Final, Bruins 5-1: That’s it, and that’s all. The Bruins run away with this one, and they cruise to the 5-1 win.
Third period, 19:50, Bruins 5-1: The Bruins add another in the final 10 seconds because why not?
Torey Krug scores from the point and the B’s push it to four.
Third period, 15:00, Bruins 4-1: Here’s an update on Johnny Boychuk.
First of all, he might not be human. He needed help getting off the ice after crashing into the boards, clearly favoring his right leg. He then came back and back onto the ice. On his first shift back, he took a shot to that same leg. He hobbled off the ice again, but stayed on the bench this time. Shortly after that, he was back on the ice and appears to be fine — at least relatively speaking.
Third period, 13:02, Bruins 4-1: This one is all but over now.
The Bruins just got another as Kevan Miller dug the puck out behind the net and then got it to Jarome Iginla in front. Iginla jammed it by Cam Ward, and the B’s are up three.
Third period, 12:49, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins are up by two again.
Chris Kelly gets the goal after a gorgeous pass from David Krejci who had come onto the ice for Carl Soderberg.
Third period, 10:33, Bruins 2-1: The big story developing out of this game may now center around Johnny Boychuk.
The Bruins defenseman just went crashing hard into the boards and did so in what looked to be a very dangerous position. It was legs-first, but it looked like he got his right leg caught underneath him in a dangerous collision with the boards.
Boychuk tried to skate it off, but he needed eventual help getting off the ice. He didn’t appear to be putting any weight on his right leg.
Third period, 10:30, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins just killed off the penalty with ease, and they’re back to even strength.
Third period, 8:27, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins still have to fight for these two points, and it won’t be any easier for the next two minutes.
Reilly Smith was just called for tripping, and he’ll head to the penalty box for two minutes.
Third period, 6:54, Bruins 2-1: Dougie Hamilton just unloaded on Jeff Skinner with by far the biggest hit of Hamilton’s young career.
Third period, 3:53, Bruins 2-1: The Hurricanes are on the board.
Alexander Semin just continued his point streak to seven games as he scored a bit of a fluky goal. The Canes won the faceoff and Semin quickly fired the shot. The puck hit Johnny Boychuk’s stick, took a weird bounce off the ice and beat Chad Johnson.
Third period, 1:36, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins killed off the penalty, and they’re back to even strength.
Third period, 0:01, Bruins 2-0: The third period is underway. The Bruins must kill the 1:26 remaining on Patrice Bergeron’s penalty to begin the period.
End second period, Bruins 2-0: The second period has come to an end, and Carolina will have 1:26 of power-play time to begin the third period.
Second period, 19:26, Bruins 2-0: Patrice Bergeron is getting used to the penalty box.
He’s back in there after being called for hooking, his third penalty of the day.
Second period, 17:34, Bruins 2-0: That’s a big one.
The Bruins just extended their lead to two, as Jarome Iginla scored his 22nd goal of the year. The play was made by Milan Lucic, though. He won a puck battle below the goal line with another hit, skated the puck behind the net and found Iginla camped out in the left faceoff circle. Iginla quickly snapped a wrist shot over Cam Ward’s catching glove, and the B’s are now ahead by two.
Second period, 16:35, Bruins 1-0: Despite a handful of chances, the Bruins weren’t able to do anything with the power play.
Reilly Smith’s struggles continue, as he looked to have picked a corner with plenty of traffic in front, but Cam Ward somehow made a glove save through all of the traffic.
Second period, 14:07, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins are going to be back on the power play following the TV timeout.
Ron Hainsey was called for holding behind his own net, and the Bruins will try to jump-start a power play that’s been held off the board over the last two games.
Second period, 10:12, Bruins 1-0: Reilly Smith can’t buy a break at this point.
Torey Krug just found the Bruins forward with a gorgeous pass from the left blue line that left Smith with a pretty open look in the right faceoff circle. Cam Ward went across the crease and made a sliding save to keep Smith off the scoreboard.
Second period, 7:29, Bruins 1-0: The Hurricanes have come out here in the second period and are playing like they don’t want to go away easily. Carolina has been the better team so far this period.
That’s in spite of the fact that the Bruins are playing one of their most physical games of the season. The B’s already have 19 hits including one big one we just saw from Zdeno Chara who walloped Alex Semin into the boards in front of the Bruins bench.
Second period, 4:00, Bruins 1-0: The 4-on-4 play is over, and the two teams are back to even strength.
Second period, 1:28, Bruins 1-0: We’ll be 4-on-4 for two minutes. Eric Staal and Patrice Bergeron just picked up coincidental interference penalties and head to the box.
Second period, 0:01, Bruins 1-0: The second period is underway.
End first period, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins came close to adding to their lead in the final seconds of the first.
Patrice Bergeron would have had a great look at the net on a 2-on-1 with Brad Marchand, but a Hurricanes player got back and made a diving play to break it up.
Either way, a pretty dominant first period for the Bruins who hold the 1-0 lead and a 16-9 advantage in shots on goal.
