Bruins Shut Out The Lightning 3-0

The Bruins squared off with the Tampa Bay Lightning for a one o’ clock Veteran’s Day Matinee.  It was the only game of the day in the National Hockey League.  The B’s wanted to continue their early season success against the Lightning.

The Spoked B rocked camouflage jerseys during warm-ups showing their gratitude for all veterans on Military Appreciation Day at the Garden.  Bartwkoski, Boychuk, Krejci, Krug and Seidenberg all purchased $2500 worth of tickets for military and their family members.

Adam McQuaid did not play as he was out due to the injury he suffered in the first period of the game against the Leafs.  Matt Bartkowski slid into his slot as he got the start.

From the get go, the B’s were dominant.  A spring was in their steps as Tampa Bay was getting outplayed.  Boston picked up right where they had left off after the 3-1 victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

The Bruins had five shots on goal after 2:56 of hockey in the first frame.  They were overpowering and outplaying the Bolts.

At 7:59 in the first period, birthday boy, Chris Kelly was called for a goaltender interference penalty.  The 33 year old headed towards the sin bin.  The Black and Gold held the Bolts to only one shot on goal as they killed off another penalty.  It was a streak of 19 successful penalty kills in a row for Boston.

During the first, the Bruins had their fair share of chances.  Marchand and Iginla nearly netted goals, but they were both stopped.  The Lucic-Krejci-Iginla line continued to look good as they have definitely found their chemistry.  As the siren rang out it was scoreless after one.  The Bruins skated towards the locker room outshooting the Lightning 12-7.

Since scoring his second goal of the season and getting the monkey off his back, Brad Marchand seems to have developed his confidence on the ice again.  He was one of the best players for the Bruins through out the game.

The first period dominance didn’t seem to carry over to the beginning of the second frame as much.  The Lightning raised their game as they attempted to match the way the B’s were playing.  They had a few decent chances but were stopped time and time again as Rask simply denied them.

Early on in the second, Hamilton was called on a delay of game penalty.  The Bruins killed off their 20^th penalty in a row and made it look easy.  They didn’t allow Tampa Bay to register any shots on goal during the penalty kill.

Ever since Boston allowed a few power play goals in the disappointing loss to the Devils, they’ve completely turned their penalty kill around.  They’re making better decisions, looking confident, take up plenty of room on the ice despite being down a man, and haven’t allowed their opponents to come too close to scoring.

There was a terrible moment as Steven Stamkos went down.  He and Dougie Hamilton were in a race towards the Lightning goal and collided. Stamkos’s was sent crashing into the goal post.  He struggled to get up to his feet but fell back down as he writhed in pain on the ice.  He was attended to but would not return.  He had to be carted off on a stretcher and was quickly brought to a hospital.  It was announced after the game that he was out indefinitely with a broken right tibia.

The crowd at the Garden was now subdued as the game began after the injury delay.  The injury that had taken place in front of the fans was gruesome.

17:09 in the second period was when the B’s struck first.  The crowd erupted again as Bergeron scored at the doorstep.  It was the forward’s third goal in two games.

Twenty seconds later, Daniel Paille scored on the backhand.  It was the quickest that the Bruins had scored back to back on the season so far.  Gregory Campbell picked up his first point of the year with an assist on the goal.  Now every player on the Bruins has at least a point.  Tampa Bay had tried to poke the bear, but Boston would not let them get away with it.

The second period wrapped up with the Bruins leading 2-0 over the Lightning.  The shots on goals were tied at 18 a piece, but the Bruins had more scoring opportunities.  The B’s had managed to quiet Tampa’s sizzling offense and took over.

The Lightning tried to find their spark in the third but they were stopped each time.  There was more unfortunate luck for Tampa Bay as Salo was injured and didn’t return for the remainder of the game.

Gregory Campbell tried to drop the gloves with Killorn but the referees stepped in and said no.  Campbell was fired up and angry, as he wanted to go with Killorn.  Killorn obviously said something to Soupy which got him going.  Soupy turned on him, firing out a string of choice words but the two didn’t engage in a tussle.  Instead, Campbell was sent to the penalty box for a cross checking call.

