferriero. Tommy Wingels and Martin Handzus both return from injury.

10 p.m.: As expected, Tim Thomas and Antti Niemi led the teams out for warm-ups in San Jose and will be the starters in goal for this one.

Nothing new there. Thomas is playing in his 14th straight game, while Niemi starts is 13th consecutive game for the Sharks.

9:50 p.m.: The Sharks allowed 42 shots to Los Angeles on Tuesday and 40 to Anaheim on Monday, the first time since the 1994-95 season they've given up 40-plus shots in back-to-back games.

The Bruins are coming off allowing a season-low 13 shots in Monday's 8-0 win over Toronto. Boston has allowed 20 or less shots in four of its last nine games.

9:30 p.m.: The Bruins will begin their last extended road trip of the season with a stop in San Jose beginning in about an hour.

They have to hope that this trip goes a little better than their last one. Boston went 0-3-0 and was outscored 17-5 in a three-game trek through Pittsburgh, Tampa and Florida last week.

They did regain their form at home, beating Philadelphia in a shootout and routing Toronto. Now they'll have to maintain that momentum on the road as they head into the final 10 games of the regular season looking to secure the top spot in the Northeast Division and home ice for the playoffs.

8 a.m. ET: The Bruins open a key West Coast trip with a stop in San Jose on Thursday to face a desperate Sharks club.

While the Bruins have gotten back on track with back-to-back wins over Philadelphia and Toronto, the latter an 8-0 whitewash on Monday, the Sharks have dropped two straight and are just 3-5-3 overall in March. That slump has dropped San Jose out of a playoff spot, as the Sharks (36-27-10, 82 points) sit 10th in West, two points out of the final playoff spot.

San Jose did beat the Bruins in their first meeting this season, taking a 4-2 decision at the Garden on Oct. 22. The Bruins (42-27-3, 87 points) are now just 2-4-0 against the sharks since trading Joe Thornton to San Jose back in 2005. But Thornton and the Sharks have been welcoming hosts since then, with the Bruins winning on both visits to San Jose by identical 2-1 scores. Aaron Ward scored the winner with 12 seconds left on Oct. 13, 2007 and Zdeno Chara had the only goal in the shootout on Jan. 14, 2010.

Thornton, who leads the Sharks in scoring again this season with 16-52-68 totals in 73 games, has had more success returning to Boston, where the sharks are 4-0-0 since Thornton went West.

The puck drops at 10:30 p.m. Tune in to NESN to watch the game, and stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening.

The Bruins won all six games in the season series by a 36-10 combined score, and now extend their lead in the Northeast Division to three points over Ottawa.

Boston will now have its last two-day break between games for the rest of the regular season, practicing Tuesday before leaving for the West Coast on Wednesday for a three-game road trip that begins Thursday night in San Jose.

Third Period, 18:29, Bruins 8-0: The Bruins add another goal in the closing minutes, with Tyler Seguin providing this score.

Seguin one-timed a blast from the left circle off a feed from David Krejci.

Third Period, 17:10, Bruins 7-0: That's a sight the Bruins didn't need to see, as Daniel Paille goes off the ice and down to the locker room in obvious pain. The Bruins will have to hope that it's nothing serious for the versatile winger.

Third Period, 15:20, Bruins 7-0: The Bruins have announced that Brian Rolston has tied a career high with his four points in this game. Not a bad night for the veteran in his second stint with the club.

Third Period, 13:30, Bruins 7-0: Have to hand it to the Garden crowd, still booing Phil Kessel whenever he touches the puck even in the closing minutes of a blowout.

Third Period, 10:31, Bruins 7-0: The action has slowed quite a bit here in the third, as you would expect with the score so out of reach. The Bruins have finally reached 20 shots and the Leafs are finally in double digits at 11.

Third Period, 6:55, Bruins 7-0: Daniel Paille trying to get Shawn Thornton a goal to celebrate his new contract, but Paille's feed in front gets broken up.

Third Period, 2:41, Bruins 7-0: The Bruins kill off that penalty. Thomas hasn't had much work, but he made a nice stop on the only shot the Leafs got on that power-play opportunity.

Third Period, 0:41, Bruins 7-0: The Bruins will be shorthanded early in the third as Jordan Caron is sent to the box for holding in the opening minute of the frame.

Third Period, 0:00, Bruins 7-0: The final frame is under way at the Garden, where it's been all Bruins through 40 minutes here at the Garden.

Second Intermission Notes: Another period, another dominant performance from the Bruins, who are being helped plenty by the fact that Toronto has completely failed to show up for this one.

The Bruins have as many goals as Toronto has shots, leading 7-0 with a 17-7 edge in shots through two periods.

