Final, Wild 4-3: Mikko Koivu scored the only goal of the shootout, and the Bruins drop one after allowing yet another late goal. The B’s got the point, though, and they were able to extend their lead in Presidents’ Trophy race to three points over the St. Louis Blues, who lost to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night.
The B’s are back in action on Wednesday in Winnipeg.
Shootout:
Minnesota will shoot first.
Round 1 — Zach Parise stopped by Tuukka Rask // Patrice Bergeron misses the net (0-0)
Round 2 — Mikko Koivu scores // Reilly Smith stopped by Ilya Bryzgalov (Wild 1-0)
Round 3 — Jason Pominville stopped by Tuukka Rask // Brad Marchand stopped by Ilya Bryzgalov (Wild win 1-0)
End overtime, 3-3: Overtime is over, and this game will be settled with the shootout.
Overtime, 4:30, 3-3: Tuukka Rask just made a couple of more brilliant saves, and he’s up to six saves in the overtime period.
Overtime, 1:42, 3-3: Tuukka Rask is having a nice overtime, so far. First, it was a save in close on Matt Moulson that might have also caught the side of the net. A minute later, Rask robbed Jason Pominville’s hat trick bid with a glove save.
Overtime, 0:01, 3-3: Overtime is underway in St. Paul.
End third period, 3-3: And we’re going to overtime. The Bruins allow yet another late goal, and that means they have more work to do.
Third period, 18:55, 3-3: The Wild have tied it up once again.
This time, it was Ryan Suter who beat Tuukka Rask with a snap shot from the top of the slot with the extra attacker on the ice after there was a traffic jam in front of the net.
Third period, 18:37, Bruins 3-2: The Minnesota net is empty.
Third period, 18:19, Bruins 3-2: The Wild is taking its timeout.
Third period, 16:30, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins couldn’t convert on the power play, and the Wild are back to full strength.
Third period, 14:28, Bruins 3-2: Gregory Campbell just made a smart play to chip the puck deep into the Minnesota zone. It was simple, sure, but as Campbell went in to chase the puck, he was interfered with, and the Bruins are going back on the power play.
Third period, 13:30, Bruins 3-2: The Wild have turned up the pressure. They’re generating chances and spending plenty of time in the Boston zone. The B’s will have their work cut out for them in the final minutes.
Third period, 10:11, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins couldn’t capitalize on the 4-on-3, and then later couldn’t break through on the 5-on-4. The Wild has killed off the penalty, and the two teams are at even strength.
Third period, 8:11, Bruins 3-2: Now the Bruins are going back on the power play. Matt Moulson was called for hooking, which means the Bruins will have a 4-on-3 power play for the next 45 seconds.
Third period, 7:34, Bruins 3-2: Patrice Bergeron almost scored again after a gorgeous centering feed from Carl Soderberg, but Ilya Bryzgalov made the pad save. As Loui Eriksson went to get the rebound, he caught a Wild D-man with a high stick that ends the power play.
Third period, 6:56, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins are going to get a chance for their third power-play goal of the game. Erik Haula was just called for tripping, and he’ll go to the box for two minutes.
Third period, 6:00, Bruins 3-2: Torey Krug just took a shift on defense, so it looks like he’s back to his normal position for the time being.
Third period, 2:08, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins had a chance to add an insurance goal when Loui Eriksson carried the puck into the Minnesota zone with speed. He passed it to Carl Soderberg, and then Soderberg dropped it to the trailing Daniel Paille. He had a wide-open cage, but he couldn’t do anything with it, as Matt Cooke did a great job on the back-check.
Third period, 0:01, Bruins 3-2: The third period is underway.
End second period, Bruins 3-2: The second period is over, and the Bruins will take a one-goal lead to the dressing room for the second intermission.
Second period, 16:18, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins have the lead again.