The B’s killed off a few more penalties and finished the game having killed 22 penalties in a row.  Tampa Bay was not given many opportunities on their power play.  They basically had nothing to work with and couldn’t get more than a shot with each power play.  The Bruins controlled.  There were a few power plays in which the Lightning couldn’t even fire a single shot towards the net.

It looked as if the Bruins had sealed the deal on the game on what would have been a goal by David Krejci.  It was waved off due to goalie interference on Jarome Iginla.  The play wasn’t reviewed and the game continued with the B’s leading 2-0.

A few minutes later, the Black and Gold got their goal back.  The Tampa Bay net was empty as Lucic fed a pass to Iginla who scored on the vacant net.  The game was over.  The Bruins had won 3-0 and beat the Lightning for the third time this season.  The victory today, allowed for the Bruins to clinch the season series with Tampa as they continued to show their authority over Florida teams.

The B’s jumped into second place in the Atlantic Division and now are sitting behind Tampa Bay.  It’s safe to say that they’ve put their early season slump behind them.  They’ve won three in a row, and hope to continue this tear of dominance that they’ve recently displayed.

Tuukka Rask stopped all 28 of the shots he faced and picked up his second shutout of the season.  Boston has now improved to 11-5-1 on the year.  They’ll look to wrap up their home stand on Thursday night as the Columbus Blue Jackets head to town.  The Bruins will aim for their fourth win in a row.

Rachel Murphy – NHL Contributor – TitleTown Sports Network

Follow along with Rachel on Twitter: @rembostonsports

The Bruins Cruise Past the Panthers 4-1

Prior to tonight the Bruins had been 1-3-1 in their last five games.  It was not a streak that Boston was proud of, as they had strung together several disappointing performances in a row.  The most recent came on Tuesday night, after they suffered a tough loss to the Dallas Stars during a shootout.  Former B, Rich Peverley netted the game winner as the Stars managed to slip past the Bruins.

Claude Julien was looking for anything that he could to work with.  He hoped to somehow empower his team to find some spark and get going.  The Bruins weren’t playing the game that they were capable of.  It was time to wake up.  Every single player on the team had hopes to improve their game and get a win as the struggling Florida Panthers rolled into town.

Tim Thomas wasn’t able to make his first return to the Garden after signing with the Panthers, due to an injury to many fans dismay.  Once again, Julien used Matt Bartkowski and Jordan Caron as the healthy scratches for the Spoked B.

It was Tuukka Time at the Garden, as the goalie squared off against Scott Clemmensen.  Five minutes into the game, Kelly took a rough elbow to the jaw from Jesse Winchester.  Kelly went down and managed to skate off the ice on his own before he headed straight to the locker room to get checked out.  There was no penalty on the play although both of Winchester’s feet were off the ice during the hit.

Gregory Campbell soon dropped the gloves with Winchester as he stood up for his teammate.  The crowd was stirring, as punches were thrown.  Both Campbell and Winchester were assigned matching penalty majors for fighting.  The bout was short, but Campbell did what he needed to do as he defended Kelly.

Kelly returned to the ice a few minutes later, and he was good to go.  Not too long after, Dougie Hamilton was sent to the sin bin on a hooking call.  The Panthers only managed to get two shots off  during their power play.  The Bruins successfully killed the penalty.  Not soon after returning to full strength, the B’s were back on the kill as Soderberg was assigned a high sticking penalty.  During that kill, The Bruins did not allow a single shot on net.  The Bruins had killed off thirteen straight penalties in a row.

Other than a few penalties on the Bruins, the first period ended pretty dully.  Overall, it was uneventful and the skating was once again slow.  The most interesting part of the period, hands down had to be the Campbell fight.  After one frame, Florida had an 8-7 shot on goal advantage.

