Category Archives: 2015-16 NHL season

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Final Buzzer: Bruins take Black Friday matinee over Rangers

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The Boston Bruins showed the urgency of rabid Black Friday shoppers in a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Eastern Conference power New York Rangers in a post-Thanksgiving matinee.

Ryan Spooner and David Krejci scored goals 2:03 apart in the third period to erase a 3-2 deficit and give the B’s their fifth consecutive victory, a season high. Patrice Bergeron and Brett Connolly also tallied for Boston, keeping the team in the thick of the Atlantic Division standings. Tuukka Rask made 24 stops and was good when he needed to be in getting over .500 (8-7-1) for the first time this year.

For the Bruins, they put forth a strong effort in scoring four goals against longtime nemesis Henrik Lundqvist. In contrast to other recent wins, the team played a solid 60 minutes, losing an early 1-0 lead to stay within striking distance to negate 2-1 and 3-2 scores to grab an emotional two points at the end of regulation.

For Boston, the offense has played pretty well over the course of the season, posting an NHL-best power play (two goals) but the team defense has been much improved during the five-game winning streak. A lot of it has to do with the return of Dennis Seidenberg, who has stabilized the pairings with his experience and strong defensive play after missing the first month of the regular season.

The Rangers did’t play their best game at TD Garden, but on paper, the Broadway Blueshirts are a significantly better team than the Bruins are. Where Lundqvist is concerned, there might be a psychological edge over Boston (though the 2013 playoffs went a long way towards erasing a long-term dominance he had previously enjoyed), but he looked mortal in this one.

Boston got on the board first when Bergeron converted a blocked Torey Krug drive after the veteran center won an offensive zone draw to the B’s top scoring defender. The puck hit traffic out front, but Bergeron was on the spot and zipped a shot through Lundqvist’s five-hole to get the home crowd into the game early. It was the eighth goal of the season, the 214th of his career. Bergeron is closing in on 600 career points with 571.

Rangers goals by Oscar Lindberg and Rick Nash in the first five minutes of the second period put Boston in a 2-1 hole, but Connolly got the equalizer on the power play, the first time the B’s scored with the man advantage in three games. Connolly found the back of the net after Colin Miller faked a shot from the point and then put a pass to the streaking forward’s tape.

The Rangers grabbed a lead once more in the final period when J.T. Miller got a power play goal thanks to a Brad Marchand goalie interference penalty. The call drew a cascade of boos from the TD Garden because it appeared that Lundqvist was on the edge of his crease and fell to the ice as if shot once Marchand made contact with his knee to the goaltender’s head, but the call stood, and the Rangers capitalized.

With time winding down, Jesper Fast took a hooking penalty on Miller which set the stage for Boston’s furious comeback.

With the Bruins in possession of the puck, Krug got another shot from outside through to the front of the net. Loui Eriksson got his stick on it and found Spooner who was driving towards the crease from the right circle. He took the puck and flipped it up and over Lundqvist who was down on the initial shot and unable to make the save. Spooner’s fifth goal of the season came with 3:46 left in the third period.

Krejci then tallied the winning goal with 1:43 left when he drove a hard shot from the outside that appeared to pinball off a Rangers player (Emerson Etem) in front and into the twine behind Lundqvist.

The game was not without some controversy, as Matt Beleskey drilled Derek Stepan with a hard check that drove the Rangers star into the boards, breaking several ribs as the team would report afterwards. The hit itself was not an illegal one, but delivered perhaps a tad late and with Stepan off balance as he was turning to chase the puck he had just passed. When Dylan McIlrath challenged Beleskey and was assessed an extra two minutes for instigating, Connolly scored on the ensuing power play, adding insult to injury.

Claude Julien moved rookie fan favorite Frank Vatrano to the right side on a line with Bergeron and Marchand, and showed some promise on his off-wing. He’s using his speed and hustle to win puck battles along the walls and has been so impressive given how quickly he’s emerged as an NHL option. His father recently pointed out that in one calendar year Vatrano has scored his first NCAA, professional (AHL) and NHL goals- talk about a white Christmas!

The Bruins are off until Wednesday, when they go on the road for three games in Western Canada, but with Rask enjoying his best stretch of hockey this season and the rest of the club playing with confidence and verve, the B’s are giving their fans a lot to be happy about. As expected, the season has been a series of peaks and valleys, but the brutal start to the year and winless homestead seems to be a distant memory.

The Bruins showed they can run with some of the NHL’s big dogs with this win over the Rangers, and after some poor showings at home, are giving their fans more reasons to get excited for the games again.

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Dennis Seidenberg has been ‘steady as he goes’ since returning to the lineup this month (Photo courtesy of Alison M. Foley)

David Krejci- Scored the winning goal late by doing something he hadn’t been doing enough of in recent seasons- shooting the puck on net. A core player who was signed to a big extension a year ago, one that raised eyebrows, the Czech veteran has been one of the NHL’s top offensive players since opening night and is one pace for his best scoring season at age 29.

Matt Beleskey- He didn’t have any points, but had five hits including the momentum-changing play on Stepan, five shots on net, a fight and key drawn penalty resulting in Connolly’s PPG, along with 13 minutes of ice time. As Bruins analyst Bob Beers has said- Beleskey might not be getting the points, but he shows up every night and makes a difference in other key areas. He’s not going to give you the pure physical dominance of Milan Lucic (when he was on his game) but Beleskey is giving the team every ounce of his talent right now.