The third line has been the biggest catalyst, with Brian Rolston leading the way with a goal and three assists for a four points and a plus-4 rating. Linemates Benoit Pouliot has 2-1-3 totals and is a plus-3 and Chris kelly is 1-1-2 and a plus-3. In all, 13 different Bruins have points, while Tim Thomas has been able to get some much needed rest even without taking a game off as Toronto has done little to test him.

End Second Period, Bruins 7-0: The Bruins continued their domination in the second, extending the lead to 7-0 in a lopsided affair at the Garden.

Second Period, 19:25, Bruins 7-0: The drought is over, as Brian Rolston adds another goal for the Bruins.

Boston is now back to having as many goals as Toronto has shots, with the Bruins up 17-7 in shots.

Second Period, 15:54, Bruins 6-0: The scoring chances have slowed a bit in the second but the hitting is starting to pick up with both sides throwing the body around.

Second Period, 11:52, Bruins 6-0: Benoit Pouliot with a chance for the hat trick, set up by Chris Kelly on a 2 on 1, but Pouliot misses wide with the shot from the left slot.

Second Period, 8:42, Bruins 6-0: Daniel Paille gets behind the defense and nearly gets another goal for the Bruins, who now lead 14-3 in shots.

Second Period, 5:45, Bruins 6-0: The Bruins convert that power play as well, with Zdeno Chara blasting one home from the right point.

That gives the Bruins a half dozen goals on just 13 shots. That's still three times as many goals as Toronto has shots on goal.

Second Period, 5:01, Bruins 5-0: The Bruins will now go on the power play as Clarke MacArthur is sent to the box for holding.

Second Period, 2:31, Bruins 5-0: The Bruins pick up right where they left off as Benoit Pouliot adds another goal early in the second.

Brian Rolston picked off the puck coming around the net along the left boards and dished it out from to Pouliot for the easy tap-in before Gustavsson could get back in the crease. Shots now 12-2 as Toronto has yet to get one in this period.

Second Period, 0:00, Bruins 4-0: The middle frame is under way here at the Garden, where the Bruins will look to build upon a dominant opening frame.

First Intermission Notes: It suddenly feels like November all over again. The Bruins played that opening period like they did during their dominant run from the start of November through mid-January. They controlled all aspects of the game while building a 4-0 lead on the Leafs.

Toronto didn't even get a shot on goal in the first half of the frame, falling behind 3-0 before Tim Thomas even had to make a save. The Bruins finished with a 9-2 edge in shots and an 18-5 advantage in shot attempts as the Leafs struggled to even set up in the zone for opportunities.

Toronto did outhit the Bruins 13-10 and won 10 of 18 faceoffs, but the Bruins did fine in the physical part of the game with Gregory Campbell holding his own in a scrap with Luke Schenn and Milan Lucic once again dominating Mike Komisarek with some brutal uppercuts as they renewed their old feud.

End First Period, Bruins 4-0: That was about as dominant a period as the Bruins have had in months. They take a four-goal lead into the break after scoring twice as many goals as Toronto had shots.

First Period, 18:00, Bruins 4-0: Jay Rosehill looking to get something going for the Leafs asking Adam McQuaid to dance, but McQuaid doesn't take the bait with the Bruins comfortably ahead.

First Period, 15:18, Bruins 4-0: The Bruins kill off that penalty and nearly score as Tyler Seguin, who served the extra minor for Lucic, comes out of the box to join Brad Marchand on a 2-on-1 break. Marchand gets the puck over to Seguin in the right slot, but Gustavsson flashes the glove to make the save.

First Period, 13:10, Bruins 4-0: The gloves come off again as Milan Lucic and Mike Komisarek renew an old feud with a battle along the boards. Lucic hammers him just as he did in the old days, landing some huge uppercuts to bring in the linesmen. Lucic does get an extra minor for roughing to give the Leafs a power play.

First Period, 12:42, Bruins 4-0: The Bruins convert the power play with Brad Marchand adding yet another Bruins goal here in the first.

Marchand scored on a low-angle shot from the right side of the net off a crossing pass by Tyler Seguin. That ends the night for Reimer, who allowed four goals on just nine shots. Jonas Gustavsson comes on.

First Period, 12:19, Bruins 3-0: The Leafs finally get their first shot, but also pick up the first penalty of the game when Jay Rosehill flattens Greg Zanon in front, triggering a scrum. Campbell and Luke Schenn separate from the pack for a lengthy scrap, but the Bruins get the power play with Rosehill getting a roughing minor.

First Period, 10:58, Bruins 3-0: The Bruins continue to pour it on, with Benoit Pouliot adding another goal to make it 3-0.

Johnny Boychuk fired in a shot from the right point and Pouliot expertly redirected it in from the slot. Boston now up 8-0 in shots.

