Final, Senators 4-2: For the first time since 2009, the Ottawa Senators have beat the Bruins in Ottawa.
The 12th time was the charm, as the Senators scored four unanswered goals to take the 4-2 win over the Bruins.
Third period, 19:00, Senators 4-2: The Bruins killed off the penalty, but they’re running out of time.
With a minute left, Tuukka Rask has been pulled for the extra skater.
Third period, 16:52, Senators 4-2: The Bruins aren’t doing themselves any favors in the attempt to come back.
Jarome Iginla is going to the penalty box after being called for charging. It wasn’t a great call, but the penalty also came behind the Boston net, which says where the Bruins are at right now trailing by two.
Third period, 14:50, Senators 4-2: The Bruins are struggling to do much of anything right now. The breakouts continue to be an issue — they almost gave up another goal as a result of inept attempts to clear their own zone — and they’re also having problems penetrating the Ottawa zone.
They have just three shots in the last almost six minutes, and the inability to gain the offensive zone is obviously keeping them from setting up their offense in the Ottawa zone.
Third period, 10:11, Senators 4-2: Some nights, it’s just not your night. and it looks like that might be the case for the Bruins now.
The Senators just hemmed in the Bruins, and Bobby Ryan eventually took advantage of that. Reilly Smith tried to skate the puck out of the Boston zone, but Ryan came out of nowhere from behind him, lifted Smith’s stick and stole the puck. He then turned on a dime, took a stride or two and beat Tuukka Rask with a shot to make it a two-goal game.
Third period, 5:42, Senators 3-2: The Bruins officially look like a team that played and traveled about 24 hours ago.
Jared Cowen just scored the go-ahead goal from the left point that beat Tuukka Rask five-hole. That was a pretty soft goal for Rask to give up, which makes you think that Rask might have been screened or never saw the puck as there was some traffic in front.
Third period, 5:05, 2-2: The Bruins’ third line, especially Carl Soderberg, has been able to create some chances lately.
The Swedish forward just got two shots on goal here in his latest shift, the second shot stopped by Craig Anderson who ended up freezing the puck. Just as the whistle blew, Soderberg crashed the net and ended up poking the puck by Anderson, but the whistle had already been blown, so it’s no goal.
Third period, 1:32, 2-2: Erik Karlsson is something else.
The Senators defenseman just made a gorgeous play to help tie the game. Karlsson found Jason Spezza with a gorgeous slap pass from the right slot with Spezza camped out in the left faceoff circle.
Spezza came in the backdoor and then buried the chance to tie the game less than two minutes into the third.
Third period, 0:01, Bruins 2-1: The third period is underway, and the Bruins are looking to put the finishing touches on this one.
End second period, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins will take some momentum into the dressing room for the second intermission after a strong finish to the middle period.
The Boston first line had a long shift deep in the Senators zone that didn’t produce anything in way of a goal, but it might be good for some good mojo heading into the third period.
Second period, 14:00, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins weren’t able to cash in on the power play, and the Senators actually got the best scoring chance during the man-advantage.
Clarke MacArthur was able to get the puck out of the Boston zone and skate it up ice getting by Torey Krug. The Ottawa forward had to shake off eventual pressure from the Boston back check before Tuukka Rask made the save. MacArthur eventually crashed into Rask as well, but no call was made.
Second period, 11:42, Bruins 2-1: Now the Bruins will get a chance on the power play.
Zack Smith tried to catch Patrice Bergeron with a hip check, but the Senators forward ended up getting his leg out and tripping the Boston forward.
Second period, 9:13, Bruins 2-1: Dougie Hamilton is paired with Zdeno Chara right now with Adam McQuaid out with an injury, and that’s obviously a good thing for Hamilton.
He got a little too aggressive by trying to penetrate the Senators defense in the Ottawa zone, and he eventually lost the puck. That started a 2-on-1 the other way, but Chara was able to use his long reach to break it up as Bobby Ryan tried to make a move around the big defenseman.
Second period, 5:30, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins killed off the penalty, and that makes it 27 straight kills for the B’s.
It looked like Brad Marchand might have had Carl Soderberg coming out of the box, but Marchand apparently didn’t see the Swedish forward stepping out of the box. Had he seen him, Soderberg almost certainly would have had a breakaway.
Second period, 3:05, Bruins 2-1: The Senators are going to get the game’s first power play after a clean first period.
Carl Soderberg is going to the box for hooking, and the Bruins will try to kill off their 27th straight penalty.
Second period, 0:01, Bruins 2-1: The second period is underway with the Bruins looking to build on what was a pretty strong first.
End first period, Bruins 2-1: The first period was dominated by the Bruins, until the final minute at least.
Chris Neil’s goal has made this a game, and the teams head to the dressing room with Boston up 2-1.
One note on that first Bruins goal: Loui Eriksson is now being credited with the goal, as the puck apparently hit his stick as well in front before getting by Craig Anderson.
First period, 19:10, Bruins 2-1: Torey Krug has been really good this season, but he just made arguably his biggest mistake of the season.