Ryan Spooner- The debate on his even strength effectiveness continues, but he came through in the clutch when the B’s needed a power play goal with a key score that took full advantage of his speed and puck skills. Simply put- when Spooner has extra time and space, he’s been deadly in the season’s first quarter. As long as he continues to produce, he’ll stay firmly in the mix with the big club.

Colin Miller- With two goals and 10 points, Chiller is on pace for a superb rookie season. His skating and puck skills are so obvious whenever he’s out there, but his defensive game is progressing and the former Kings farmhand’s confidence is growing with each game. With Dougie Hamilton struggling in Calgary, Miller is giving the Bruins comparable production and has been an important factor in Boston’s current hot streak.

Loui Eriksson- His assist on the game-tying goal was typical Eriksson- a heads up play by a poised veteran. He could have just tried to drive the puck past Lundqvist, but instead recognized Spooner was attacking from an oblique angle and had a better chance of beating the Rangers goalie with it. With nine goals and 20 points in 22 games, he’s playing the best hockey of his Bruins tenure by far.

Dennis Seidenberg- He’s not fancy, but the German veteran is playing well after coming back from injury earlier this month. His overall play is up compared to his problems a season ago when he was returning from a major knee injury suffered in January of 2014 and appeared tentative and ineffective. He’s no longer in his prime, but Seidenberg’s experience and poise has helped to stabilized Boston’s defense. They’re not a top group by NHL standards, but with the team’s offense and goaltending, they’re good enough to get the job done. He’s a big-time shot blocker and leads by example, even if he’s not going to provide the pure talent and production of other defenders on this club.

Brett Connolly- Scored his first goal in 12 games. He’s got some zip and has the ability to be the scorer that the Tampa Bay Lightning felt good enough to pick sixth overall despite missing just about all of his draft season. Connolly is a low-cost player who could be a key to keeping this offensive chugging away, but consistency is the main thing.

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Alain Vigneault- We can understand the frustration over losing a key player like Stepan to the Beleskey hit, but invoking the Aaron Rome hit from the 2011 Stanley Cup final? Come on, man. Vigneault has a good track record as an NHL coach, but he also has an earned reputation for being a whiner and this was vintage AV.

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Final Buzzer: Motor City madness as B’s steal 2 points from Wings

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The Boston Bruins got a pair of goals from rookie Frank Vatrano, back from missing the past several contests to injury, and a monster game in net from backup Jonas Gustavsson to stun the Detroit Red Wings on the road with a 3-2 victory in sudden death.

The hometown Wings carried the edge in play for most of the night, but Gustavsson kept them in it after surrendering Pavel Datsyuk’s 300th career NHL goal and another strike from Tomas Tatar in the second period that gave Detroit a 2-1 lead until 1:44 left in regulation.

Vatrano opened the scoring at 7:11 of the first period when he took a Joonas Kemppainen pass out near the high slot and buried a low shot past Petr Mrazek. Former Red Wing Landon Ferraro drew his second assist in as many games with the Bruins after being claimed on waivers Monday.

The goal happened in part because Zdeno Chara swept a rolling puck away from danger after Gustavsson got a piece of a Niklas Kronwall drive that squirted through and was headed for the goal line.

Datsyuk rifled home the equalizer at 2:26 of the middle frame when he took an Alexey Marchenko pass and put the puck past Gustavsson for his second goal of the year. Tatar then added to the lead with his seventh marker, assisted by Riley Sheahan and Darren Helm.

Boston was unable to get much going in the way of sustained offensive pressure and when Vatrano took a poorly-timed tripping call at 14:42 of the final period, it appeared that the B’s might be out of luck on a night when their goaltending was good enough despite a lack of scoring.

However, after killing off the Vatrano penalty, the B’s found life on a deliberate play that developed slowly through the neutral zone between David Krejci and Loui Eriksson. Without pushing the pace, the two passed the puck back and forth before Eriksson gained the zone and then backhanded a pass over to his right. Defenseman Colin Miller was trailing the play and stepped into it, blasting the puck past Mrazek and into the net off the far post to make it a 2-2 game.

In 3-on-3 overtime, the B’s survived some tense moments including a sequence when Eriksson lost his stick and then failed to clear it by kicking at the puck. Tatar nearly ended the game on an odd-man rush with a wide open net, but he heeled the pass and the puck went wide, setting the stage for an improbable duo of Matt Beleskey-Vatrano-Miller combination to win the game.

Beleskey gained the Detroit zone and curled near the left boards, protecting the puck and then dishing up to Miller who had just entered the zone and was out near the middle of the circles. He then made a perfect slap-pass on net, freezing Mrazek, who no doubt expected another “Chiller Driller” to come scorching in. Instead, Vatrano was cutting to the front of the net and he put his stick on the off-speed shot, deflecting it down and into the net for the game-winning score.

The Bruins upped their record to 12-8-1, moving into third place in the Atlantic Division on the night before Thanksgiving. Given how hard this team works despite not having an abundance of high-end talent, they’ve given the fans a lot to be thankful for.