The B’s cashed in on their power play after Shawn Thornton’s penalty expired. Zdeno Chara did some nifty stickhandling at the top of the zone and then put a quick wrist shot on net. That shot was deflected in front by Loui Eriksson who will get credited with the goal.
Second period, 14:38, 2-2: The Minnesota power play is over, and that’s because Justin Fontaine is heading to the penalty box. The Wild had possession in the Boston zone, but Fontaine got his stick caught in the skates of Gregory Campbell, who may have helped it along just a tad.
Second period, 13:08, 2-2: The Wild are going back on the power play. Shawn Thornton was just called for holding.
Second period, 12:01, 2-2: The Bruins’ makeshift third line just did a really nice job of putting the pressure on. Jordan Caron had a chance in front of the net, but he couldn’t get the second chance from his skate to his stick. The B’s still kept the puck in the zone for another 20 seconds or so before forcing the Wild to ice the puck.
Second period, 8:00, 2-2: Just after a TV timeout, the Wild used some transitional play to get into some high-valued territory. Jonas Brodin jumped into the rush and had a backhanded chance right in the slot, but his shot missed wide.
Second period, 4:05, 2-2: Brad Marchand is having a nice night, and he just had his best scoring chance of the night. Marchand took a pass in the neutral zone and skated it down the right-wing wall and around the Minnesota defense. He got a shot on from right in front of the net, but he couldn’t jam it by Ilya Bryzgalov.
Second period, 0:01, 2-2: The second period is underway.
End first period, 2-2: An exciting first period just came to an end with the two clubs tied 2-2 through the first 20 minutes.
First period, 16:00, 2-2: The Wild just had a great scoring chance in front, but Matt Moulson put a shot up over the crossbar as part of a flurry in front of the Boston net.
First period, 10:56, 2-2: Tie hockey game. Again.
Jason Pominville just scored his second goal of the evening, as he jammed home a pass from Matt Moulson after the Wild won a faceoff in the Boston end. Moulson slipped by Potter to win the puck and he quickly centered it to Pominville for the goal.
First period, 10:28, Bruins 2-1: It’s been a big night already for Patrice Bergeron’s line, and the Bruins center just extended his point streak to 12 games.
Bergeron got some space in the slot, which proved to be very beneficial when a rebound bounced to Bergeron. He quickly put it back on net, and he beat Ilya Bryzgalov to give the B’s a 2-1 lead.
First period, 7:00, 1-1: Loui Eriksson almost put the Bruins ahead, but he just couldn’t sneak the puck under the crossbar. Eriksson took a pass from Milan Lucic and ripped a shot from the low right wing. He had an opening, but he lifted it just too much and missed the opportunity.
First period, 3:00, 1-1: Just three minutes in, and we’ve seen two power-play goals.
Reilly Smith just scored a power-play goal from the top of the slot to snap his most recent goal-scoring skid, and the game is all tied now.
First period, 2:07, Wild 1-0: Ryan Suter is heading to the penalty box, and the Bruins are getting a power play of their own. Suter was called for slashing.
First period, 1:05, Wild 1-0: And the Wild have an early lead.
Jason Pominville just ripped a one-timer from the left point that beat Tuukka Rask on the glove side for the game’s first goal.
First period, 0:41, 0-0: It takes less than a minute but the Bruins are going to have to kill off a penalty.
Milan Lucic was just called for tripping, and the B’s are on the kill.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: And we’re off. The game is underway.
8 p.m.: David Krejci is out for the Bruins, as are Jarome Iginla and Kevan Miller. The Bruins are dressing 11 defensemen and seven forwards. Torey Krug took pregame line rushes with the fourth line on the left wing, so we’ll be keeping an eye on that as well.
7:35 p.m: It looks like the Bruins are going to go with 11 forwards in this one. David Krejci is not on the ice for the B’s, and we already know Jarome Iginla won’t play, either. There was no call-up or anything like that, so it appears the B’s will play down a forward. That would allow them to dress all seven available defensemen, though.