Krug was being hassled by Chris Neil at the blue line, and he eventually got free. Krug ran into trouble, though, when he made a backhanded pass at his own blue line that Neil grabbed on his way back into the zone. Neil walked in and sniped it by Tuukka Rask to make it a 2-1 game.
First period, 17:36, Bruins 2-0: The Senators just got their best chance of the period, but they couldn’t take advantage.
Bobby Ryan shot the puck at the net, but he missed, which actually worked out pretty well for the Senators. It caromed right back to Clarke MacArthur, and he tried to backhand it by Tuukka Rask, but it looked like MacArthur had the puck on his stick a little too long, and he ended up shooting it through the crease.
First period, 15:00, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins are outshooting the Senators 11-3. The Senators are doing nothing. That’s all really. There’s not much too it.
First period, 12:59, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins continue to generate chances.Â
Loui Eriksson skated the puck out of the Boston zone and into the neutral zone where Eriksson took some contact along the wall to move the puck to Patrice Bergeron. That turned into a 2-on-1 for Bergeron and Brad Marchand, but Craig Anderson made the save on a shot from Bergeron.
First period, 9:50, Bruins 2-0: Brad Marchand might be back.
The Bruins forward just showed off the impressive shot he’s displayed at times over his NHL career, and the B’s have a 2-0 lead.
Matt Bartkowski skated the puck into the zone, and when the Senators were looking at him, he passed it to Marchand. The forward walked right into the slot and ripped a wrist shot by Craig Anderson that rang the post before going into the net.
First period, 6:03, Bruins 1-0: Matt Bartkowski has his first career NHL goal, and the Bruins have the 1-0 lead.
Patrice Bergeron looked to have lost an offensive zone faceoff, but a good second effort won the puck back to the point. Bartkowski took the puck and hammered it toward the net. Derek Grant dove in front of the shot and the puck deflected off his stick and beat Craig Anderson.
(Bartkowski did score in the playoffs last season, scoring in the Game 7 win over Toronto.)
First period, 3:30, 0-0: Patrice Bergeron just jumped into the slot and blasted a one-timer from the tof of the slot that Craig Anderson made an arm save on.
First period, 2:36, 0-0: Carl Soderberg continues to play well and continues to create chances for himself.
He just carried the puck into the zone and was able to work around Erik Karlsson, as the Bruins forward had one hand on his stick and the other holding off the Senators defenseman.
Craig Anderson ended up making the save, though.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: The game is underway as the Bruins look to make it five in a row.
7:20 p.m.: The pregame skate is just about wrapping up in Ottawa, and it appears as if the Bruins are not going to change their lineup at all.
Claude Julien has gone with the same lineup to start for the last three games after having to shuffle his defense pairs after Adam McQuaid went down with his injury last weekend against the Maple Leafs.
Here’s how the Bruins will start, according to their pregame skate line combinations and D-pairs.
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Loui Eriksson
Carl Soderberg — Chris Kelly — Reilly Smith
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton
Zdeno Chara — Dougie Hamilton
Dennis Seidenberg — Torey Krug
Matt Bartkowski — Johnny Boychuk
Tuukka Rask
6:40 p.m.:Â It’s no surprise, but Claude Julien just confirmed that Tuukka Rask is back in net for the Bruins, and Adam McQuaid did not travel with the team to Ottawa. The big defenseman remains out with a lower-body injury he suffered last Saturday against Toronto.
5:30 p.m.: The Bruins better be expecting the best out of the Senators in the early going of this one.
Not only will the Sens be in front of their home crowd, but they’ll be trying to bounce back after a 5-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers earlier this week. The Flyers have been better as of late, but they’re still not looked at as one of the better teams in hockey. So while a 5-0 loss is never good, it’s especially disparaging when it comes against a team like Philly. The Bruins will have to expect a good start from the Senators, as they will certainly be looking for a much better start to help them move on as soon as possible.
As we mentioned earlier, it looks like Craig Anderson will get the start in goal for the Senators. He’s been one of the better goalies in the last few years, but he’s struggled against the Bruins throughout his career. Anderson is just 3-8-0 in 11 appearances against the Bruins with a 3.46 goals against average and an .899 save percentage.
3 p.m.: The Bruins finished up a successful five-game homestand Thursday night, and they don’t have much time to wait around before their three-game road trip begins.
The B’s are right back at it Friday night when they travel to Ottawa to take on the Senators. It’s the first meeting between the two division rivals this season. Ottawa has been fairly “blah” this season despite coming into the year with high expectations after reaching the second round in the playoffs last season. Inconsistent play in the early going, however, has the Sens sitting in sixth place in the Atlantic Division, 10 points behind the division-leading Lightning and seven points behind the Bruins.
The B’s, on the other hand, are riding high as they go back out on the road. Boston comes in having won four in a row after a 4-0-1 homestand capped off with an overtime win over Columbus on Thursday night.
Craig Anderson is expected to get the start for the Senators, and Tuukka Rask will be back in for the Bruins after getting the night off Thursday.
Puck drop from Ottawa is slated for 7:30 p.m.