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Frank Vatrano- Back in the lineup, the East Longmeadow native tallied his first career two-goal game in the NHL. It’s not just his sublime release and otherworldly stick skills/killer instinct around the net, but he’s added a dimension of speed and is hustling all over the 200-foot sheet of ice. I said it on Twitter, but if you had told me back in March when the B’s signed the impressive 18-goal guy out of UMass that he would score 3 goals in his first 7 NHL *before* December 1st, I would’ve thought that was crazy talk. Vatrano, who previously attended Calgary Flames development camp before signing with Boston, is making anyone who doubted him including all 30 teams that skipped him in the draft three times, look like the ones who lost their marbles.

Jonas Gustavsson- He lived up to his nickname of the Monster tonight with another quality start. It’s obvious that the guy can play…the key to him going forward will be in maintaining his health, as injuries have been stumbling blocks for him in the past. He made some tough stops look pretty routine tonight, and as someone who subscribes to the “less is more” approach when it comes to goalies, that’s a good thing. He’s now 5-1, with a GAA of 2.15 and a save percentage of .920.

Colin Miller- Chiller posted the tying goal and an assist on the winning goal. He seems to be growing and developing by leaps and bounds with each game, as the confidence is getting larger. Sure, he’ll make the odd bad read or poor pinch, but he has the tools to make up for those missteps. He’s already contributing quite a bit at both ends as a raw rookie who saw his first NHL game back in October- just think how good he could be in another 2-3 years.

Claude Julien- Let’s give him credit on this one: is anyone going to say with a straight face that he hates young players when he rolled out a combo of Vatrano and Miller during 3-on-3 OT play along with Beleskey? For all the static he gets, he didn’t staple Vatrano to the bench after the youngster’s bad penalty late in the third period. He recognized that Vatrano and Miller, combined with Beleskey’s edge and energy might make for a good mix and the trio did not disappoint.

Pavel Datsyuk- 300 goals in a Hall of Fame career. At 37, he’s slowing down, but tonight, he showed why he’s been an NHL star for so long. Aside from the fact that the Bruins have been leading the league in allowing career milestones to be reached this season, Datsyuk found the back of the net with an understated, yet impressive strike that captured the essence of his elite hockey sense, talent and a penchant for making magic out of the mundane ever since he came over from Russia after being the 171st overall pick in 1998.

DOWN

Ryan Spooner- Did not see much action in the final 10 minutes of regulation or overtime. For a player with his speed and skills, the team wants more from the 2010 second-rounder. Regardless of the less productive and successful performance at 5-on-5, Spooner has the ability to raise his game when challenged and has rebounded when sat down in the past. Sometimes we forget that he’s still just 23, and his 11 points in 21 contests is a little off his pace from a year ago, but when he’s on his game, there aren’t many more dangerous forwards on this team than No. 51.

 

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Final Buzzer: Bruins, Rask blank resurgent Leafs

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The Boston Bruins benefited from a superb goalie duel between Tuukka Rask and James Reimer, winning a second consecutive home game for the first time this season in sending the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs away in a 2-0 contest.

The game was scoreless going into the final five minutes, as both teams waged a see-saw battle that began with a good, uptempo pace from the opening puck drop and continued throughout, with just a couple of penalties to slow the momentum.

This was hockey the way it was meant to be played, even though there was just one goal scored with a netminder between the pipes- Brad Marchand’s empty-netter in the waning seconds made sure the Leafs didn’t send the TD Garden faithful into a panic with late-game heroics.

Reiner stopped Boston’s first 35 shots on him and has reinvented himself after buying into the head trajectory concept, which is gaining momentum with goalies around the NHL. In a word, it comes down to this: tracking. By tracking the puck by leading your save movement with the head and maintaining a visual at all times before the shot, at the time of save and through completion of its trajectory on the rebound, Reimer is on a hot streak, having entered the game with a .951 save percentage since pushing Jonathan Bernier out of the Toronto crease.

Alas, Reimer’s excellence in net was not enough for the Leafs, as Matt Beleskey won a puck battle down low late in the third period, dishing the puck out to Zach Trotman at the right point. Trotman faked a shot to freeze his man, then slid the puck over to his d-partner Zdeno Chara. Instead of shooting, Chara had a lane to the net and took it- skating about 15 feet in and uncorking a hard snapshot that beat Reimer through the wickets with traffic in front.

The Boston captain’s third goal of the season was all the Bruins needed.

In net, Rask was good when he had to be, making several key stops on Leafs forward Shawn Matthias, including a first period breakaway when Colin Miller lost an edge on a reverse crossover at his own blue line, allowing Matthias to walk in alone.

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Zdeno Chara had a great night in the Boston victory (photo courtesy of Alison M. Foley)

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Zdeno Chara- Big Zee gets a lot of flak on my Twitter feed as a diminishing star who is not the player he once was, but tonight, he reminded us all of why he’s a future Hall of Famer. He played a snarly game, doling out hits and cracking Toronto pest Leo Komarov in the back with his stick during one sequence. During a scrum between Marchand and James van Riemsdyk, Chara locked up with Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf and dearly wanted to fight him, something Phaneuf seemed all too happy to let the officials keep from happening. Then with a little under five minutes left, Chara unleashed a bomb from the slot to win the game. Life means that certain sports fans will adopt a “what have you done for me lately?” attitude and there’s not much you can do about that. People are entitled to their opinions, and while Chara’s best years are behind him, it was nice to see him at the top of his game on this night.

