The games that really do count will begin on Thursday when Boston opens up the first round of the playoffs against Montreal.
Third Period, 19:56, Devils 3-2: The Bruins add a final goal in the closing second with Dennis Seidenberg sending in a shot from the left point through a crowd in front.
Chris Kelly got a piece of it for the goal, but it won’t change the final result. Seidenberg and Boychuk pick up the assists.
Third Period, 16:43, Devils 3-1: Some slick stickhandling from Michael Ryder in the New Jersey zone, but he’s unable to pull the trigger on the shot to finish it off.
Third Period, 14:32, Devils 3-1: Finally some pressure from the Bruins, but Johan Hedberg turns aside Krejci from the left wing, then a blast from Lucic from the high slot.
Third Period, 9:10, Devils 3-1: The Devils extend the lead to two goals as Alexander Urbom tucks in a wraparound at the right post.
That’s the first NHL goal for Urbom, who sneaks it in past Andrew Ference with Rask out of position by the far post.
Third Period, 8:40, Devils 2-1: The Bruins definitely looking like the two points in this one aren’t a priority. Getting out of here healthy looks like the main mission right now as they’ve managed just four shots since the first period.
Third Period, 4:00, Devils 2-1: The Devils pull ahead as Vladimir Zharkov scores on a breakaway.
Zharkov broke in alone as the puck deflected off Johnny Boychuk’s stick in the neutral zone right to Zharkov.
Third Period, 2:42, 1-1: The Bruins can’t convert the power play, but did create some good chances with a pair of shots and another off the post late in the man-advantage.
Third Period, 0:42, 1-1: The Bruins get a quick power-play chance as Henrik Tallinder goes off for tripping David Krejci.
Third Period, 0:10, 1-1: Tyler Seguin is back on the bench for the Bruins to start the third period, so good news there on the injury front.
Third Period, 0:00, 1-1: And the final period of the regular season is under way in New Jersey, and the Bruins are looking to make sure there are just 20 minutes left. No need for overtime in this one.
Second Intermission Notes: Not much of a second period for the Bruins, who got one shot from Milan Lucic 1:44 into the frame, then didn’t manage another for the final 18:16 of the period.
New Jersey, meanwhile, put 10 shots on Tuukka Rask, who stopped all 10 to keep it tied. the Devils also had a 6-2 edge in hits in the second.
The Bruins avoided injuries on scares to David Krejci and Johnny Boychuk, but Tyler Seguin went to the room to be checked out by the medical staff after a shot to the head in the second period. Have to wait to see if he returns for the third.
End Second Period, 1-1: The Bruins and Devils will head to the third still tied at 1-1 thanks to Rask. None of the other Bruins did much in that frame, as New Jersey had a 10-1 edge in shots.
Second Period, 15:52, 1-1: Seguin, who took a shot to the head earlier in the period, has now headed to the locker room to be checked out further.
Second Period, 13:14, 1-1: Rask makes a sprawling save to rob Clarkson again, this time getting a pad on a shot at the right post off a feed from Brian Rolston.
Second Period, 12:32, 1-1: Other than Rask, the Bruins haven’t shown much so far this period. The Devils have a 7-1 edge in shots and 4-0 advantage in hits in the second.
Second Period, 8:44, 1-1: Another big stop by Rask, this time on David Clarkson’s backhander at the left post as he broke in alone behind Shane Hnidy.
Second Period, 6:25, 1-1: A broken stick by Brad Marchand leads to a turnover and a chance all alone in front for Travis Zajac, but Rask comes up with a huge save to keep it tied.
Second Period, 2:57, 1-1: Boychuk is right back out there for his next shift, so the Bruins appear to have avoided injury to a key player once again in this one.
Second Period, 1:00, 1-1: Not what the Bruins wanted to see, as Johnny Boychuk pinches in deep but crashes hard into the end boards behind the Devils’ goal. He limps gingerly back to the bench in obvious discomfort. He does stay on the bench rather than going to the room, which is a good sign.
Second Period, 0:00, 1-1: The middle frame is under way in New Jersey, with the Bruins looking to take their first lead of the day after pulling even late in the first.
First Intermission Notes: It’s all even after one period as the Bruins look to close out the regular season on a high note.
New Jersey has a 14-11 edge in shots, and that could be an even wider margin but the Bruins have seven blocked shots to New Jersey’s three. That’s a risky way to play this finale, and David Krejci was shaken up on one of his two blocks, but did return later in the period. The teams are playing it a bit safer in some respects, with just four hits recorded in that period (3 by Boston).
Rich Peverley continued his late-season surge with a goal in his second straight game. Peverley, who hit the post on the power play just before his goal, also has points in three straight games now. On the other side of the spectrum, Tyler Seguin hasn’t done much to improve his chances of playing in the postseason. he showed his speed on a couple of rushes, but continues to try to do too much on his own at times and also took a bad tripping penalty.
End First Period, 1-1: The first 20 minutes are in the books, and it’s all even with a goal apiece heading into the first intermission.
First Period, 19:01, 1-1: The Bruins survive that power play despite five shots on goal by the Devils. Some big stops by Rask to bail out Seguin for taking that penalty.
First Period, 17:01, 1-1: Tyler Seguin not helping his cause if he hopes to see any playoff action as he takes a bad tripping penalty and the Bruins will be shorthanded for the first time in this one.
