Final, Bruins 5-2: That’s it, and that’s all.
Despite giving up the early goal, the Bruins are able to roll to a 5-2 win over the Maple Leafs.
Third period, 19:49, Bruins 5-2: Patrice Bergeron came out of the penalty box at exactly the right time.
He just came out of the box and scored an empty-netter to ice ithis one.
Third period, 17:43, Bruins 4-2: The Bruins will have to kill off a penalty here in the final minutes. Patrice BEergeron was called for hooking, and that should make the final moments a little more tense for Boston.
It should probably be even strength still, though. Dion Phaneuf delivered a hit from behind while putting Kevan Miller’s face into the glass. It was pretty blatant and it will probably bring supplemental discipline, but it wasn’t called on the ice.
Third period, 17:30, Bruins 4-2: The Toronto net is empty.
Third period, 16:00, Bruins 4-2: Milan Lucic continues to be one of the best players for the Bruins this season, and he’s the biggest reason the Bruins have their insurance goal.
Lucic just barreled through the neutral zone and into the Toronto zone where he took the puck all the way down to the goal line on the left wing. He then made a centering pass to a charging Jarome Iginla who drove the net with this stick on the ice and he was able to push home the insurance goal.
Third period, 15:22, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins just came within inches of adding a desperately needed insurance goal.
Daniel Paille carried the puck into the Toronto zone before dropping it back to a trailing Gregory Campbell. As Campbell started to slow down, Jordan Caron opened up on the right wing and Campbell fed him a pass. With Jonathan Bernier already going down, it looked like Caron had a lot of net to work with, but Bernier ended up making a shoulder save from pretty much point blank.
Third period, 11:54, Bruins 3-2: Boston is making it easy on its backup goaltender here midway through the third period.
After the Toronto goal just 37 seconds into the third period, the Bruins have put the clamps on the Toronto offense. The Maple Leafs have just one shot on goal in the last three minutes and they have only attempted one other shot.
That’s kind of been the status quo for Toroto this season as the Leafs have been dominated in puck possession all season long.
Third period, 8:20, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins kill off another penalty.
The B’s allowed just one shot on the penalty to Kevan Miller, and the game is back to even strength here midway through the third period.
Third period, 6:09, Bruins 3-2: The good news for the Bruins is that they were able to kill off the penalty to Dennis Seidenberg.
The bad news, however, is that just a couple of minutes after their second kill of the night, the Bruins picked up another penalty. Kevan Miller is going to the penalty box now after he was called for delay of game as he cleared the puck over the glass.
It kind of looked like Miller panicked a little bit as he skated behind the Boston net and then saw the Toronto forecheck coming at him. He got a little too aggressive with the clearing attempt, and the Bruins will be shorthanded once again.
Third period, 2:43, Bruins 3-2: The third period is not going very well for the Bruins so far.
They will now have to kill off a penalty after Dennis Seidenberg was called for a hit to the head after a big hit in the defensive zone corner.
Third period, 0:37, Bruins 3-2: That’s not how the Bruins wanted to start this period.
Carl Soderberg lost a defensive zone faceoff, and Jay McClement ended up making Soderberg and the Bruins pay. McClement was able to waltz by the Bruins’ defense and beat Chad Johnson with a quick shot from right in front after getting his own rebound to cut the lead to one.
Third period, 0:01, Bruins 3-1: The third period is underway with the Bruins looking to hold on to their two-goal lead.
End second period, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins’ dominant second period comes to an end, and they lead 3-1.
Second period, 15:58, Bruins 3-1: Welcome to the NHL, Kevan Miller.
The defensive-minded defenseman just scored his first career NHL goal after a faceoff win from Carl Soderberg. He won it right back to Miller, and Miller wristed a shot on net that beat Jonathan Bernier.
Second period, 15:30, Bruins 2-1: Reilly Smith almost added his second point of the night. The forward came within inches of scoring a goal, but he ended up hitting the crossbar or the post and the Bruins’ lead remains one.