First Period, 10:07, Bruins 2-0: More than halfway through the period and the Leafs are still looking for their first shot on goal. It's been all Bruins so far in this one, up 7-0 in shots.

First Period, 7:30, Bruins 2-0: We've reached our first TV timeout here at the Garden. The Bruins have two goals on six shots in a dominant start. The Leafs have yet to put a shot on Tim Thomas with the opening 7:30 played almost exclusively in the Toronto end.

First Period, 5:40, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins do add another early goal as Gregory Campbell stuffs in a wraparound.

Campbell got the puck behind the net and beat Reimer to the right post to double the lead.

First Period, 3:35, Bruins 1-0: Chris Kelly nearly scored another early goal as his bad-angle shot from along the goal line to the right of the net nearly sneaks by Reimer, who also has to fend off Pouliot poking at the rebound  at the right post.

First Period, 2:25, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins strike first with an early goal by Chris Kelly.

Benoit Pouliot sent it down from the slot to Kelly at the left post, and Kelly cut across the front of the net and tucked in a backhander around Reimer.

First Period, 1:59, 0-0: Strong early pressure from the Bergeron line, which created several scoring chances on a long shift inside the Toronto zone, the best coming on a Bergeron tip just wide.

First Period, 0:00, 0-0: This one is under way at the Garden, where the Bruins will look to complete a season sweep of the Leafs and extend their slim lead on Ottawa atop the Northeast Division.

7 p.m.: The Bruins will open this one with Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Jordan Caron up front, Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuk on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.

The Leafs counter with Tim Connolly, David Steckel and ex-Bruin Phil Kessel up front, with Mike Komisarek and Carl Gunnarsson on the blue line and James Reimer in net.

6:58 p.m.: The Bruins have officially scratched Joe Corvo and Mike Mottau again.

Cody Franson is the healthy scratch for Toronto, which will go with the standard 12 forwards and six defensemen. That keeps enforcer Jay Rosehill in the lineup.

6:55 p.m.: Peter Chiarelli just spoke with the media about the new deal to keep Shawn Thornton in Boston for two more seasons.

Chiarelli noted Thornton's desire to stay in Boston and his work ethic and commitment to continue improving as a player. He also praised Thornton's leadership on and off the ice and cited how he helped spark the team in the Cup Final when he returned to the lineup in Game 3 as an example of the positive impact he's had on the team.

Chiarelli also stated that talks with the club's other pending free agents will be put on hold until after the season. Plenty more about Thornton's extension will be coming on NESN.com after the game.

6:40 p.m.: The Bruins went with the same line combinations in warm-ups.

Lucic-Krejci-Caron

Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin

Pouliot-Kelly-Rolston

Paille-Campbell-Thornton

Defense pairs:

Chara-Seidenberg

Ference-Boychuk

Zanon-McQuaid

6:30 p.m.: Tim Thomas and James Reimer led the teams out for warm-ups. That's the goalie matchup for this one.

Thomas will be playing in his 13th straight game for the Bruins.

6 p.m.: The Bruins will face the Leafs for the final time this season in about an hour. Boston will be looking for a season sweep of Toronto after taking each of the first five games by a combined 28-10 score.

They'll try to do it with a newly re-signed Shawn Thornton in the lineup. The Bruins inked the popular pugilist to a two-year extension, officially announcing the deal first reported on Saturday on Monday afternoon. General manager Peter Chiarelli will meet with the media just before the game to discuss the deal.

Bruins coach Claude Julien indicated after the morning skate that Joe Corvo and Mike Mottau will remain the scratches for this one, while Tim Thomas is expected to play in his 13th straight game.

8 a.m. ET: The Bruins snapped their season-high four-game losing streak on Saturday with a 3-2 shootout win over Philadelphia. That put them back into first place in the Northeast Division, and they stayed there when Toronto beat Ottawa 3-1 later that night.

Don't expect the Bruins to show much gratitude to the Maple Leafs, though. Boston hosts the Leafs on Monday, needing another win to stay atop the division.

Getting wins against Toronto has been relatively easy for the Bruins this season. Boston is 5-0-0 against the Leafs, outscoring Toronto 28-10 in those games. But their most recent meeting was the most competitive, with Boston barely hanging on for a 5-4 win in Toronto on March 6.

That was the first time the Bruins faced Toronto with new coach Randy Carlyle behind the bench. Carlyle has stressed defensive responsibility and restored much of the truculence abandoned by previous coach Ron Wilson, so the Bruins shouldn't expect an easy win on Monday. The Leafs have won their last two games, finally snapping out of the 2-13-2 slid that finally cost Wilson his job and carried over to the start of Carlyle's tenure.