Tuukka Rask- The Leafs have been kicking themselves ever since trading him to Boston nearly a decade ago, and Rask posted his 28th career shutout- good for fourth all-time in Boston franchise history behind Cecil “Tiny” Thompson, Frank “Mr. Zero” Brimsek and Tim “Timmy” Thomas. It’s been a tough year for Rask, but he came up big when his team needed him, and he was pretty quiet in the net, keeping things simple and making the saves look pretty routine. It was a nice change of pace from the off-kilter Rask we’ve seen more often than not this year, and goes to show that when he’s on, he’s one of the best in the game.

Brad Marchand- Marchand played a great game. He had a highlight reel sequence in the opening frame when he screwed Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly into the ice on an inside-out move, then decked Reimer, ultimately losing the puck off his stick before he could get a shot off. During a collision with Komarov that looked worse than it was, van Riemsdyk went to him and Marchand dropped the gloves, pulling the much-larger JVR to the ice and getting a roughing penalty in the process. He played with speed, energy and grit all night and didn’t get too out of control, which is usually the only issue with him. His ENG was icing on the cake of a solid night overall.

Zach Trotman- I tweeted that he’s my unsung hero for the past week-plus for steady, effective play since getting a chance to skate regularly in the lineup again. He’s never going to be a top defenseman or two-way threat, but Trotman has the size, mobility, smarts and character to be a serviceable defender at this level. He was unfairly banished to the press box after having to debut on opening night with Matt Irwin, who had a disastrous two-game performance that caused Trotman to pay a larger price, missing about a month of games as a healthy scratch. But, the former Lake Superior State standout didn’t sulk or complain- he just kept working at it and was ready to go when his chance came. NESN analyst and colleague Billy Jaffe takes it a step further, saying that Trotman has been among the team’s best defensemen since returning to the lineup. Not bad for the last overall selection in 2010…

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Zach Trotman has been an unsung hero for Boston since getting another chance to skate regular minutes (Photo courtesy of Alison M. Foley)

Matt Belesekey- His point totals are nothing to write home about, but this guy is a quintessential Bruin in the way that he blasts around the ice doing the little things. I think the production will start to flow more in the coming games, but you certainly notice the guy and he made the right play on Chara’s winning goal. If he doesn’t win that battle for a loose puck, maybe this game gets to OT and we have a completely different outcome. Luckily for Boston, he didn’t lose and a few seconds later, Chara’s rocket was tickling the twine.

James Reimer- He’s a good guy off the ice and you have to give him credit for reinventing himself on a team that started horrendously. I don’t know that he’s for real- we saw a similar run back when he debuted and captured Toronto’s collective hearts in early 2011 when he was called up and stymied NHL shooters before coming back to earth and battling injuries in subsequent seasons. And of course- he was in net against Boston in the 2013 playoffs for that agonizing overtime defeat in Game 7. Tonight, he did everything in his power to give his team a chance to steal a couple of points.

No downers tonight. The Bruins got an important win for their psyche and are sitting in one of the two wild card spots as we speak. There’s still much hockey to be played, but given the way things started, I think most people will take that.

 

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How Swede it is- Eriksson hatty, Gustavsson sharpness key in B’s win

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The Boston Bruins beat the Minnesota Wild Thursday night by a 4-2 score thanks in large part to Loui Eriksson’s hat trick (he now has 9 goals on the season) and solid play between the pipes by backup goaltender Jonas Gustavsson.

The win was significant also because it was only the third victory on home ice this season for Boston, which was an important two points for the team to get on the heels of Tuesday night’s loss to San Jose at the TD Garden. Additionally, that the B’s beat the Wild, the ranking modern expansion era nemesis for Boston, was an important moral win for a team that will take positives in any form these days. It was only the third time since Minnesota joined the league for the 1999-00 season that the B’s had beaten the Wild, which is a remarkable statistic when you consider the success the Bruins have had since 2008.

With defenseman Kevan Miller on the shelf after suffering an upper body injury in the third period against the Sharks, the B’s got a boost with the return of Colin Miller who had missed the previous couple of games to injury.

The story of the night was the play of Boston’s two Swedes- Eriksson and Gustavsson- who paced the home team to a solid win on home ice. For Eriksson, it was his third career three-goal game, and Gustavsson upped his record with Boston to 4-1, a 2.20 GAA and .915 save percentage. He’s making a case to see more ice, which could let Tuukka Rask get a little time to work through his struggles right now. Not surprisingly, I’m seeing some Twitter chatter mocking Rask and elevating ‘Gus’ but still believe Rask is not only a superior goaltender to Gustavsson but he’s capable of infinitely better play than he’s demonstrated to date. This is not a goaltender controversy per se and it would be absurd to argue for Gustavsson to push Rask aside at this juncture, but Gus has played well enough to perhaps get the next game or two and see what he does with the opportunity.