Second period, 13:00, Bruins 2-1:Â We just saw Chad Johnson’s finest save of the night so far.
James van Riemsdyk skated around the Bruins net before finding Cody Franson coming down from the blue line. That’s when van Riemsdyk dished a centering pass to Franson and the defenseman put a point-blank shot on net. Johnson deflected it away with what looked to be a right-arm save to keep the lead intact for now.
Second period, 10:02, Bruins 2-1: Toronto withstood an initial charge following the Bruins’ second goal, but they’re struggling to get pucks to the net right now.
Toronto has just two shots on goal this period. The Maple Leafs have already seen 23 of their shot attempts for the entire game miss the net or be blocked.
Second period, 6:47, Bruins 2-1: After a somewhat sleepy start to the period, the Bruins now have the lead and looking for more.
The Maple Leafs couldn’t clear the zone, thanks in part to a nice play by Milan Lucic along the wall that kept the puck in. He eventually got it to David Krejci and Krejci moved it across the top of the zone to Torey Krug. The young defenseman walked down the right side long enough for Zdeno Chara to set up a screen in front. Krug blasted the shot from the right wing and it beat Jonathan Bernier for the power-play tally to put the B’s ahead.
Second period, 5:34, 1-1: Twenty seconds after tying the game on the power play, the Bruins will get another chance on the man-advantage.
Carl Gunnarsson was just given two minutes for holding.
Second period, 5:14, 1-1: The Bruins have tied the game.
Patrice Bergeron looked to find Reilly Smith through the slot as Smith came down the left wing in the back door. He eventually settled the puck and passed it to Carl Soderberg. The Swedish forward was in front and he took Smith’s perfect pass and easily put it in the back of the net to tie the game.
Second period, 4:50, Maple Leafs 1-0: The Bruins are going back on the power play.
Carter Ashton was just called for delay of game after flipping the puck over the glass in his own end, and the Bruins will hope for a better showing this time around.
Second period, 4:30, Maple Leafs 1-0: The game has opened up some here in the second period and there have been a couple of chances that both teams narrowly missed turning into legitimate scoring chances.
The Bruins’ best chance came when Torey Krug swiftly carried the puck through the neutral zone and into the Toronto end. He slammed on the breaks before passing back to a charging Reilly Smith whose one-timer was stopped by Jonathan Bernier.
Second period, 0:01, Maple Leafs 1-0: The second period is underway with the Bruins looking to tie things up as they trail 1-0 to begin the middle frame.
First intermission: The Bruins just announced that Dougie Hamilton will not return to this game. So once again, the Bruins will have to go with five defensemen. It’s the fifth time this year they have had to do so.
End first period, Maple Leafs 1-0:Â The first period has come to an end, and the Maple Leafs will take a 1-0 lead to the dressing room after 20 minutes.
Toronto outshot the Bruins 11-10.
First period, 18:00, Maple Leafs 1-0: The Bruins are currently without Dougie Hamilton who went down the tunnel after suffering an apparent injury. Obviously unsure what it was, but we’ll keep you posted if and when he comes back.
First period, 15:56, Maple Leafs 1-0: The Bruins weren’t able to take advantage of their first power play.
The Bruins put a pair of shots on net, but other than that, there wasn’t much doing on that man-advantage. There were a couple of missed opportunities where they could have jumped on a loose puck or two, but they weren’t able to.
First period, 13:39, Maple Leafs 1-0: The Bruins will get a chance to get on the board and tie the game on the power play.
Nazem Kadri was called for hooking, and the Bruins get their first power play of the game.
First period, 12:20, Maple Leafs 1-0: The Maple Leafs are the first ones to get on the board.
Peter Holland was the main beneficiary of a pretty good bounce in front of the net. Jake Gardiner walked the puck down the left wing and put the puck on net, and the rebound went to Holland. He put the rebound back on net, and Chad Johnson couldn’t get his pad out quick enough. He got a piece of the puck but actually ended up directing into the net.
First period, 10:03, 0-o:Â The Bruins just got their first real sustained offensive possession and it came from the team’s top line.