First Period, 13:47, 1-1: The Bruins aren’t exactly playing this one safe, as David Krejci and Milan Lucic both block shots on that shift. Krejci appeared a bit shaken up, but hopefully it is not anything serious.
First Period, 10:04, 1-1: The Bruins can’t convert on the power play, but score six seconds after the penalty expires to tie the game up.
Rich Peverley gets the goal, banging in a rebound from the left circle. Michael Ryder and Andrew Ference pick up the rewards. Peverley deserved that one after clanging a shot off the post during the power play.
First Period, 7:58, Devils 1-0: The Bruins will get the first power-play chance of the day as Andy Greene is sent off for tripping.
First Period, 5:38, Devils 1-0: The Devils certainly don’t look like a team with nothing to play for in this one, as they’re taking it to the Bruins early on.
First Period, 1:47, Devils 1-0: New Jersey strikes first early in this one, with Patrik Elias opening the scoring less than two minutes in.
Ex-Bruin Brian Rolston set up with goal with a steal from Johnny Boychuk behind the net, then passing it out front to Elias for an easy tap-in.
First Period, 1:26, 0-0: Wide-open start to this one, with the teams trading 3-on-2 chances in the opening 90 seconds.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: The final regular season game is under way in New Jersey, where the Bruins will look to complete their first season sweep of the Devils since 1985-86 and go into the playoffs on a high note.
3:05 p.m.: The Bruins will open their final game with their “energy line” of Daniel Paille, Greg Campbell and Shawn Thornton. It’s only fitting that line gets the honor after they’ve done such a good job setting the tone all year.
Tomas Kaberle and Adam McQuaid start on defense, with Tuukka Rask in goal.
The Devils counter with Ilya Kovalchuk, Travis Zajac and Nick Palmieri up front, Mark Fraser and Andy Greene on defense and Johan Hedberg in net.
3 p.m.: No surprises with the Bruins scratches as Chara and Recchi are officially out.
The Devils have scratched David Steckel and Jay leach in addition to their plethora of injured players. Call-ups Adam Henrique and Alexander Urbom are in the lineup.
2:50 p.m.: If the Bruins need a reminder of the dangers of these “meaningless” late-season games, they just need to look toward Providence.
Defenseman Steven Kampfer suffered an undisclosed injury in Providence’s game on Saturday. He was expected to return to Boston for the playoffs to add depth on the blue line if needed, but his status for that is in question now.
2:40 p.m.: Looks like a battle of the backups in this one, with Johan Hedberg leading the Devils out for warm-ups.
It appears he’ll get the call in this one instead of Martin Brodeur against Tuukka Rask and the Bruins.
2:20 p.m.: Tim Thomas has played the first three games against New Jersey this year, but Tuukka Rask has had success against the Devils in the past.
Rask is 1-0-2 with a 0.69 GAA, .974 save percentage and one shutout against New Jersey in his career.
2 p.m.: In just about an hour, the Bruins will begin their final game of the 2010-11 regular season.
There are still plenty of games to play. The Bruins hope at least 16 more of them. But this one closes the first phase of the season.
The goal in this game is to get through it without any injuries and not allow any bad habits to slip into their game.
Tuukka Rask is expected to get the call in goal, while Zdeno Chara and Mark Recchi remained behind in Boston for well-deserved days off.
11 a.m.: The Bruins close out the regular season with one final clash in New Jersey on Sunday afternoon.
There will be nothing at stake in this one. With Philadelphia’s win over the Islanders on Saturday night, the Flyers clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference, leaving the Bruins locked in the third spot. With Montreal beating Toronto on Saturday night, the Bruins also now know they’ll face their archrivals once again as the Canadiens clinched sixth place and a first-round matchup with Boston.
The Devils, meanwhile, have long been eliminated from playoff contention and couldn’t even play spoiler on Saturday. New Jersey lost 5-2 to the Rangers, who then secured the final playoff spot in the East when Carolina fell to Tampa Bay.
That loss dropped the Devils to 4-7-1 in their last 12 games as their miraculous second-half run finally petered out. New Jersey stood at an NHL-worst 10-29-2 at the midway point of the season before going 23-3-2 over the next 28 games to make an improbable run at a postseason berth.
But the Devils will miss the playoffs for the first time 1996. With Saturday’s loss, New Jersey also can’t finish .500 on the season, as they enter the final game at 37-39-5.
The Devils haven’t announced whether Martin Brodeur or Johan Hedberg will start in goal in the finale. Brodeur has played each of the first three games against the Bruins this season, going 0-3-0 while allowing 11 goals.
The Bruins have outscored New Jersey 11-2 in those three games, and can complete their first season sweep of the Devils since 1985-86 with a victory on Sunday.
Bruins coach Claude Julien did state on Saturday that Tuukka Rask would get the start for Boston. Tim Thomas played each of the first three games against New Jersey, but will get a rest before the playoffs after stopping 31 of the 32 shots he faced in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Ottawa. That was enough to keep Thomas’ save percentage at .938 for the season, breaking the NHL record of .937 set by Dominik Hasek in 1998-99.
Julien also announced that captain Zdeno Chara and veteran forward Mark Recchi would not make the trip and get the day off as well. Chara and Recchi were the only Bruins to play in each of the clubs’ first 81 games, so Boston will not have any skaters play in all 82 of the Bruins’ games this season.
The puck drops at 3 p.m., so check back here throughout the day for updates on all the action.