Loui’s first goal of the night happened when he threw the puck at the net from the near the left wing boards and it appeared to hit Brett Connolly and bounce in past Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk. In actuality, the puck hit Wild forward Jason Pominville’s skate who was locked up with Connolly and backing in towards his net, meaning the goal belonged to Eriksson, his seventh of the year.

The second goal happened on the power play, when Torey Krug took the puck in from the blue line and near the top of the left circle put a hard pass into the slot where Patrice Bergeron was set up. Bergeron then moved the puck over to Dubnyk’s left and Eriksson buried it for his second of the game.

Eriksson completed the natural hat trick when he finished off a nice give-and-go with David Krejci to close out the scoring. It all started with a good save by Gustavsson and a heads-up pass from Matt Beleskey to spring Krejci and Eriksson on a 2-on-1 in the neutral zone.

As for Eriksson, he’s continuing a fine season in which he currently sits third on the team in scoring with nine goals (team lead) and 17 points in 18 games.

Eriksson was never going to provide the superstar potential Tyler Seguin took with him to Dallas and that was a known risk Boston was taking when they dealt the 21–year-old in 2013. However, this version of Eriksson was the guy the Bruins felt like they were getting back as part of a larger package that to date has not turned out as hoped.

Eriksson’s play this season has made GM Don Sweeney’s job a tough one, as he will have to decide whether Loui is part of a solution going forward past 2016 or if the team should trade him at or near the deadline to get what could be a pretty significant return. We’re too early in the season to figure out whether Boston will be in a position to make a trade or will be better served sticking with him, but one thing is for sure: Eriksson is doing the things we had always seen from him in Dallas. You know what you have in the guy, so if you give that up for the uncertainty of future returns in the form of prospects and/or draft picks, you might just find yourself wishing the team had stuck with Eriksson instead.

It’s no doubt a debate that will continue to be had and heat up after the Winter Classic when playoff positions will start to solidify and we will better know if Eriksson can sustain his impressive scoring pace.

Beleskey and Krejci played superb games as that line carried the night- it’s another sign that while this Bruins team might lack the talent on paper to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, they’re going to show up and give a top effort most nights.

 

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Final Buzzer: B’s struggle at home again after taking 2-0 lead on Avs

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One of the bigger issues confronting the 2015-16 Boston Bruins is not just the problems the team has at earning points on home ice, but its a penchant for blowing leads in three of those crucial early season contests.

Losses after jumping up by two goals against Tampa Bay, Philadelphia and now Colorado have ended in disaster, as the Bruins dropped a 3-2 game Thursday night at the TD Garden.

A return to the ice by veteran defenseman Dennis Seidenberg was spoiled by a Colorado comeback after Boston blew a 2-0 lead taken in the first six minutes of the game. The Bruins did not score again the rest of the contest.

First period goals by Zdeno Chara and Ryan Spooner were countered by strikes from former Bruin Carl Soderberg (assisted by former Bruin Jarome Iginla) and Rejean Beauchemin, who tied the game with just 29 seconds left in the opening period.

Colorado coach and old Boston nemesis Patrick Roy challenged the Chara goal just 1:12 into the game for a crease violation, but was unsuccessful in the attempt to have the captain’s second goal of the season negated.

The two teams played through a scoreless second period, with both Tuukka Rask and Reto Berra making some key stops for their clubs. At 5:46 of the second period, Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog was ejected for a blindside head hit on Brad Marchand. The B’s were unable to score on an extended power play (after he took a roughing penalty in response), but Marchand remained in the game and seemed to suffer no ill effects despite already suffering a concussion earlier this season.

Colorado took the lead in the third period when Kevan Miller coughed up the puck near the Boston blue line to Mikhail Grigorenko, who skated towards Rask before sliding a cross-ice feed to Matt Duchene, who buried it for his seventh goal of the season. Miller

The B’s were unable to find the equalizer after pulling Rask for the extra attacker.  From the sounds of it, a lack of offensive zone time and puck possession throughout the game doomed them to another home disappointment for the Boston faithful. The crowd let them know, too- as boos rained down on the players with a few minutes remaining in the contest and the defense having trouble getting the puck out the zone and up the ice on the attack.

Sorry, folks- was in and out of this one and did not catch the entire contest, so no Ups and Downs tonight…I’ll only post that when I see the entire contest, but prior commitments prevented me from giving the game my complete attention. Perhaps that is for the best.

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Final Buzzer: Rask up to task in Brooklyn, B’s end skid

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Tuukka Rask came up big for the B's in Brooklyn (Photo courtesy of Alison M. Foley)

Tuukka Rask came up big for the B’s in Brooklyn (Photo courtesy of Alison M. Foley)

The Boston Bruins did a nice job of bouncing back from a tough loss to halt the losing skid at three games with a plucky 2-1 road victory against the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center in a late afternoon game Sunday.

Ryan Spooner and Patrice Bergeron tallied for Boston, while Tuukka Rask played his best game of the season in making 36 saves to preserve the two points in a game made interesting thanks to a late 5-on-3 goal by old friend Johnny Boychuk.

The Bergeron line featured a tweak as Brad Marchand was moved down and Matt Beleskey brought up to play the left wing with Brett Connolly remaining over on the right. The BeBes- Bergeron and Beleskey- showed some okay chemistry together and generated some good moments up front. Beleskey plays with a lot of passion and energy, and on one memorable 2-on-1 in the third period, he made a superb pass over a sprawling Islanders defender and over to Bergeron who got his blade on it and put it on net, only to see Isles goaltender Jaroslav Halak in fine position to make the stop.