Other than that, though, the Bruins haven’t been able to do much offensively. They have just three shots on goal through the first 10 minutes and they’re still trying to find ways to generate chances.
First period, 6:27, 0-0:Â Dougie Hamilton just got under the skin of David Clarkson with a hit behind the Boston end. Clarkson took exception to the hit, and Zdeno Chara took exception to Clarkson taking exception to the hit.
The two got together and did some pushing and shoving behind the play that led to a pair of matching roughing minors and we’re 4-on-4 for two minutes.
First period, 5:30, 0-0: Toronto just did a nice job of keeping the pressure on the Bruins in the Boston zone on the power play, but the Maple Leafs couldn’t do anything with the man-advantage.
The Bruins had Jordan Caron out there on the penalty kill, with the oft-scratched forward getting more than a minute of shorthanded time.
Toronto had one power-play shot.
First period, 3:17, 0-0: The Maple Leafs will get the game’s first power play.
Dougie Hamilton was just called for tripping, and the Bruins are shorthanded for the first time in this one.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: The game is underway in Toronto.
7 p.m.: Dion Phaneuf left the pregame warmups early, but the Toronto captain will play in this one. He’ll start as well.Â
For the Bruins, Ryan Spooner and Matt Fraser will share a line. They’ll be on the third line with Carl Soderberg.
Here are the rest of the projected lines.
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Reilly Smith
Carl Soderberg — Ryan Spooner — Matt Fraser
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Jordan Caron
Zdeno Chara — Dougie Hamilton
Dennis Seidenberg — Matt Bartkowski
Torey Krug — Kevan Miller
6:30 p.m.: The Bruins just took the ice for pregame warmups in Toronto, and Chad Johnson led the club out. That means he’ll get the start for the Bruins in net.
Jonathan Bernier will get the start for Toronto.
6 p.m.: The Bruins and Maple Leafs are about an hour away from getting underway in Toronto, and as we’ve already said, the Bruins will be shorthanded, at least when compared to their regular roster.
The Bruins announced Sunday afternoon that Chris Kelly has been placed on a long-term injured reserve, which means he won’t be able to return until early January at the earliest. Shawn Thornton is out indefinitely until his hearing and suspension, and there’s no telling what the timetable is for Loui Eriksson’s concussion.
So the Bruins made moves earlier in the day when they recalled Ryan Spooner and Matt Fraser from Providence of the AHL. It will be interesting to see what those two are able to do with the big club. They were the top two leading scorers for the P-Bruins, and Fraser was one of the top goal scorers in the A.
12 p.m.: The Bruins will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday night, and the B’s will be using a lineup that will likely resemble a preseason game roster than anything else.
Boston has been decimated by injuries this week, and they will have to go with a makeshift lineup in their second meeting of the season against the Leafs. The B’s already knew they would be without defensemen Johnny Boychuk (back) and Adam McQuaid (groin), but they’ll also be without three of their regular forwards. Loui Eriksson suffered a concussion Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, while Chris Kelly reportedly broke his ankle on a slash from Pascal Dupuis. They are both out indefinitely. So, too, is Shawn Thornton, as he awaits a hearing with the league after jumping Brooks Orpik after Thornton took exception to an Orpik hit that left Eriksson concussed.
As of noon Sunday, the Bruins have not officially announced any corresponding roster moves. However, Mark Divver of the Providence Journal reported Saturday night that Ryan Spooner and Matt Fraser will be recalled from Providence for Sunday’s game. Additionally, it would make sense that Jordan Caron, who is currently the Bruins’ thirteenth forward, would be inserted into the lineup as well.
That’s obviously a lot to deal with for a Bruins team that would have been up against it with a full roster. The B’s played Saturday night so they’re on the second half of a back-to-back with travel, and they’re also playing their third game in four nights. The first of that stretch was an emotionally charged tilt in Montreal.
In short, Sunday night is going to be a tough one for the Bruins, despite the fact that the Maple Leafs have just three wins in their last 10 games.
Puck drop from the Air Canada Centre is scheduled for 7 p.m.