29 seconds into the second period, the B’s headed to a familiar place once again: the penalty kill. Bergeron was sent to the box on a hooking call.  The Bruins killed off their third penalty on the night making it look easy.

Boston was struggling.  They headed to the power play after a tripping call on the black cats, and could only get three shots off on goal.  The chances were coming and the opportunities were plentiful, but luck wasn’t on their side.

Luck could only be against the Bruins for so long.  The Lucic-Krejci-Iginla line finally broke through as Krejci tallied the go ahead goal. Krejci aimed a low shot, and one timed the puck past Clemmensen.  Boston had scored first in a game after going four games in a row in which they had allowed the other team to strike first.

The Big Bad Bruins had stirred.  They were awake, as Bergeron’s line had a good effort following Krejci’s goal.  Shawn Thornton dropped the gloves with Krys Barch getting the crowd into the game even more.  The Garden roared as Thorty easily man handled Barch.  They were old foes as the two fought together for the seventh time overall in their careers.  Fighting majors were handed out to the pair, but the crowd was into it as Thornton skated off.

There was a scare on the ice as Bergeron took a puck to the face and went to the room to get looked at.  The forward didn’t return for the remainder of the period but was back out there in the third.  He looked no worse for wear.  It was difficult to keep a guy who once played through a punctured lung and a separated shoulder out of the game.

The siren blared signaling the end of the second period and the Bruins were up 1-0.  They were looking much better, but were nowhere near finished.  Both teams had 9 shots on goal during the period; overall the shots on goal were in favor of Florida as they led 17-16.  The game was still close, but wouldn’t be for long.

Brad Marchand was able to get the monkey off his back as he tallied his first goal since October 5^th.   The Nose Faced Killah got his second goal of the year as he put the B’s up 2-0 at 4:09 in the final period.  The effort that the gritty forward had been showing lately, finally paid off.

Torey Krug decided to join in on the goal scoring fun, as the defenseman scored his sixth goal on the young season.  He is now tied with Eric Karlsson for most goals in the NHL by a defenseman.  The Bruins were up 3-0 as Krug had lengthened the lead.  The young defenseman is second on the team in goals, only behind Milan Lucic who has seven of his own.

The Panthers threatened to show a bit of life, as Jesse Winchester scored on a Bjugstad rebound.  But the B’s soon silenced the kitties as Reilly Smith added to the lead.  Smith netted the final goal of the game as he scored at 18:13 from the slot.

It was 4-1.  The damage had been done as time ran out.  The B’s had finally showed up.  Overall, it was a great effort from Boston.  As the game wore on, each line seemed to improve with every shift that they took.  The team was determined as they went out and finally dug out a good win.  The Merlot line was the only line to be kept without a goal on the night, but they did have two fights. The Big Bad Bruins looked as if they were back.  It was the game that they had wanted to play.

Tuukka Rask stopped 23 of the 24 shots that he faced, as he continues to be nearly impeccable on home ice this season.  Rask now has a .958 save percentage as the team picked up 2 points on the evening.  Reilly Smith had a big two-point night as well, as he tallied a 13:08 time on ice.

The Bruins broke out against the Panthers.  On Saturday night, they’ll hope to play in similar fashion when the Maple Leafs head into Beantown.  If the Black and Gold can continue to demonstrate the effort that they had against the Panthers, then they should have no trouble as they face the Leafs for the first time since the famous Game 7 Comeback.

Rachel Murphy – NHL Contributor – TitleTown Sports Network

Follow along with Rachel on Twitter: @rembostonsports

Boston Bruins 2013-2014 Season Preview

Three months removed from a disheartening Stanley Cup defeat, Boston is raring to kick off the 2013-2014 regular season. We will soon find out how the Bruins reinvigorated roster will fair, as they will be competing in the new look Atlantic Division. The core of the team is now locked up long term. Their perfect mix of veteran experience and youthful energy could seamlessly mesh and result in a return to glory.

Boston saw little roster turnover this past offseason, but the players who did leave captured the headlines. The Bruins swapped out the right side of their top two lines, replacing Tyler Seguin with Loui Eriksson and Nathan Horton with Jarome Iginla.