Former Bruin Phil Kessel scored the game-winner against Ottawa on Saturday to keep his old club in first place. That could put a different spin on the "Thank You Kessel" chants that have been common at the Garden in his recent visits, but don't expect too much of a warm welcome for Kessel from either the Garden fans or the Bruins. Kessel has 35-40-75 totals this season, but has just one goal and two assists and is a minus-9 in five games against Boston. In 17 games against the Bruins since his 2009 trade to Toronto, Kessel has 3-6-9 totals and is minus-16.

The puck drops at 7 p.m. Tune in to NESN to watch the game, and stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening at the Garden.

David Krejci, Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron each scored for the Bruins. Thomas gave up goals to Matt Read and Claude Giroux, but stoned Danny Briere for the much-needed victory. 

The Bruins snap their season-high four-game losing streak and jump back into first place in the Northeast Division, at least for now, pending the result of Ottawa's game against Toronto Saturday night.

The Bruins will face the Leafs as well on Monday when they try to carry the momentum of this win into their next game and start a streak in the opposite direction with a second victory in a row.

End Overtime, 2-2: This one will be settled in a shootout, with the Bruins' quest to end their losing streak coming down to a skills competition.

Overtime, 3:30, 2-2: The Bruins come even closer, with Chara clanging the near post with a shot from the left circle.

Overtime, 2:48, 2-2: The Bruins come close to winning this one, but Chris Kelly's tip in front goes wide.

Overtime, 0:00, 2-2: The five-minute extra session is under way. the sides will skate 4 on 4 in the sudden death OT, then head to a shootout if neither side can score.

End Regulation, 2-2: This one is headed to overtime. The Bruins salvage at least a point after surviving some strong Philadelphia pressure in the final minute, but they really need to take the extra point and come away with a win from this one.

Third Period, 17:30, 2-2: The Bruins show some life as they try to answer the Philly goal with some pressure of their own, but Bryzgalov stands strong to keep it tied.

Third Period, 15:43, 2-2: The Flyers pull even late with another deflection in front, this time by Jakub Voracek.

Braydon Coburn sent in the shot from the left point and Voracek tipped it in at the left slot.

Third Period, 13:04, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins come up with a huge penalty kill there. Gregory Campbell went down to block a blast, one of several key plays to maintain the lead before Thornton returns to the ice to put the sides back at even strength.

Third Period, 11:04, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins will be shorthanded as Shawn Thornton is called for goalie interference after making contact with Bryzgalov cutting through the crease.

Third Period, 10:30, Bruins 2-1: A dangerous whiff on a clear by Greg Zanon to the left of the Bruins goal, but Boston managed to clear the puck, albeit by icing it as the the faceoff comes back to the Bruins end.

Third Period, 6:50, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins creating chances now, first with Daniel Paille breaking in from the left wing for a bid, then with Tyler Seguin charging down the right wing. But Bryzgalov turned aside both shots to keep it a one-goal game.

Third Period, 3:53, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins had a 3 on 2 break become a 4 on 2 when Chara jumped up into the play, but Chara couldn't handle Caron's pass and the Bruins don't get a shot out of the opportunity.

Third Period, 1:39, Bruins 2-1: The Flyers have announced that defensemen Andreas Lilja and forward Max Talbot, both injured earlier in the game, will not return to this one.

Third Period, 0:00, Bruins 2-1: The final frame is under way here at the Garden, with the Bruins looking to close out the win, end their losing streak and retake first place in the division, at least until Ottawa plays Saturday night.

Second Intermission Notes: It was a much more even frame in the second. The Bruins generated chances early, but couldn't extend the lead, and Philadelphia finally broke through with a goal to cut it to 2-1 going to the third.

The Bruins will need to pick up their intensity in the third to close out what would be a huge win.

End Second Period, Bruins 2-1: The middle frame comes to a close, but not before the Flyers trim the Bruins' lead to a single goal. The Bruins will need a big effort in the third to close this one out and end their losing streak.

Second Period, 18:51, Bruins 2-1: Up and down action with both teams creating chances late in the period. This isn't the kind of wide-open play the Bruins want. They need to tighten up to take this lead into the third.

Second Period, 16:50, Bruins 2-1: Dennis Seidenberg, who nailed Wayne Simmonds with a big hit earlier, buries Scott Hartnell behind the net. Hartnell has been very quiet since his early confrontation with Chara in the opening period.

Second Period, 13:23, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins have done a good job of settling things down and keeping play in the Philly end since the goal, not giving the Flyers opportunities to build off that and pull even.

Second Period, 9:16, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins come within two seconds of killing that penalty off, but Matt Read puts Philadelphia on the board with a deflection in front just before the penalty expired.

Danny Briere sent the shot in and Read tipped it in the slot past Thomas to cut the Bruins lead in half.