7:30 p.m.: Pregame warmups are underway in Minnesota. As expected, it’s Tuukka Rask and Ilya Bryzgalov.
5:25 p.m.: This has been a tumultuous season for goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. The veteran has bounced around the professional ranks this season and seems to have found a nice spot in Minnesota. He’s certainly playing like he’s very comfortable with the Wild.
Bryzgalov posted his second consecutive shutout on Monday night. In the process, he extended his shutout streak to 142:15. That’s all part of what has been an incredible run with the Wild so far. He’s now 6-0-3 with a 1.52 goals against average and .935 save percentage since being acquired by the Wild on trade deadline day from Edmonton.
“I’m not painting any pictures in front of myself,” Bryzgalov said following Monday’s shutout win over the Jets. “I just go on the ice and play hard and try to give the team a chance to win. The guys are playing in front of me unbelievable. That’s the formula of success right now.”
Bryzgalov has also had pretty good success in the past against the Bruins, as well. He enters Tuesday’s game with a 6-3-3 record in 12 games against the B’s with a 2.49 goals against and .916 save percentage.
Byrzgalov is expected to get the start on Tuesday night against the Bruins, and he’ll be putting a pretty impressive streak on the line.
12:20 p.m.: It’s official. Per Claude Julien, Jarome Iginla and Kevan Miller are both out of the lineup on Tuesday night.
[tweet https://twitter.com/RealJackEdwards/status/453567529630199809 align=’center’]
12:05 p.m.: Tuukka Rask was the first goalie off the ice at Bruins morning skate, which means he’ll be in net on Tuesday night. Ilya Bryzgalov is expected to start for the Wild.
11:55 a.m.: The good news for the Bruins is that Kevan Miller and Jarome Iginla both skated prior to the team’s morning skate. The bad news, if you want to call it that, is that it doesn’t appear that either will play on Tuesday night. Miller and Iginla both left the ice prior to the formal morning skate, which is an indication that they won’t play.
There aren’t any changes on the forward lines. Once again, Loui Eriksson will skate on the Bruins’ top line in Iginla’s place. Jordan Caron is back in the lineup and takes the place of Eriksson on the third line. And everything else remains the same.
Here are the projected lines, per line rushes at morning skate.
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Loui Eriksson
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Reilly Smith
Chris Kelly — Carl Soderberg — Jordan Caron
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton
11 a.m.: The Boston Bruins will begin their final week of the regular season on Tuesday night when they travel to Minnesota to take on the Wild. This is the first of the Bruins’ final four games that will lead them right up to the end of the regular season on Sunday.
There’s not a whole lot for Boston to play for, though. The B’s have clinched the Eastern Conference’s top spot, so there’s no sort of jockeying for playoff position to be done. The B’s just have to sit back and wait to see who their first-round opponent will be while playing out the string. That’s not to say that the Bruins aren’t taking these final four games seriously, beginning with a matchup against Minnesota. The Wild have all but locked up their spot in the Western Conference field and could clinch as early as Tuesday night. If they’re able to get a point of any kind against the Bruins, they’ll punch their ticket. They can also get in with a Phoenix loss to Columbus (or shootout win) or a Dallas loss to Nashville.
“We need to finish really strong… I think, for us, it’s really — again — the consistency,” Bruins head coach Claude Julien said after practice Monday. “The thought that if we play well, then we really have a chance to finish at the top of the league no matter if we rest players or not. We still have something to play for and we should play for that.”
The more important objective, however, may be to just stay healthy. Juien also mentioned Monday that the B’s will likely start resting players in the final week. That seems to have already happened with Jarome Iginla and Kevan Miller. Both are dealing with nagging yet minor injuries and both missed Saturday’s game against Philadelphia. However, Julien said both players would travel with the team to Minnesota and Winnipeg on this two-game road trip. When asked if both players would be in the lineup if the playoffs were here, Julien quickly responded with a “No doubt.”
Puck drop from the Xcel Energy Center is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