Patrice Bergeron and Tuukka Rask, arguably Boston’s most important pieces, cashed in with multi-year contract extensions. Each guy inked 8-year deals and project to be the franchise players well into the future.

The Bruins may not be the flashiest of teams, but great coaching, organizational depth, unwavering determination, standup leadership and a relentless will to win make them a favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference this year.

Key Additions:

Loui Eriksson, Jarome Iginla, Reilly Smith, Chad Johnson

Key Losses:

Andrew Ference, Tyler Seguin, Rich Peverley, Nathan Horton, Anton Khudobin

Iginla, a longtime captain of the Calgary Flames, will most certainly fill the leadership void Ference had filled since joining the Bruins in 2007. Eriksson will quickly prove to be an upgrade over the inconsistencies of Seguin. Smith adds a great deal of bottom six upside and Chad Johnson may not be as experienced as Khudobin, but still should provide serviceable work behind Rask.

Key Bruins:

Rask in my mind is the most important Bruin. He will be called upon to start at least 60-65 games. It’s his first full year as a starting net minder and is embarking on year one of and 8-year/$56 million contract. Rask showed nothing but greatness this past postseason and rekindling that success over an 82-game schedule is a must because his backups all tote question marks.

Zdeno Chara is another Bruin that makes this team tick. He has looked superhuman at times during his tenure with Boston, although he did show signs of breaking down this past postseason. A healthy Big Z is imperative if the Black and Gold have hopes of making a Stanley Cup appearance. Possibly monitoring his minutes could prove beneficial.

It would be insane not mention Patrice Bergeron as a key Bruin. We saw the Bruins struggle mightily after Bergy sustained injury. He will be relied upon in all key situations and should find immediate chemistry with Eriksson flanking him.

X-Factor:

Dougie Hamilton is poised for a strong season. The youngster is coming off a respectable rookie campaign and his first NHL training camp. He should continue to progress defensively. The offensive numbers will definitely come, as Hamilton figures to be a key component to the Boston power play attack.

Projected Starting Lineup:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Jarome Iginla

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Jarome Iginla

Carl Soderberg-Chris Kelly-Reilly Smith

Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk

Dennis Seidenberg-Torey Krug

Adam McQuaid-Dougie Hamilton

Tuukka Rask/Chad Johnson

Healthy Scratches:

Jordan Caron, Matt Bartkowski, Kevan Miller

Atlantic Division Teams:

Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers

My Outlook:

The motivating factor behind this year’s team will be the hunger to avenge their Stanley Cup loss to Chicago back in June. Though by no means will it be a cakewalk. Division foes such as Ottawa, Detroit and Toronto have all gotten better and will certainly challenge Boston for the Atlantic Division crown.

Look for Boston’s young defensemen to have breakout showings. Hamilton, Krug and Bartkowski will all get their fair share of ice-time. Coach Julien will expect big things from the promising trio. Their youthful style of play should instill an added spark into an already ramped up approach. But most importantly improve what has been a historic underahcieving power play unit.

Claude Julien may have to manage the minutes for some of his veteran stars from time to time and maybe even throttling it back every once in awhile could do them a lot of good. They head into the season with an improved roster over the 2012-2013 team and are still the class of the Eastern Conference in my eyes.

Frank O’Laughlin-Senior Contributor-Title Town Sports Network

Smith and Soderberg destined for third line duties

The Boston Bruins practiced for the final time this preseason at TD Garden today before departing for the Great White North. They will be squaring off in a pair of tilts with the Winnipeg Jets this Thursday and Friday.

Boston’s final lineup seems to taking form. Wednesday’s practice session was rather telling as to what their opening night lineup card could look like. Claude Julien will likely want to simulate a regular season contest against the Jets with only two preseason games remaining

The much debated third line pairings might finally be ironed out. Reilly Smith and Carl Soderberg have played alongside Chris Kelly in two straight games now and again practiced alongside him Wednesday.