Second Period, 7:17, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins will have an important penalty to kill off here to maintain the momentum and their two-goal lead as Tyler Seguin is sent to the box for slashing.

Second Period, 4:08, Bruins 2-0: The gloves come off again as Johnny Boychuk and Max Talbot engage in a quick scrap with Boychuk landing a couple rights to put Talbot down fast.

Second Period, 3:49, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins created some chances and kept the puck in the Philly zone for most of the power play, but couldn't cash in as the Flyers return to full strength.

Second Period, 1:49, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins have continued the pressure to start the second, and it resulted in scoring chances for both the Krejci line and Bergeron in front, the latter leading to a Zac Rinaldo hooking penalty as the Bruins go back on the power play.

Second Period, 0:00, Bruins 2-0: The middle frame is under way here at the Garden, where the Bruins are looking to build off a strong opening period and maintain the intensity they showed in the first for two more periods to put an end to their four-game losing streak.

First Intermission Notes: The Bruins finally came out strong to start a matinee and they have played with the kind of effort and intensity too often lacking in their recent outings.

The Bruins dominated just about every category in that frame. They outhit Philadelphia 12-3, with Shawn Thornton and Jordan Caron each collecting as many hits as the entire Flyers squad. The Bruins also were 15-9 on faceoffs, thanks to Chris Kelly (8-2) and Patrice Bergeron (5-2) and outshot the Flyers 11-7.

It took Philadelphia nearly half the period to put its first shot on Tim Thomas, who looks sharper than he's been in weeks. He made several big stops, including denying Jaromir Jagr on a breakaway after Jagr came out of the penalty box.

The Bruins have been playing from behind throughout their recent losing streak. Now they finally have a lead, but they must continue to press the attack and can't fall back into any bad habits in the final two periods.

End First Period, Bruins 2-0: The opening period has come to a close, and it was one of the best frames the Bruins have put together in some time. They were rewarded for their efforts with a two-goal lead, but will have to maintain this level of play for two more periods to put an end to their losing streak.

First Period, 17:07, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins double the lead as Tyler Seguin scores a huge one to make it 2-0.

Seguin put it home at the right post off a feed from behind the net by Patrice Bergeron.

First Period, 16:24, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins were stuck in their own zone for most of that power play, but they did a good job of limiting the chances Philadelphia had and are now back at full strength.

First Period, 14:24, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins will be shorthanded again, as Zdeno Chara now heads to the box for tripping as the Flyers have taking over the momentum in the last few minutes.

First Period, 13:58, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins do no better with their power-play chance, as the Flyers nearly score on a shorthanded 2 on 1, but Thomas flashed the glove to stop Eric Wellwood's bid from the left wing.

Thomas then came up big as he stopped Jagr in alone on a clean breakaway out of the box.

First Period, 11:58, Bruins 1-0: The Flyers don't muster much on that power play. Patrice Bergeron had the best scoring chance with a shorthanded bid and a follow-up at the right post, then Jaromir Jagr negated the rest of the man advantage with a tripping penalty. It will be 4 on 4 for 39 seconds before the Bruins go on the power play.

First Period, 10:37, Bruins 1-0: The Flyers finally put some pressure on the Bruins, testing Thomas with three shots and now will go on the power play as Jordan Caron heads to the box for hooking.

First Period, 6:23, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins finally strike first in a game, as Chris Kelly bangs home a rebound in front.

Benoit Pouliot had the initial shot from the left wing and Kelly followed up by driving the net and chipping in the rebound from the low slot. The Bruins are up 5-0 in shots as they finally get off to a strong start in a game.

First Period, 5:07, 0-0: Flyers defenseman Andreas Lilja goes off in pain, heading to locker room after taking a shot up high in front of the net.

First Period, 3:12, 0-0: The nastiness continues with Adam McQuaid delivering a hit on Scott Hartnell, then challenging him. Hartnell wants no part, but does exchange slashes with Chara after they bump. No penalties are called on the play.

First Period, 1:55, 0-0: The gloves are shed less than two minutes into this one, with Gregory Campbell squaring off with Zac Rinaldo.

It was a long scrap with some wild swings, though not a lot was landed by either player. Each gets five for fighting and we'll stay at even strength.

First Period, 0:00, 0-0: The Bruins are back in their customary black and gold after taking the warm-ups in special green jerseys for St. Patrick's Day, and this key game for the Bruins is under way here at the Garden.

1 p.m.: The Bruins will open with Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Jordan Caron up front, Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.

The Flyers counter with their top line of Scott Hartnell, Claude Giroux and Jaromir Jagr, with Matt Carle and Kimmo Timonen on the blue line and Ilya Bryzgalov in net.