First period, 15:28, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins are on the board first.
Milan Lucic carried the puck hard into the Carolina zone down the right wing where he got it to David Krejci in the slot. Krejci was tripped up to the point that the Bruins would be going on the power play, but as he was tripped he got the puck to Lucic who had gone to the front of the net. It caught Cam Ward by surprise, which gave Lucic just enough time to slam the puck home for the game’s first goal.
First period, 14:00, 0-0: The Bruins are really starting to settle in, and that’s led to a lot of sustained offensive zone time.
The second and fourth lines just pinned the Hurricanes in for about two or three combined minutes. It didn’t produce any tangible results, but those types of shifts take their toll at some point.
Boston is now outshooting Carolina 11-6.
First period, 9:33, 0-0: The two teams are back to even strength.
Eric Staal had a chance just after the Patrice Bergeron penalty expired as the Carolina captain carried the puck in down the left wing before flipping a shot on net, but Chad Johnson made the save.
First period, 7:28, 0-0: So much for that.
The Bruins’ power play just came to an end because of a penalty. Patrice Bergeron was called for interference after a faceoff, and there will be a minute-and-a-half of 4-on-4 play before an abbreviated Carolina power play.
First period, 6:57, 0-0: The Bruins will get the game’s first power play.
Elias Lindholm just picked up a tripping penalty, and the B’s get a chance with the man-advantage.
First period, 6:00, 0-0: The Hurricanes got the first real chance of the game.
Nathan Gerbe stepped right around Kevan Miller on the Boston goal line and walked right in on Chad Johnson, but Johnson held the post and made the save.
The Bruins are outshooting Carolina 6-4 so far.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: The game is underway.
12:50 p.m.: It’s official: Shawn Thornton is one of the healthy scratches. He’ll be up here at press level with Andrej Meszaros, Corey Potter and Jordan Caron.
Matt Lindblad will make his NHL debut, and Daniel Paille returns from a concussion. They’ll be centered by Gregory Campbell on the Boston fourth line.
12:40 p.m.: It looks like Shawn Thornton will be the other healthy scratch up front. Matt Lindblad took pregame line rushes with Daniel Paille and Gregory Campbell seemingly indicating he’ll be in the lineup on the fourth line in Thornton’s place on the right wing.
12:30 p.m.: Warmups are underway here at TD Garden. Chad Johnson led the Bruins out, and Cam Ward was the first Hurricane on the ice, so they will be the starting goalies as expected.
12 p.m.: Claude Julien’s pregame media availability just wrapped up, and somewhat surprisingly, Julien named Chad Johnson as his starting goaltender. It’s not surprising that Johnson would get the start, but it is surprising that Julien revealed who was in. He usually makes a joke out of not telling the media who his goalie is.
Julien also said that Daniel Paille has been cleared and will likely be in the lineup. The coach didn’t say who would come out, though, but someone in addition to Jordan Caron must sit. You would think that would be Shawn Thornton, but we’ll have to wait and see during warmups.
11:15 a.m.: Rookie winger Matt Lindblad met with the media a short while ago, and he revealed that he will be in the lineup today against Carolina.
It’s unclear who he’ll replace in the lineup, but Jordan Caron reportedly skated earlier this morning, which would indicate that he’s out. If Lindblad is in and Caron is out, that would also seem to say that Daniel Paille will miss at least one more game with a concussion.
Andrej Meszaros and Corey Potter were also among those skating earlier, so that means Dougie Hamilton and Torey Krug are both likely in the lineup as well.
Head coach Claude Julien will address the media in about a half-hour, so we’ll find out for sure then.
9:30 a.m.: The Boston Bruins are playing their best hockey of the season, and they’ll get a chance to extend a season-long seven-game winning streak on Saturday afternoon.
The B’s are back to work against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday at TD Garden. The Bruins come in having won eight of their last 10 games and have outscored opponents 28-11 during their last seven games. The B’s have also won four of their last five games against Carolina, including both meetings between the two teams this season.
Carolina has won its last two games, but the Canes were struggling mightily before that. Despite the little two-game winning streak, the Hurricanes have lost seven of their last 10 games.
A lot of Carolina’s issues seem to stem from their play on the road. The Hurricanes are just 1-6-0 in their last seven games, a number that sounds even worse going up against a Bruins team that is tied for the league lead in home wins.
The Canes are expected to start Cam Ward in goal on Saturday. The veteran netminder has struggled this season and has pretty much lost his starting job to former Bruins backup Anton Khudobin. Ward is just 8-10-5 with a 3.06 goals against average and a .894 save percentage. Bruins head coach Claude Julien likely won’t reveal his starting goaltender, but it’s probably safe to assume that Saturday’s start will belong to Chad Johnson. The current Boston backup has been all you could ask for in a backup this season. He would be entering Saturday’s contest with a 13-3-1 record, 2.22 goals against and .919 save percentage.
Puck drop from the Garden is scheduled for 1 p.m.