Ryan Spooner and Jordan Caron were paired together as extra forwards.

Dougie Hamilton also practiced alongside Johnny Boychuk. Matt Bartkowski was slated as the seventh defensemen.

Niklas Svedberg is expected to play Thursday’s game in its entirety and it will be a prime opportunity for him to prove to the coaching staff that he has what it takes to back up Tuukka Rask.

Rask is expected to start Friday’s game, as it will serve as one final tune up before the wins and losses begin to count.

Now obviously these line combinations are all subject to change, but at this point in the preseason the coaching staff has seen enough to pass judgment on who can do what and who will give the club the best chance to win.

Frank O’Laughlin – Senior Contributor – TitleTown Sports Network

Bruins cut three from camp, six more to come

The Bruins made three NHL training camp roster cuts, as they released forward Craig Cunningham and defenseman Dan Warsovsky to Providence. They also placed veteran blue liner Mike Moore on waivers with the hopes of him further developing in Providence.

Boston’s NHL roster currently sits at 28. Six more cuts are expected in the coming days. Claude Julien and upper-management would like to reduce their roster to the NHL’S mandatory 22-man roster limit sometime prior to their two-game trip to Winnipeg and Saskatoon on Thursday.

We know which regulars will make up the roster. But Ryan Spooner, Nick Johnson, Matt Fraser, Carl Soderberg and Jordan Caron are all battling it out for a third line position. Niklas Svedberg and Chad Johnson are dueling for the second string goaltending role.

Then there is Kevan Millar. Millar has had a strong preseason and is making a case to earn himself a seventh defensemen job with the Bruins. A job occupied by Aaron Johnson last season.

What does Dougie Hamilton’s future hold? Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski have looked fantastic and have made it nearly impossible to ignore that. Hamilton has a lot to prove over the remaining preseason contests if has hopes of swaying any last minute decision making when it comes to selecting the final two starting defensemen.

Boston has a dilemma on its hands, a unique predicament at that. Their organizational depth runs deep and selecting a final roster will be quite the challenge. The final preseason games will be crucial in determining who stays and goes. This Bruins team will only be that much better when it’s all said and done due to the healthy competition many of their players have been caught up in this training camp.

“There are quite a few guys in the mix. That’s some of the stuff I alluded to this morning and the other day by saying we’re going to have some tough decisions to make at the end,” Claude Julien told CSNNE.com.

Frank O’Laughlin – Senior Contributor – TitleTown Sports Network

Bruins transitioning toward a more youthful defense

A precise start date for Boston’s 2013-2014 training camp has not yet been set. Camp is likely to get underway at some point during the first week in September. With that being said, all eyes will be on the Bruins blue-liners, as there will be competition for two open slots along the back end.

Andrew Ference served as a vital cog in what has been a dominant Boston defense for some time now. As Ference moves on to Edmonton, only Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg, Johnny Boychuk and Adam McQuaid remain as locks to make the Bruins starting six.

Torey Krug impressed the masses with his unforgettable playoff contributions this past season, but is he a guaranteed a starting role come opening night?

Both Dougie Hamilton and Matt Bartkowski will be gunning for the two defensive vacancies as well. Hamilton and Bartkowski, along with Krug, each had their share of bright moments this past season.

Hamilton appeared in 42 games for the Bruins this past season. The youngster potted 5 goals and recorded 11 assists in those games. He posted +4 rating and seemed to hold his own rather well for a rookie. Though Hamilton did tire toward the end of the season due the compressed schedule and the fact that he had been playing in juniors during the lockout.

His slick skating ability and offensive minded approach make him a prime candidate to make a Bruins squad in dire need of a puck mover on an underachieving power play unit. Hamilton will either make the team as a starter or head to Providence, because serving as a seventh defenseman will not do him any good.

Bartkowski seems destined to fill the void left by Ference’s departure. He is a defense first type of guy who is fearless when it comes to moving the puck. His ability to remain calm under pressure while making intelligent decisions with the puck impressed the Bruins coaches during the action he did get at the NHL level.