12:55 p.m.: The Bruins have officially scratched Joe Corvo, Mike Mottau and Trent Whitfield.

Andrej Meszaros, Pavel Kubina and Jody Shelley are out for the Flyers.

12:45 p.m.: The Bruins reunited Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg as a pairing in the warm-ups, and could go with that to try to snap out of their current slump.

Greg Zanon was with Adam McQuaid in the line rushes. Mike Mottau was on the ice, but not in the line rushes, so it appears Mottau will join Joe Corvo as the healthy scratches on defense.

The full line combinations from the warm-up:

Lucic-Krejci-Caron

Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin

Pouliot-Kelly-Rolston

Paille-Campbell-Thornton

Defense pairs:

Chara-Seidenberg

Ference-Boychuk

Zanon-McQuaid

12:30 p.m.: Tim Thomas and Ilya Bryzgalov lead the teams out for warm-ups. That will be the goaltending matchup in this one.

Bryzgalov is 7-0-0 with a 0.99 GAA, .965 save percentage and four shutouts in his last seven starts.

12 p.m.: The Bruins will try to snap a four-game losing streak and retake first in the Northeast Division when they take on the Flyers in about an hour.

They'll do it without Joe Corvo. the struggling defenseman will be a healthy scratch. The other scratch on defense will be decided after the warm-ups.

8 a.m. ET: The Bruins return home looking to snap a season-high four-game losing streak when they host Philadelphia in a St. Patrick's Day matinee at the Garden.

They'll have to do it against a Flyers team that comes in 7-1-0 in March. And they'll have to do it while not leading the Northeast Division for the first time since Nov. 30.

Ottawa passed Boston with a 2-1 overtime win over Montreal on Friday. The Bruins still have two games in hand on the Senators, but they have to finally start taking advantage of those extra games.

That won't be easy against Philadelphia (41-22-7, 89 points), which suddenly has found an answer to its long-standing issues in goal with Ilya Bryzgalov going 7-0-0 with an 0.99 GAA, .965 save percentage and four shutouts in March. That included a shutout streak of 249:43 that was snapped by the Islanders on Thursday, though the Flyers still held on for a 3-2 win.

The Bruins (40-27-3, 83 points) lost to Philadelphia 2-1 after raising their Stanley Cup banner in the season opener on Oct. 6, but beat the Flyers 6-0 and 6-5 in a shootout in Philadelphia on Dec. 17 and Jan. 22. That most recent game was the last played by Nathan Horton, who suffered a concussion on a controversial hit from Flyers forward Tom Sestito. Horton remains out, but the Bruins won't get a chance to address any issues directly with Sestito, who is out himself with a torn groin.

The puck drops at 1 p.m. Tune in to NESN to watch the game, and stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening at the Garden.

The Bruins have lost four in a row overall for the first time since January 2010, and will find themselves out of first place in the Northeast Division if Ottawa beats Montreal on Friday.

Boston returns home for a St. Patrick's Day matinee against the Flyers Saturday at the Garden. The Bruins desperately need to win that one to put an end to this slide.

Third Period, 17:24, Panthers 6-2: The Panthers add another to put up the second straight six-spot on the Bruins.

Tomas Fleishmann leads the odd-man break down the left side and drops the puck back to Wojtek Wolski in front for an easy goal into an open net.

Third Period, 14:29, Panthers 5-2: The Bruins kill off that penalty and Seidenberg is out of the box. The sides return to even strength, but there's little time left for the Bruins to mount any kind of rally.

Third Period, 12:29, Panthers 5-2: The Bruins now find themselves shorthanded as Dennis Seidenberg is sent to the box for tripping, giving Florida a chance to put this one completely out of reach on the power play.

Third Period, 10:10, Panthers 5-2: Daniel Paille's bid from the right slot is gobbled up by Jose Theodore as this one has passed the midway point of the third period. after an early surge, the Bruins still find themselves down three goals and time is running out for any kind of rally to salvage a game on this road trip.

Third Period, 7:51, Panthers 5-2: The Bruins give up another on a turnover in deep to put the breaks on this comeback attempt.

Chris Kelly attempted to send the puck around behind his own net, but the puck hit Adam McQuaid and bounced right to Tomas Kopecky at the right post, and he buried a quick shot past Tim Thomas.

Third Period, 4:48, Panthers 4-2: The Bruins catch a break after Johnny Boychuk breaks his stick on a one-timer. The Panthers have numbers on the counterattack with Boychuk caught out there without a stick, but Florida is off-sides on the rush.

Third Period, 1:44, Panthers 4-2: The Bruins take advantage of the power play as Brian Rolston scores his first goal in his second stint with the Bruins.