Boston opened the scoring with a 5-on-3 power play goal to extend the consecutive games with a score on the man advantage to seven when Spooner ripped a one-timer into the net from a David Krejci feed. Bergeron had started the play when he took the puck and walked down the middle of the offensive zone between the circles to back the defense in before dishing to Krejci, who wasted little time in taking advantage of the added time and space to find Spooner all alone off to the side of the right post. It was Spooner’s third goal and ninth point of the season.

Bergeron made it a two-goal game in the second period when he put a shot to the front of the net that appeared to be deflected in by Marchand but was later changed to Boston’s assistant captain when reviews showed the puck hit Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy and changed direction past Halak.

The story of the contest was Rask, who played the kind of shutdown game the B’s have come to expect from him. He did seem more active at times than he should have in leaving his crease to play the puck, but none of those adventures cost him. He gave up just the one goal to Boychuk late after Kevan Miller took a careless-looking high stick penalty to Casey Cizikas and then Joonas Kemppainen gloved the puck off of a face-off, giving the Islanders 1:47 of 5-on-3 play, that they took advantage when he launched a Johnny Rocket that clanged in off the post. It was the only power play out of seven chances the Islanders got, so the maligned penalty killing unit got a confidence boost, but  a perfect game on the PK would have been even better.

The Islanders launched a concerted attack late, but Rask stood his ground and the Boston forecheck made some nice plays in the neutral zone and Islanders end to prevent the home team from getting Halak out for the extra attacker earlier. The B’s did a nice job overall of containing Isles captain and superstar John Tavares from getting much going in this one.

The B’s will get a few days of rest through Veteran’s Day before taking on the Colorado Avalanche Thursday night at the TD Garden.

UP

Tuukka Rask- Boston’s. No. 1 goaltender brought his A-game tonight and had no real chance on Boychuk’s howitzer of a shot. His glove save on Cal Clutterbuck during a shorthanded breakaway in the second period was a crucial stop that could have had a devastating impact on Boston’s psyche, but he effortlessly snagged it to keep it a 1-0 game. Rask made the defense look better than it was today, which is what you’re going to get with a player of his caliber in net. However, this team is simply not good enough to rely on Rask’s heroics as we have seen on other occasions throughout the first calendar month.

Patrice Bergeron- It was an active game for him with a goal and an assist, seven shots on net, more than 21 minutes of ice time. He stepped up with he game-winner in the second period as Boston got a much-needed win, their first in seven days.

Frank Vatrano- For the second straight game, he impressed with his speed and hustle, pushing the offensive pace and getting some quality shots on the net. He didn’t find the twine, but he didn’t look like a kid in just his second career NHL game and showed some good stamina for playing the second of a back-to-back game. The adrenaline he’s feeling is no doubt still pumping in his veins after scoring in his first big league game Saturday night.

Joonas Kemppainen- He blew it by taking the penalty late for handling the puck on the face-off, but made up for it with a solid game defensively and a game-saving defensive zone draw that he won cleanly after Beleskey was sent to the box for a slash with 1.7 seconds left. Thanks to Kemppainen or “Kemper” as he is called, the Isles didn’t even get a chance to get a shot off.

Ryan Spooner- The even strength play has been at times rocky, but when the B’s go up a man, Spooner’s high-end skill and creativity come out. His goal was a bang-bang play, but he did what scorers do well- get to the one spot on the ice where no one else is and bury the pass when it came to him. Even if his overall game and play has not been perfect, Spooner is producing points, so as long as he can keep doing that, the coaches will work with him on the little things.

Johnny Boychuk- What more can I say? He is still missed and the reaction by the Islanders faithful when he scored brought back memories of how he used to bring the Garden crowd to their feet.

DOWN

Torey Krug- He played a season-low 16:25 and made one memorable gaffe that could have proven costly when he sent an errant pass while on the power play that resulted in Clutterbuck’s breakaway. He later took a needless cross-checking call against Clutterbuck in the third period, Boston’s fifth penalty of the day. Krug has been Boston’s best and most consistent defensemen all season, but this was not his night and it showed in the box score.

Kevan Miller- You try not to pile on, but the free agent defender’s play has been more down than up. He struggles with handling pucks under pressure, does not have the mobility to win a lot of races to loose pucks, and took that sloppy, undisciplined highsticking penalty late in the contest which helped contribute to Boychuk’s power play goal. The Bruins have room for one or the other other Adam McQuaid or Miller, but employing both of them on a regular basis will prove costly.

2015-16 NHL season, Boston Bruins, Colin Miller Leave a comment

Player analysis: Colin Miller

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Colin

Colin “Chiller” Miller has made an immediate impact in Boston despite the team’s early struggles.

It’s Sunday and with NFL games kicking off and the late afternoon hockey game in Brooklyn, here’s a breakdown of Boston Bruins rookie defenseman Colin Miller, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings hours before the first round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft kicked off in exchange for Milan Lucic. The B’s also received goaltender Martin Jones (since traded to San Jose for Sean Kuraly and the Shark’s 2016 first-round selection) and the Kings’ top pick, used to select defenseman Jakub Zboril last June.