With Providence, Bartkowski scored 3 goals and registered 21 helpers in 56 games. He chipped in 2 assists in 11 regular season games with Boston. Bartkowski found the net once in 7 playoff games this past spring.

When all is said and done, it’s very hard to overlook Torey Krug. Krug dominated at the AHL level, burying 13 goals and tallying 32 assists. He totaled 6 points on 4 goals and 2 assists in 15-playoff outings during the Bruins 2012-2013 Cup run.

Though a stretch, many likened him to the legendary Bobby Orr. Krug’s dead-eye shot, tape-to-tape passing and quick skating ability has drawn comparison to Erik Karlsson of Ottawa.

Krug instantaneously become a fan favorite and seemed to invigorate a lifeless Boston power play. He’ll certainly give Hamilton a run for his money and will likely snag a top six spot in favor of him.

It’s apparent Boston is heading in a more youthful direction when it comes to its defensive corps. There were many free agent defenseman on the market and ripe for the picking. The Bruins steered cleared, as they have had their mind set on instilling some fresh blood into the system in 2013-2014.

There will undoubtedly be a great deal of friendly competition once camp breaks and that is in no way a bad thing. Bartkowski, Hamilton and Krug will all drive one another to be better. Each possesses the tools and make up needed to succeed at the NHL level.

It remains to be seen which two will crack the opening night lineup, but it seems likely that all three will see a fair share of action at the NHL level this season.

Frank O’Laughlin – Senior NHL Contributor – Title Town Sports Network

Follow Frank on Twitter: @BruinsHub

 

 

 

Ference Set to Test Free Agency

After spending seven seasons with the Black and Gold, veteran blue-liner, Andrew Ference will be moving on. His contract with the Bruins is now up and the 34-year-old will be forced to continue his career elsewhere.

Peter Chiarelli met with Ference on Wednesday to inform him that the Bruins would be heading in another direction. Claude Julien also met one-on-one with him. Ference is set to become a free agent.

“I spoke with him, and told him that we wouldn’t be re-signing him and we kind of rehashed our history with the Bruins. If you can recall, we brought him in my first year. He’s been part of this, what we’ve built here,” said Chiarelli.

Ference notched 16 goals, tallied 80 assists, and played fundamentally sound defense, all while helping Boston earn a Cup victory in 2011. He was named alternate captain prior to last season and served as a fearless leader throughout his tenure with the Bruins. Ference epitomized the meaning of the term “team player.”

“He’s been through seven years, basically, and you can’t say enough about his leadership and what he’s brought to our organization. It was a tough conversation to have,” said Claude Julien.

Re-upping with Ference would be nearly impossible, given the salary cap restraints under the new collective bargaining agreement and the fact that Boston has placed priority on re-signing other key players.

Ference will likely be looking for a multi-year deal worth about $3 million per.

Though this unsettling news comes as no shock to him. When the Bruins neglected to engage in contract talks at the beginning of this past season, Ference put two and two together, assuming he would not be back.

“I’m incredibly proud. If you fully invest yourself into the team and your job, you’re going to feel the losses harder,” Ference said. “But you’re also going to feel the victories even more strongly, and be more proud of them. I came into the city as an individual in the room that was fully invested, and so lucky to be able to play under Claude for all those years and with a couple of the other guys that have been here to see it develop and grow.”

The Bruins are extremely disappointed to have to part ways with Ference, but at the end of the day, both sides separate on good terms. Ference will undoubtedly be a valuable addition to any NHL club.

Looking ahead to 2013-2014, Torey Krugg, Matt Bartkowski, and Dougie Hamilton all project to be logical replacements for the hole Ference leaves along the Boston back end.