Rolston one-timed a blast from the high right side that hit off Theodore and dribbled over the line to pull Boston within two goals.

Third Period, 1:02, Panthers 4-1: The Bruins will get an early power-play chance to try to get back in this game as Marcel Goc is sent off for tripping Brad Marchand.

Third Period, 0:00, Panthers 4-1: The final frame is under way in Florida, where the Bruins are facing the prospect of a winless road trip and their first four-game losing streak of the season if they can't mount a mighty rally in this period.

Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins avoided another horrible start and came out of the first down just a gaol, but things fell apart quickly in the second as the Panthers extended the lead to 4-1.

After Florida scored in the opening minute, the Bruins appeared to settle down and started creating chances, which ultimately led to their first goal by Joe Corvo. But the Panthers answered less than two minutes later, then added another goal late.

Both of those last two came after Bruins turnovers in their own zone and featured breakdowns in coverage in front as Boston's sloppy defensive play continues. Tim Thomas hasn't shown much improvement in goal either, allowing four goals on 17 shots.

The Bruins also have 17 shots, while leading 34-21 in hits and 22-20 in faceoffs. That just shows how deceiving the statsheet can be. the hits stand out in particular, as the bruins have been physical, but not to that extent. That's an area they actually need to improve upon, along with cleaning up their defensive play, if they want to turn this around.

End Second Period, Panthers 4-1: The middle frame comes to a merciful close, but not before the Bruins found themselves facing another huge deficit as the Panthers answered Boston's lone goal with three more of their own.

Second Period, 15:27, Panthers 4-1: The Panthers add another one as John Madden scores to extend the lead to three goals.

This one started with another turnover in the Boston zone. Jerred Smithson eventually fed it out from behind the net to Madden at the right post, and Madden popped a shot up and over Thomas for the tally.

Second Period, 13:33, Panthers 3-1: The Bruins threaten again with Marchand setting up Seguin in front with a pass from out behind the net, but Seguin sends the bouncing puck up and over the net.

Second Period, 11:32, Panthers 3-1: The Bruins create a chance with some nifty passing in the offensive zone, with Marchand getting the puck back for a bid from the left slot, but Theodore makes the save.

Second Period, 9:23, Panthers 3-1: The Panthers continue to press the attack, with old friend Marco Sturm the latest with a chance at the left post but Thomas manages to turn that one aside before Sturm crashes into the boards.

Second Period, 6:32, Panthers 3-1: The Panthers answer right back and push the lead to two again on a Stephen Weiss goal.

Weiss banged home a rebound in front as he was left uncovered in the slot. The play began on a turnover when Corvo couldn't connect on a pass to start a breakout and Florida regained the Boston zone.

Second Period, 4:53, Panthers 2-1: The Bruins get on the board with Joe Corvo supplying the goal Boston desperately needed.

Benoit Pouliot got the puck up the wall to Corvo at the left point and Corvo sent in a wrister that fluttered high into the goal with Brian Rolston providing some traffic in front.

Second Period, 3:04, Panthers 2-0: The fourth line with a much-needed strong shift for the Bruins, keeping the Panthers hemmed in the zone and creating some decent scoring chances. Now the Bruins need to build off that momentum and try to turn this game around.

Second Period, 0:38, Panthers 2-0: The Panthers double the lead in the opening minute of the second period as Marcel Goc tips one past Tim Thomas in front.

Brian Campbell sent the wrist shot in from the blue line that was deflected in front, and a video review confirmed that it was a good goal.

Second Period, 0:00, Panthers 1-0: The middle frame is under way in Florida, where the Bruins once again have to dig out of an early hole, though this one is just one goal.

First Intermission Notes: The Bruins cleaned up their game for the most part in the opening period, but a couple of questionable penalties helped lead to Boston facing a 1-0 deficit after the first frame anyway.

The Bruins had an 8-6 edge in shots and an 18-8 advantage in hits. They're also 11-9 on draws, thanks mostly to David Krejci being 7-1.

Tim Thomas wasn't tested often, but looked more comfortable than in recent games. There wasn't much he could do on the lone goal, a power-play strike through a screen in front.

End First Period, Panthers 1-0: The opening period has come to a close, and while the Bruins had a better start than in recent games, they still trail 1-0 after a late power-play goal by the Panthers.

First Period, 17:57, Panthers 1-0: The Bruins have allowed the first goal of the game once again as Mikael Samuelsson scores on the power play.

Samuelsson scored from the right circle as Sean Bergenheim provided the screen in front.

First Period, 16:58, 0-0: The Bruins are shorthanded again as Shawn Thornton is called for cross-checking.

First Period, 15:55, 0-0: The Panthers with some pressure on the Bruins, testing Thomas a couple times. He's looked a little more comfortable in the crease in this one after some shaky outings of late.