Miller has been one of the few bright spots on a beleaguered Boston defense corps in the early going of the 2015-16 season, so we’ll peel the onion back a bit on Miller and take a look at what he brings to the table as a two-way defenseman who appears to be just scratching the surface of what could end up being something special if he continues to develop his impressive physical tools and knack for generating offense. This post will attempt to assess his talents the way the Bruins like to- using their “5 S’s”- Size, Skating, Shot, Sense and Spirit (character), while also looking at his offensive and defensive play based on film study and live game viewing going back to his AHL time with the Manchester Monarchs.

Background: Miller is a late ’92-born player who was first eligible for the NHL draft in 2011, but was passed over that year after completing his first OHL campaign with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, his hometown team. The Kings invited him to their prospects and main camps that summer and he impressed them, but went back into the draft. After an uptick in offensive production in his second OHL season, the Kings spent a fifth-round choice on him in 2012. As he was a second-year eligible, there wasn’t a great deal of information on him leading up to that draft in Pittsburgh. 2012-13 was a major breakout for him, as he scored 20 goals and finished second to Red Wings prospect Ryan Sproul in scoring with the ‘Hounds, tallying 55 points in 54 games that year. A solid if unspectacular rookie pro season with Manchester in 2013-14 was again followed up by a breakthrough year, as Miller scored 19 goals to lead all Monarchs defenders in scoring, while playing a key role on his team’s run to the 2015 Calder Cup championship. In 12 games with the Bruins (he was a healthy scratch on opening night after making the roster out of training camp), Miller has a goal and seven points, and is also a +5. His scoring includes a current six-game streak (1g, 5 assists). He is tied with Zdeno Chara for second on the team in scoring from the blue line behind Torey Krug.

Size: At about 6-foot-1 (he’s probably a shade under that and closer to 6-foot), 196 pounds Miller does not possess ideal size for the position but he’s not undersized either. He’s pretty well in the middle of the physical range which allows him to handle some of the bigger, more powerful forwards in the league.

Skating: Miller is a fluid, effortless skater who generates above average speed in the open ice and demonstrates the lateral mobility required to excel at the position.

He is particularly adept at closing on opponents using a quick short-area burst to narrow and control his gaps, while also possessing the quickness and acceleration to carry the puck out of his own end and lead the rush.  Although it did not result in a goal, he made a memorable rush against Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby this past week in Boston’s 4-1 loss, leveraging his powerful stride to back defenders up in the neutral zone, while effectively and crisply edging to cut across the grain and open up a shooting lane as his opponents lost the containment on him.

More than ever, the modern NHL defenseman must have above average to exceptional skating ability not only to lead and join the rush, but to be able to get back in puck retrieval to beat the opposing forecheck and begin the breakout/transition back to offense. Miller has the skating bona fides in this regard, having won the fastest skater competition at the 2015 AHL All-Star Game, but also excelling in his footwork; pivots and changes of direction. This is particularly noticeable in the way he is able to walk the line on the point to open up shooting lanes for himself or passing lanes for better puck distribution into open spaces and better scoring chances.

Shot: This is one of Miller’s signature attributes, and is why he’s hovered at or around 20 goals in two of out his last three seasons.

As you can see from his first NHL goal, Miller can load up and generate tremendous speed and power on his shot. Again- he won the hardest shot event at the All-Star Game last year, so when Miller is able to step into a shot, it’s a screamer that requires a lot of courage for players to step in front of. He’s also got an effective snap shot, as he will get it off quickly and is able to put it on net through traffic.

Miller has also shown a penchant for identifying effective shot selection by not just putting his head down and driving the puck, but by reading the play and goaltender and making a better choice to hide the release point and get a shot to the net that will either force the goaltender to make a stop, or allow a teammate to deflect it on net for a better scoring opportunity. This plays into his next attribute, which is Miller’s instincts for the game.

 Sense: From an offensive defender standpoint, Miller has higher-end hockey IQ: he can see the ice extremely well and reads the play to react instinctively and make good decisions in moving the puck to an outlet or taking it himself. He plays a poised, mature game for one so relatively young and inexperienced at the NHL level.

On the defensive side of things, he’s still a work in progress, as he will sometimes be a little slower to anticipate where the puck is going when in his own end.  However, there hasn’t been a moment this season where Miller has looked truly lost in the defensive zone- he uses his instincts to make more positive plays than negative ones.

Spirit: After watching him play not only in Boston but in Manchester and even with clips out there from his major junior days, it is readily apparent why Don Sweeney and his pro scouts wanted Miller as part of the return package for Lucic. He plays a spirited, edgy game at times when he needs to, even if being a snarly, physical and even intimidating hitter is not a part of what he brings to the table. Miller has the ability to level a big hit (as evidenced from the preseason hip check above) and will drop the gloves to defend himself or teammates, but he’s much more of an above-the-fray kind of two-way defender who works hard and is a good guy in the room. He’s not an overly adept fighter, but is willing to give it a whirl when challenged. We’ll see his first NHL fight at some point, I’m sure.