Frank O’Laughlin – Senior NHL Contributor – TitleTown Sports Network

 

 

 

Game 5: Bruins-Rangers Preview; Seidenberg Hopes to Return

Game 5: New York Rangers @ Boston Bruins (BOS leads series 3-1)

Game Time: 5:30 PM

Location: TD Garden

TV/Radio: NBC Sports Network/98.5 The Sports Hub

The Black-and-Gold will look to close out the Rangers tonight and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Pittsburgh Penguins are currently awaiting an opponent. Boston fell victim to a couple of bad breaks Thursday night in their attempt to sweep the Rangers at MSG. Tonight they will look to make amends for their game 4 shortcomings in front of the hometown faithful.

New York has succeeded in finding some life, but they are still gasping for air. Boston is well aware and expects nothing but the best from John Tortorella’s team come puck drop. Boston has struggled in close out games; just take a look back at their opening round series against Toronto. Though the B’s understand that the past is the past.

David Krejci spoke about the Bruins current predicament saying, “You got to live in the moment and always get ready for the next game, no matter what happened.” Krejci went on to say, “I’m happy with where the team is. I know we’re going to be better tomorrow.”

Claude Julien touched on the mind set of the team, given the their 2010 second round collapse, saying “We’re living in the present; right now we’re getting ready to play a real good game.”

The TD Garden has been a safe haven for the Bruins in this series, winning both of the contests played on their home ice.

Expect Claude Julien to role out the same four lines as he has in the prior four games. Tyler Seguin notched his first goal of the playoffs on Thursday and all eyes will be on him, watching for a strong follow up showing. The Bruins will hope to get contributions from all four lines in order to emerge victorious.

Like it has all series now, Boston’s defensive corps will remain in question until game time. It seems likely that the invaluable Dennis Seidenberg could return to action Saturday. Seidenberg has been building together a string of strong practices and participated in yesterday’s optional skate. He said that he felt “comfortable” out on the ice with his teammates.

When asked about how bad he wanted to play Saturday, Seidenberg said, “Really bad. Nobody likes watching hockey games, especially around this time of year. Hopefully I get back in there soon and hopefully I can help.” Still, it remains to be seen as to whether he will play. Julien refused to shed any light on his thinking, and will likely once again wait until game time to release his lineup card.

If Seidenberg does return, Dougie Hamilton will likely be the one moving up to the ninth floor.

This game is crucial on all levels. A victory sends the Rangers home for the summer. A loss and the Bruins will be forced back to New York for a game 6 on Monday. Expect a focused, hardnosed, full sixty-minute effort from the B’s tonight. The talk of the town has been the 2010 collapse and the comparisons being drawn to this current series. Boston will be more than motivated to silence that senseless banter.

Boston’s expected lineup is as follows:

Lucic-Krejci-Horton

Marchand-Bergeron-Jagr

Peverley-Kelly-Seguin

Paille-Campell-Thornton

Chara-Hamilton/Seidenberg

Bartkowski-Boychuk

Krug-McQuaid

Rask

New York’s expected lineup is as follows:

Zuccarello-Brassard-Nash

Hagelin-Stepan-Callahan

Pyatt-Boyle-Dorsett

Haley-Kreider-Newbury

McDonagh-Giardi

Del Zotto-Eminger

Moore-Gilroy

Lundqvist

Frank O’Laughlin – Lead NHL Contributor – TitleTown Sports

Game 3: Bruins-Rangers Preview; Seidenberg and Redden Expected to Sit

Game 3 Preview: Boston Bruins @ New York Rangers (BOS leads series 2-0)

Game Time: 7:30 PM

Location: Madison Square Garden

TV/Radio: NBC Sports Network/98.5 The Sports Hub

With play shifting to New York, the Bruins will be looking to take commanding series lead when they take to the ice Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Boston is already up two-games-to-none and grabbing a third game will certainly dash the hopes of the Rangers. Only three teams in NHL history have climbed out of a 3-0 series deficit in 172 tries. That’s how important this game is to both sides.

Boston has found its offensive ways and in doing so, they have been getting timely production from all areas of the lineup. They seem to be playing a more determined game than the Rangers right now and it shows. New York is struggling to match the B’s intensity and tenacity.

