Final, Bruins 3-2: And just like that, the regular season is over. The Devils take the 3-2 win, and the Bruins now get ready for the playoffs, which will reportedly begin for the B’s on Friday.
Third period, 19:44, Devils 3-2: With 16 seconds left, Brad Marchand scores the power-play goal.
Third period, 18:50, Devils 3-1: The Bruins are going on the power play with Michael Ryder heading to the penalty box for holding.
Third period, 15:05, Devils 3-1: The Bruins have killed off the power play, and they are back to full strength.
Third period, 13:05, Devils 3-1: Dougie Hamilton just picked up a hooking penalty. Two minutes in the box for that, and the Bruins will attempt to kill the penalty.
Third period 12:53, Devils 3-1: The ice is starting to open up some for the Bruins, and Carl Soderberg almost got a clean breakaway because of it. Had the Boston forward had maybe another step, he would have, but Adam Larsson hustled back and made a diving play to break up the chance.
Third period, 9:55, Devils 3-1: The shots have been few and far between for the Bruins so far, but Jordan Caron just had a real good scoring chance after entering the offensive zone through the back door and getting free on the left wing. His shot was stopped by Martin Brodeur, though, and the B’s still trail by two.
Third period, 6:13, Devils 3-1: This one is turning into a runaway.
With Gregory Campbell in the penalty box for tripping, Marek Zidlicky just scored his second goal of the game — a power-play strike — to push the lead to two for the Devils.
Third period, 3:52, Devils 2-1: The Devils have the lead once again.
Jaromir Jagr found Travis Zajac in front after Zajac got behind the defense, and Zajac buried the chance in front to give the Devils the 2-1 lead.
Third period, 0:01, 1-1: The third period is underway.
End second period, 1-1: The second period has come to a close, and we’re (hopefully) 20 minutes from ending the regular season.
Second period, 18:00, 1-1: Justin Florek just made a bid to put the Bruins ahead. He charged up the ice with the puck and came barreling down the left wing where he ripped a big slap shot from the top of the circle, but Martin Brodeur was able to make the save.
That came shortly after Chad Johnson made a nice save at the other end to deny Jaromir Jagr.
Second period, 11:20, 1-1: Reilly Smith is snakebit. The forward just had another scoring chance coming down the right wing after taking a pass from Brad Marchand, but Smith couldn’t quite the puck to his forehand with Martin Brodeur flopping around the crease.
Second period, 8:00, 1-1: Not a whole lot going on at all right now, as the Devils are outshooting the Bruins 16-6 and 3-1 here in the second period. Neither goalie has been tested too much in the middle period thus far.
Second period, 3:13, 1-1: It looks as if Dougie Hamilton’s run as a right winger is over. Corey Potter is now skating on the right wing on the fourth line, as Hamilton is paired with Andrej Meszaros on the blue line.
Second period, 0:01, 1-1: The second period is underway in New Jersey.
End of first period, 1-1: The first period has come to an end.
First period, 19:30, 1-1: Tie hockey game.
Lou Eriksson just notched a power-play goal after some brilliant passing. Brad Marchand passed it across the slot and Carl Soderberg quickly tapped it to Eriksson on the doorstep who beat Martin Brodeur for the goal.
First period, 18:39, Devils 1-0: Alexander Khokhlachev just drew a penalty on the Devils, as he skated up the ice and tried to fight through a check that resulted in interference on Patrik Elias that will get Boston its first power play of the game.
First period, 15:48, Devils 1-0: This is the part of the live blog where we mention that the Bruins are currently being outshot 12-3.
First period, 12:00, Devils 1-0: The Bruins’ best chance so far came from Reilly Smith, but he was robbed by Martin Brodeur. Smith tried to slide the puck underneath Brodeur’s pad, but the goalie was able to make the save. Brodeur, who could be playing in his final NHL game, was then serenaded with a “Marty, Marty” chant after the save.
First period, 7:12, Devils 1-0: The Jennings Trophy hopes have been dashed for the Bruins.
Marek Zidlicky just scored a wraparound goal on Chad Johnson, as Zidlicky tucked the puck in at Chad Johnson’s right to give the Devils the 1-0 lead. That’s the type of play that’s given Johnson trouble all year.
First period, 4:33, 0-0: The Bruins look like a team with a bunch of young kids and nothing to play for so far in the early going. Michael Ryder just had a terrific scoring chance for the Devils when he was able to retrieve the puck behind the Boston net. There were three Bruins below the goal line, so Ryder walked right back in front of the net and put a backhander on net that Chad Johnson stopped.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: For the final time in the regular season, the game is underway.
3 p.m.: Some weird line combinations for the Bruins, at least according to the pregame skate. Check out all of the line combinations and D-pairs — including Dougie Hamilton at right wing — by clicking here.
2:30 p.m.: Warmups are underway in Newark, where Chad Johnson will start for the Bruins, and Martin Brodeur will get the starting nod for the Devils.
1:58 p.m.: Bruins coach Claude Julien just addressed reporters in New Jersey, and he had good news on the Daniel Paille injury front. According to Julien, Paille is “doing great” after taking a scary hit from Jake McCabe on Saturday. The relatively clean hit left Paille woozy, which immediately raised questions given Paille’s concussion past. However, the fourth-line winger is day-to-day, according to Julien.
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1:30 p.m.: Unsurprisingly, the Bruins are traveling light, at least when it comes to full-time NHL veterans on Sunday afternoon. We’ve already mentioned that the kids are up, but this trip is one that wasn’t made by all members of the Black and Gold. According to The Boston Globe’s Fluto Shinzawa, this group of B’s didn’t even accompany the team to New Jersey. Lucky guys.
[tweet https://twitter.com/GlobeFluto/status/455388268096684032 align=’center’]
12 p.m.: It’s about time.
The NHL regular season comes to an end on Sunday and not a minute too soon, as it seems like just about everyone is ready for the Stanley Cup playoffs to get underway. Before the top-seeded Boston Bruins begin postseason play, however, they will have to close out their regular-season schedule on Sunday afternoon in New Jersey.
The game doesn’t mean much at all to either team, though. The Bruins clinched the Presidents’ Trophy on Saturday afternoon against the Buffalo Sabres, and the Devils have already been eliminated from playoff contention. The game will instead offer both clubs a chance to take a look at what they have in the pipeline. For the Bruins, that meant recalling four players from Providence for the game. Alexander Khokhlachev, Craig Cunningham, Matt Lindblad and Justin Florek were all recalled and should play against the Devils. Khokhlachev will be making his NHL debut, and in the process, he’ll become the eighth different Bruins player to make his NHL debut this season.
Sunday could also signal the end of an era in New Jersey. Future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur is scheduled to be in net for the Devils. His future with the club is still very much up in the air. Brodeur could be playing in his final NHL game as he’s flirted with retirement for just about the entire season. He could return next season, but it seems unlikely that he would do so with the Devils. Regardless, he’ll be in between the pipes one last time on Sunday afternoon.
Puck drop from New Jersey is set for 3 p.m.
