End of shootout, Devils win 2-1: Jamie Langenbrunner scored in the third round of the shootout to seal the game for the Devils and give them a 2-1 shootout win at the TD Garden.
Blake Wheeler, who tied the game in regulation for the Bruins, scored in the second round, but Zach Parise, who also scored in regulation, answered and the shootout headed to the third round tied at one. David Krejci was unable to duplicate his magic from Wednesday (when he scored the shootout winner at Minnesota), and Langenbrunner scored to win the game.
Tuukka Rask had another splendid game in net with 36 saves and Martin Brodeur was … well, Martin Brodeur, making 32 saves in the win.
With the point, the Bruins move into a tie for first place in the Northeast Division with the Ottawa Senators who just happen to be here Saturday night when the two teams square off at 7 p.m. Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for joining us here on NESN.com.
End of overtime: For the second straight game, the Bruins are headed to a shootout. David Krejci and Tuukka Rask were the heroes in Minnesota. Who will step up today?
Overtime, 1:12, 1-1: A fast-paced OT going on, and the Bruins may be headed for a second straight shootout.
End of regulation, 1-1: For the second game in a row, the Bruins are headed to overtime. They almost clinched the win with 3.8 seconds left in regulation when Michael Ryder fed Marc Savard on a 2-on-1, but Martin Brodeur scooped up Savard's bid and it's still 1-1.
Third period, 2:40, 1-1: One Bruins player that has had more intensity than any other this period has been Blake Wheeler, who tied the game 12 ticks into the final frame.
Wheeler has been involved in almost every scoring chance it seems and is flying out there. That would be huge if he finds his game from last fall.
Third period, 4:51, 1-1: Still tied here at the TD Garden. The Bruins definitely have had more energy this period. It's amazing how good this team can be when they play with more intensity. The B's have shown they can do it for 60 minutes on their recent road trip. They must do that more often.
Third period, 10:21, 1-1: The Bruins are 1-7-1 when trailing after the second period. Looking for win No. 2 here today.
Third period, 13:27, 1-1: Tuukka Rask is getting the job done once again today. Rask has 25 saves so far and has kept the Bruins in the game. Chants of "Tuuuuukka Tuuuuukka" are reigning down on the ice every time he makes a save.
Devils forward David Clarkson, who took a Zdeno Chara shot off his ankle in the first period, is gone for the game.
Third period, 17:17, 1-1: That goal has definitely awoken the TD Garden crowd from their slumber here.
Third period, 19:48, 1-1: Blake Wheeler just tied the game for the Bruins 12 ticks into the third period. Byron Bitz and Marc Savard had the helpers. Must be one heck of a speech Claude Julien gives in there!
End of second period, Devils 1-0: Our apologies there folks as some major connection problems wouldn't let me blog the last few minutes. But we're back and after two periods the Bruins are trailing 1-0.
There were two penalties called toward the end of the period. One to Derek Morris and another to Devils forward Brian Rolston. Both power plays were unsuccessful and after two periods, both teams are 0-for-2.
If the Bruins want to pull out another victory, they need to start shooting at every chance. Or, hopefully, Claude Julien is giving the same speech in the dressing room that he gave in the second intermission of the Bruins' 2-1 shootout win at Minnesota on Wednesday. Right now, the Devils are in control.
Second period, 17:13, Devils 1-0: After Morris got called for a slash, Brian Rolston slashed Wideman across the forearm to get a trip to the sin bin as well, making it a 4-on-4 for well over a minute of action. The B's had a few chances in deep on Marty B but couldn't sneak one through.
Second period, 6:30, Devils 1-0: Zdeno Chara just got called for slashing and the Bruins' power play is nullified. Chara swung at a breaking Zach Parise who set up Travis Zajac for a one-timer that was denied by Tuukka Rask.
Second period, 8:14, Devils 1-0: Jamie Langenbrunner is off to the sin bin for roughing and the Bruins are on their second power play.They're 0-for-1. Derek Morris did a good job of goading Langenbrunner into the roughing penalty.
Second period, 9:08, Devils 1-0: Shawn Thornton just did the tango with Andrew Peters, waking the crowd up here a bit and hopefully sparking his team.