First Period, 11:50, 0-0: The Bruins can't convert that brief power play after the 4 on 4 situation and all the penalties ar now expired and the sides back at even strength.

First Period, 9:50, 0-0: The Bruins catch a break as Jose Theodore evens up the penalty as he's called for delay of game for playing the puck outside of the trapezoid behind the net.

First Period, 9:09, 0-0: The Bruins will be shorthanded as Brad Marchand goes to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct. Marchand was actually the victim of a dangerous low hit by Brian Campbell that was not called. Bergeron immediately challenged Campbell, who refused to fight. Marchand was then called for a penalty later in the shift going after Campbell.

First Period, 8:05, 0-0: Pouliot is back out for his next shift after going off in pain when he was hit by some friendly fire on that Corvo blast.

First Period, 4:58, 0-0: The Bruins with the best chance so far as Joe Corvo goes down deep on the right side and centers it out to Chris Kelly, but Kelly is denied at the left post. Corvo then hit Pouliot with a shot later in the shift.

First Period, 3:00, 0-0: After a brief delay to fix a broken pane of glass, action is back under way in Sunrise, Fla.

First Period, 2:53, 0-0: With Seguin back with Bergeron and Marchand, Jordan Caron is now up with Milan Lucic and David Krejci, adding a winger with a little more attention to detail defensively on that unit.

Benoit Pouliot returns to a line with Chris Kelly and Brian Rolston, while the Merlot Line of Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton remain together.

First Period, 0:00, 0-0: The Bruins' final game of this three-game road trip is under way in a clash of teams trying to hold on to their division leads between Northeast Division-leading Boston and Southeast Division-leading Florida.

7:30 p.m.: The Bruins will open with the reunited line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin up front, with Dennis Seidenberg and Johnny Boychuk on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.

The Panthers counter with Tomas Fleischmann, Stephen Weiss and Wojtek Wolski up front, Brian Campbell and Jason Garrison on the blue line a nd Jose Theodore in net.

7:25 p.m.: Bergeron, McQuaid and Pouliot are all back in the lineup for this one.

Greg Zanon, Mike Mottau and Trent Whitfield are the healthy scratches for the Bruins.

Kris Versteeg, Mike Santorelli and Jack Skille are out for Florida.

7:15 p.m.: Patrice Bergeron, Adam McQuaid and Benoit Pouliot, who are all game-time decisions for this one, each took part in the pre-game warm-ups.

Trent Whitfield and Greg Zanon also skated and will play if the above are unable to go.

7 p.m.: As expected, Tim Thomas led the Bruins out for warm-ups and will be back in net for Boston in this one.

Jose Theodore led the Panthers out and will get the start for Florida.

6:30 p.m.: The Bruins close out their three-game road trip when they take on the Panthers in Sunrise, Fla. in about an hour. They hope to avoid going winless on the trip, and they really can't afford to lose another with Ottawa looming just one point back in the Northeast Division.

The Bruins have won the last two meetings of the season against the Panthers. After falling 2-0 at home on Dec. 8, Boston rolled to an 8-0 win at Garden on Dec. 23 and won a shootout 3-2 in Florida on Jan. 16. The Bruins have actually won five straight in Florida dating back to 2009, but the Panthers come in having won their last three games on home ice.

8 a.m. ET: The Bruins hope they won't be revisiting the winter of 2010. The Panthers would like nothing better.

Boston comes into Thursday's clash in Florida having lost three straight games. They haven't dropped four in a row since a 10-game winless streak back in Jan.-Feb. 2010 when they went 0-6-4, including a stretch of five straight regulation losses. The Panthers have won their last two games and three straight at home. They haven't won four straight home games since Jan. 2010.

The Bruins limp into Sunrise on the heels of a 6-1 loss to the Lightning Tuesday in Tampa, but they have won two of three against Florida this season, including an 8-0 shellacking at the Garden two days before Christmas. The Bruins have also won five straight in Florida, last losing on the Panthers' home ice back on Feb. 21, 2009.

There's plenty of significance to this game for both sides. The Bruins (40-26-3, 83 points) are clinging to the Northeast Division lead, which is down to just one point after Ottawa picked up a point in a shootout loss to Montreal on Wednesday. Boston does have two games in hand on the Senators, but they haven't made very good use of those games in hand of late and will need to get points out of this one.

The Panthers (33-23-13, 79 points) are also one point ahead of Washington for the Southeast Division lead, with Winnipeg five points back. Florida has a game in hand on both the Capitals and the Jets. The Panthers have also pulled within four points of Boston, and could overtake the Bruins for the second seed in the East even if both teams hold on for their respective division crowns.

The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Tune in to NESN to watch the game, and stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening.