Final, Bruins 3-1: That’s it, and that’s all. The Bruins are going to the Eastern Conference finals.
Third period, 19:10, Bruins 3-1: That might do it.
Gregory Campbell just had a relentless effort, diving and getting just enough of the stick on the puck to push it into an empty net, and the B’s look like they’re gonna have to start getting ready for the Penguins.
Third period, 17:34, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins aren’t slowing down. The David Krejci line just turned in its best shift of the night, and while they didn’t score, they ate a lot of clock and had a few great chances.
Third period, 14:53, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins got a scare as a scrum near the net leads to Ryan Callahan bowling over Tuukka Rask. I’ve seen goalie interference called for less, but apparently they’re gonna let them play.
Third period, 12:43, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins still lead 2-1, but it could have been 3-1. Shawn Thornton was robbed by Henrik Lundqvist on a scoring opportunity that would have given Thornton the Gordie Howe hat trick.
Third period, 11:14, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins don’t look ready to go away, but they did get a huge scare.
Tuukka Rask just made a huge save on a Ryan Callahan breakaway to make sure this game remains in favor of the Bruins.
Third period, 7:55, Bruins 2-1: The Rangers may be a little more than 12 minutes from going home for the summer, but you probably wouldn’t be able to tell judging by their showing here in the third period.
The Bruins are winning the puck battles all over the ice, and the club’s third line is helping that case. Tyler Seguin, Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly haven’t gotten on the score sheet in this one, but they’ve played with good jump through almost two and a half periods.
Third period, 4:57, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins can’t get anything on the power play, and it was a rather ugly showing on the man-advantage.
The B’s did have one golden chance, and that was a Jaromir Jagr wrist shot in front to Henrik Lundqvist’s left. The goalie made the glove save, and frustration has to be setting in for Jagr at this point.
Third period, 2:28, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins have come out with good legs here in the third, and they’re making it count.
Milan Lucic just skated hard and earned the Bruins a power play, as Derek Dorsett was called for the trip.
Third period, 0:01, Bruins 2-1: The third period is under way with the B’s looking to put this series away.
Second period reaction: That was a tremendous period for the Bruins. The B’s owned that 20 minutes, and they have the goals and the lead to show for it.
Much of the period was spent in the New York zone, and the Bruins were just relentless. Once again, it was Henrik Lundqvist who was the most impressive player on the ice, and he’s the reason the B’s are only leading 2-1 right now. Had it not been for the Rangers goalie, we could be looking at a 5-1 game right now.
That alone should be a reminder to the Bruins as to how quickly this game could shift. They saw that in Game 4 when Tuukka Rask fell, and there’s no excuse (especially given how Lundqvist is playing) for them to come out in the third period like their hair is on fire. The Rangers are vulnerable right now, and the Bruins could put them away with a quick start to what they hope will be New York’s final period this season.
End second period, Bruins 2-1: The second period comes to an end with the Bruins in front 2-1, and the B’s will get 53 seconds of power-play time in the third.
Second period, 18:53, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins are getting another power play.
Derek Dorsett is called for slashing, and the B’s get the man-advantage.
Second period, 13:41, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins have owned this period, and now they own the lead.
Gregory Campbell did a great job of crashing the net, and he was there to clean up a loose puck and beat Henrik Lundqvist blocker side to give Boston its first lead of the game.
Second period, 10:24, 1-1: Henrik Lundqvist has brought the good stuff in the first half of this game.
The Bruins’ first line just turned up the pressure in a big way, with four splendid chances, but Lundqvist turned them all aside.
First it was Nathan Horton in the slot, which the goaltender turned away to his right. That led to a shot from the point that was tipped by David Krejci and stopped by Lundqvist. Seconds later, Milan Lucic’s shot was tipped, but it went right to Horton in the middle of the slot. His shot was stopped by Lundqvist, as was the rebound chance from Krejci just to the goaltender’s left.
Second period, 8:53, 1-1: Nothing doing for the Rangers on their second power play of the game.
Adam McQuaid was very good for the B’s late in the kill, and Matt Bartkowski actually got a breakaway just a few seconds after leaving the penalty box, but he put the shot right in Henrik Lundqvist’s chest.
Second period, 6:39, 1-1: The Bruins, who have a little jump in their steps after the Torey Krug goal, are left to try and kill off another penalty.
Matt Bartkowski was just called for a very iffy tripping penalty, and the B’s will look to cool off the suddenly red-hot New York power play.
Second period, 3:48, 1-1: This is Torey Krug’s world, and we’re all living in it.
The rookie defenseman continues to shine, and he scores on the power play again with an absolute rocket from the right point by Henrik Lundqvist to tie the game early in the second period.
Second period, 2:37, Rangers 1-0: The Bruins’ power play was great in Game 4, and they’re hoping it can get them going again here.
Mats Zuccarrello was just called for hooking Tyler Seguin, and the B’s get their first power play of the game.
Second period, 0:30, Rangers 1-0: The second period is underway.
First period reaction: If nothing else, that was a highly entertaining first period between two teams that have brought the rough stuff to open Game 5.
The Bruins obviously find themselves down on the scoreboard, but they’re getting their chances. They actually outshot New York 9-8 in the first period, and that included a couple of brilliant saves by Henrik Lundqvist who has been fantastic. That’s the problem, though. Through the first period, it looks like the Bruins are getting the good Lundqvist, the version of the Vezina finalist that had many leaning toward the Rangers in this series. So while the B’s are getting chances, you already start to get the feeling that maybe, just maybe, they won’t be able to crack him in this one.
There’s still a long way to go, however, so we’ll save that talk in earnest for a little later on. The first period was a physical one, for sure. That was highlighted by Shawn Thornton’s fight with Derek Dorsett early in the period, but it wasn’t limited to just that. The two teams have gotten chippy after whistles, and we’ve already seen a couple of glass-rattling body checks. One of the best had to have come from Milan Lucic who pancaked Dorsett in the corner after Lucic did a terrific job of back-checking.
The Rangers, in addition to getting a great period from Lundqvist, have also found a little mojo on the power play. The Rangers snapped a nasty cold streak in Game 4 with Brian Boyle’s power-play tally, and they added another one here in the first on a Dan Girardi blast from the point. Other than that, Tuukka Rask was solid with a couple of nice pad saves, including one that likely saved a goal on a Ryan McDonagh shot late in the period.
End first period, Rangers 1-0: An entertaining, rather quick-moving first period just came to an end with the Rangers leading 1-0 after 20 minutes.
First period, 14:58, Rangers 1-0: Henrik Lundqvist has been absolutely fantastic so far. Just ask Milan Lucic.
The Bruins forward has been robbed twice already by Lundqvist’s glove, including a splendid chance a few minutes ago in the slot that Lundqvist calmly grabbed out of midair.
Rich Peverley was also turned away on a shorthanded chance that ramped up Ryan McDonagh’s stick, but Lundqvist turned it aside with a shoulder save.
First period, 10:39, Rangers 1-0: The Rangers’ power play has awoken.
Dan Girardi just ripped a shot from the point that beat Tuukka Rask glove side to give the Rangers the 1-0 lead midway through the first period.
First period, 9:45, 0-0: This has been by far the most physical game of the series, and apparently the referees don’t like how chippy it’s been played so far.
David Krejci just got the game’s first penalty, as he was called for cross-checking. New York, which got its power play going in Game 4, gets the first chance of Game 5.
FIrst period, 6:49, 0-0: This building is about as loud as it’s been all postseason, aside from Game 7 of the Toronto series, and we have Shawn Thornton to thank for that.
The Bruins enforcer finally decided to oblige Derek Dorsett with a fight at center ice in which Thornton tried to rip Dorsett’s head off, I think.
Great action up and down the ice in the early going.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: Let’s go. Game 5 is under way.
5:25 p.m.: The Bruins have made it official, and Dennis Seidenberg will return to the lineup. Dougie Hamilton is the scratch.
The B’s will start with the Patrice Bergeron line, while the Rangers will go with Ryan Callahan’s line.
5:15 p.m.: On the New York end of the ice, forward Brad Richards was not on the ice for the pregame warmups, so it looks like he’s a scratch again.
Anton Stralman and Arron Asham are both out as well, meaning the Rangers appear to be going with the same lineup for Game 5.
5:10 p.m.: The Bruins and Rangers are still on the ice for pregame warmups, and it looks like Dennis Seidenberg will return for the Bruins.
The veteran blue liner was skating alongside Zdeno Chara for all of warmups, so it looks like he’ll get the nod. Who he’ll replace, however, is still up in the air. Dougie Hamilton would seem to be the odd man out, but he was also taking a turn or two with Adam McQuaid in place of Torey Krug. It’s kind of hard to believe Krug would sit, but we’ll have to wait and see.
4:26 p.m.: Claude Julien didn’t offer any real update to his lineup situation other than to say Dennis Seidenberg will take part in the pregame warmups. Julien said they’ll know better after that.
4:10 p.m.: New York head coach John Tortorella just got done meeting with the media, and he he really didn’t have much to offer, which is no real surprise.
The highlights:
Tortorella says his room has never gotten down, but they’re hoping to gain some momentum from the Game 4 win and make that carry over today.
There is no update on Anton Stralman.
The coach likes what the fourth line gave him in Game 4, and he likes what they can do in terms of generating energy by doing things like getting to loose pucks and succeeding at other little things like that.
Tortorella says that Henrik Lundqvist is so good the head coach doesn’t even pay attention to his goalie, and he also said that Ryan McDonagh is going to “play a ton” in this one.
That was about it really.
3:40 p.m.: Good afternoon from TD Garden where the Bruins and Rangers are about an hour from getting under way in Game 5 of this second-round series.
Bruins coach Claude Julien is about 40 minutes from taking the podium for his pregame news conference where hopefully he’ll clue us in on what he’s going to do with his lineup in terms of who’s in and who’s out on defense.
Both Wade Redden and Dennis Seidenberg skated at practice Friday, and they both appear to be getting closer and closer to returning. Who one or either of them would replace in the lineup is something we hopefully find out in a few minutes.
8 a.m. ET: All it takes is one win sometimes. The Rangers are hoping that’s the case in their second-round series with the Bruins, and they’ll look to prove that on Saturday in Game 5 against the Bruins.
The B’s, who have made a habit out of making things very, very interesting in series over the past few seasons, have some thinking they’re in the position to cough upf another big lead. The Bruins took a 3-0 series lead into Game 4 on Thursday night, and quite frankly, Boston played one of its worst games of the playoffs. Despite taking a 2-0 lead midway through the second period, the Bruins saw that lead evaporate before losing Game 4 in overtime on a Chris Kreider game-winning goal.
Boston had a great chance to sweep the series and earn themselves a pretty nice rest over Memorial Day weekend. Instead, they made a handful of costly errors en route to the OT loss. Now the Bruins head home looking to put things away with the Pittsburgh Penguins waiting for their Eastern Conference finals opponent.
The Bruins may have a decision to make on the blue line entering Game 5. Dennis Seidenberg is getting healthier, and despite the contributions from a trio of rookie defensemen, it might make most sense to reinsert the veteran defenseman for a pretty important Game 5.
Puck drop is slated for 5:30 p.m. at TD Garden.