Henrik Lundqvist is reportedly banged up and fighting a left shoulder injury. He has looked shaky through two games and the Bruins took it to him last time out, burying five goals. If he is indeed nicked up, tonight could prove to be a similar outcome for New York. The Bruins must come at him fast and furious in order to test him early.

Both Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden took part in this morning’s optional skate. As it stands right now, their likelihood of playing is slim to none. In addressing the media following the skate, Claude Julien said that he would be “surprised” if Seidenberg was ready to play. He also said Redden is still considered “day-to-day.”

Redden will give it a go in the pre-game skate. Seidenberg will not.

With that being said, no lineup changes are expected for the Bruins. Dougie Hamilton, Matt Bartkowski, and Torey Krug should all be along the back end. They have all been stellar and have succeeded in posing problems for the Rangers.

John Tortorella on the other hand might mix things up after coming away empty handed in two straight. His team seems to be lacking the drive that’s needed right now. Though no major moves are likely.

Tortorella did give Bruins winger Brad Marchand some praise. The Rangers coach said that he thought Marchand was “probably the best player in the series.”

The expected Bruins lineup is as follows:

Lucic-Krejci-Horton

Marchand-Bergeron-Jagr

Peverley-Kelly-Seguin

Paille-Campell-Thornton

Chara-Hamilton

Bartkowski-Boychuk

Krug-McQuaid

Rask

The expected Rangers lineup is as follows:

Zuccarello-Brassard-Nash

Hagelin-Stepan-Callahan

Pyatt-Boyle-Dorsett

Kreider-Richards-Asham

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Lundqvist

Frank O’Laughlin – NHL Contributor – TitleTown Sports

 

Seidenberg Practices, Lundqvist Battling Injured Shoulder

The Boston Bruins took to the TD Garden ice this morning for one final practice before taking off for New York.

Veteran blue liner Dennis Seidenberg made his return to practice. Seidenberg had been sidelined since suffering a lower-body injury in the first period of game 7 against the Maple Leafs. His return is surely welcomed and brings great news, as he is one of Boston’s more dominant forces.

Banged up Wade Redden also skated with the team, marking his second straight day of practice. Both Seidenberg and Redden made it through the full practice successfully.

Andrew Ference once again did not skate and his expected return date is a bit unclear compared to the other two.

Seidenberg and Redden will make the trip to New York with the team for games 3 and 4. Despite this news, Claude Julien practiced the same defensive pairings that he had used in games 1 and 2. Torey Krug, Matt Bartkowski, and Dougie Hamilton all skated with the starting lineup.

As of right now Claude Julien has not made a decision on their return. Though if one or both are able to go, Julien will be faced with a difficult predicament. Obviously Seidenberg is a no-brainer. Redden on the other hand will be interesting, considering all three of the rookies have played well. Redden provides depth more than anything else. 

Julien spoke about Seidenberg’s possible return following practice, saying, “First of all, Seidenberg, you saw him practice today. He’s getting closer. Whether it’s next game or not, we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”

We will have to wait and see who’s the odd man out, if of course there is a move along the back end tomorrow night.

Switching gears to the Rangers side of things, Henrik Lundqvist reportedly suffered a left shoulder injury in third period of Sunday’s 5-2 loss. The New York goaltender claims it occurred while making a save on Daniel Paille.

The injury is not significant and Lundqvist will be good to go for game 3. The Swede spoke about it after practice Monday, saying, “Yeah, it’s under control. I landed on the ice awkwardly and hurt it a little bit. It’s under control.”

He then went on to say, “Everybody’s sore. It’s the playoffs. You can’t just sit out because it’s hurting a little bit. It happens and you just have to make sure you do the right things to make it good.”

Lundqvist has allowed an eye-popping eight goals through two games and the Bruins will look to add to that total in front of the Ranger faithful.

Frank O’Laughlin – NHL Contributor – TitleTown Sports

 

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November 11, 2013 By Rachel Murphy Leave a Comment