Second period, 10:15, Devils 1-0: Zach Parise has extended his point streak to nine games with a goal and given the Devils a 1-0 lead.
Matt Halischuk and Bryce Salvador had the helpers. That's Parise's 14th of the season. Mark him in on your Team USA roster!
Second period, 13:12: The Bruins play here again on Saturday when they face the Senators in a battle for first place in the Northeast Division.
This will be the fifth of 17 back-to-back series of games for the Bruins this season. So far they're 4-0-0 in the first game and 1-2-1 in the second.
Second period, 14:31: Martin Brodeur passed Patrick Roy for NHL minutes played with his 20 minutes played in the first period. Brodeur has now played 60,236 minutes heading into this period.
Also congrats to Mark Recchi who is now 12th on all-time games played with 1,515 today.
Second period, 19:46: Under way here in the second period at TD Garden.
End of first period: No score after the first period here at TD Garden. That was a much better opening frame by the Bruins than the one they had on Wednesday in Minnesota. They are skating better and seem to be tighter through the neutral zone.
First period, 4:26: Old friend Brian Rolston almost had a clean breakaway just after the Devils' power play ended but Dennis Wideman kept up with him and Tuukka Rask made the save. Good skating by Wideman to keep up with the speedy Wideman.
First period, 5:45: The Devils thought they had a goal here but the net was off the moorings.
First period, 6:49: Vladimir Sobotka is headed to the box for interference and the Bruins are shorthanded.
Lots of neutral zone play here and as expected a tough defensive game between the second best defensive team in the Devils and third best in the Bruins.
First period, 8:50: The Bruins are 0-for-1 on the power play and they continue to struggle on the man-advantage.
First period, 11:49: The Bruins are on their first power play here as Devils defenseman Mark Fraser is in the sin-bin for hooking.
Be interesting to see how the Bruins re-adapt to not having Milan Lucic in the lineup.
He made his presence felt in the short time he was back with two goals and as always lots of physical play. The space he creates for linemates is huge!
First period,14:23: No score here early in the game. Always love this day because as always a packed house here at the Garden.
Here's today's lineup for the Bruins. Vladimir Sobotka is in for Milan Lucic and Tuukka Rask gets his sixth straight start.
Bruins
Forwards
Blake Wheeler–Marc Savard–Byron Bitz
Marco Sturm–Patrice Bergeron–Mark Recchi
Vladimir–David Krejci–Michael Ryder
Shawn Thornton–Steve Begin–Daniel Paille
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara–Derek Morris
Andrew Ference–Dennis Wideman
Mark Stuart–Matt Hunwick
Goaltenders
Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas
First period, 18:20: Underway here at TD Garden between the Bruins and Devils in this "Black Friday" matinee.
10:57 a.m.: The diagnosis is in for Milan Lucic. General manager Peter Chiarelli told the media that Lucic has a high-ankle sprain and will miss about a month. That's certainly not good news for the B's, who had their lineup healthy for a grand total of two games.
10:44 a.m.:The Bruins return home to TD Garden on Friday afternoon riding a four-game winning streak after a successful road trip. The Bruins are hosting the New Jersey Devils, who came into Boston on Oct. 29 and beat the Bruins 2-1 with 1:26 remaining in regulation. But at that point of their season, the Bruins were a team still desperately searching for an identity and consistency. They appear to have found that over the last four games and look ready to tackle the dog days of the season ahead.
Tuukka Rask has done a superb job filling in for the injured Tim Thomas (possible hand injury) and has won four out of the five straight games he has started. Rask has won four straight and has a 1.75 goals against average with a .942 save percentage during that span. His record overall is now 7-2-1 with a 2.13 GAA and .924 save percentage. Chances are he will start again.
The other big question surrounding the Bruins is the status of forward Milan Lucic, who went down with an apparent knee injury late in the Bruins 2-1 shootout win at Minnesota on Wednesday. Claude Julien is expected to address the media shortly, so we should have an answer on that within the hour.
The Bruins trail the Senators by one point for first place in the Northeast Division. With a win today, they will regain sole possession of first place.