Defensive zone play: While not exactly a strength yet, Miller is not a liability in his defensive play. At times, he’s got to remain cognizant of his gap control and stick positioning. Around the net, he has been caught watching the play instead of picking up his man. A lot of what he needs to improve revolves around experience and will likely manifest as he continues to learn and grow within the Boston system and get better with his read/reaction on defense. He’s already a solid 1-on-1 player, who uses his mobility and smarts to keep opponents from taking a direct path to the net. So far, he’s demonstrating effectiveness while partnered with Chara, which should only help him going forward if Claude Julien keeps the two together. In fact, giving Miller an expanded role on the penalty killing unit might help stop the bleeding. He may be young yet, but with his mobility and instincts, it’s worth a shot.

Offensive zone play: Miller is already above average and with Chara’s overall offensive play declining, will challenge Krug as the team’s most capable offensive player from the blue line in time. He is assertive, not afraid to handle the puck at 5-on-5 or on the power play, and skates with his head up, finding the seams in defenses that allows him to make clean passes and maintain puck possession. If one did not know he was a rookie, you would think he’s a 5-10 year veteran sometimes with the way he is able to dish passes off of either side of his blade while making it look effortless in the process.

Projection: “Chiller” has all the makings of a solid No. 2 defender in the NHL and long-term solution in Boston. He has both he physical and mental attributes to log big minutes and play in all situations. He’s in refinement mode, meaning he doesn’t have huge gaps to address in his overall package, but rather- just needs to develop through experience and shared understanding with his teammates and coaches.

In retrospect, it is hard to figure out why Dean Lombardi and the Kings allowed Colin Miller to depart as part of a pretty good package they gave up to Boston without his even being included, but the Bruins and their fans should be happy they did.

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Final Buzzer: Krejci costs B’s in Montreal heartbreak

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They thought had this one.

The Boston Bruins really thought they had it.

But in this day and age, coming close, especially when it happens against the Montreal Canadiens, isn’t good enough.

It was a game the B’s played well enough to win and had a Cinderella story in the making when Frank Vatrano, fresh off his recall and playing in his first NHL game fired home a bullet wrist shot for his first big league goal and a 2-1 lead.

Instead, it turned into just another nightmare on Avenue des Canadiens de Montreal.

That the road team ended up with a 4-2 loss thanks to a late David Desharnais power play that should not have even happened if not for an inconceivable meltdown by another David…Krejci… is going to take a while for this B’s team to wrap their heads around.

With the game tied at 2-2 and seemingly headed to overtime when anything could happen, the Boston veteran went after Canadiens forward and fellow Czech Tomas Plekanec not once, not twice, but three times- an initial attempt to go high on Plekanec went uncalled behind the Boston net as it probably should. We don’t know yet what happened to spark Krejci’s rage, but he then followed Plekanec as the Canadien headed to the bench for a change and cross-checked him from behind. The referee’s arm went up and Krejci then hit him again behind the head as Plekanec began to rise.

The resulting man advantage ended in predictable fashion when your team is sporting a league-worst PK rating. Montreal moved the puck around effortlessly, got a shot on net that Jonas Gustavsson kicked over to Desharnais just off the right post, and he put it in. A Max Pacioretty empty-netter was fait accompli at that point to make it 4-2. It might as well have been 10-2 after so crushing the disappointment of playing so well only to give the Habs a 12th win in the last 13 regular season matchups between these rivals.

The game started well enough, with Montreal playing some undisciplined hockey and taking three first period penalties. The B’s cashed in, with Loui Eriksson tallying his fifth goal of the season to continue his tremendous power play work, as Boston still owns the best man advantage unit in the league- talk about extremes. Patrice Bergeron took a pass from Ryan Spooner and put a shot on net that Eriksson was able to redirect in past Massachusetts native Mike Condon to give the B’s a 1-0 lead less than 2 minutes in.

Montreal tied the game in the second period with a power play marker by Plekanec after he got a pass from Brendan Gallagher and snuck it into the net past Gustavsson at 1:09.

Vatrano fired up the Boston fans when he received a Colin Miller pass (who made it a six-game point streak), curled back towards the Montreal net out by the blue line, then ripped that hard, heavy shot- the one that has become a trademark so early in his pro career- to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead.

With Gustavsson playing well in the second period and nearly half of the third, even weathering a disallowed Montreal goal after it was determined that Gallagher made contact with Gus in the crease, Lars Eller got his third goal of the season out of five total markers against the Bruins to make it a 2-2 game at 8:58.

That set the stage for Krejci’s egregious penalty and another missed opportunity for the Bruins, who have gone 0-3 since beating Tampa Bay last Sunday.

Some late-game ugliness occurred when Nathan Beaulieu hit Zac Rinaldo with a cross-check up high as Rinaldo came in on him behind the net to finish the check. Rinaldo caught the stick in the side of the head and went down, Beaulieu given a match penalty for intent to injure and then chirping at Matt Beleskey as he left the ice. There was no further spillover of what had to be some significant frustration for the Bruins as the game ended.

In the end, we are left with a pretty simple premise. The chances for Boston to not only steal a critical two points on the road but to get an important moral victory for the psyche were there: Torey Krug didn’t hit an open net in the second period on a power play when it looked like the play was there for him to make. Eriksson would have another nice deflection on a Zach Trotman point shot that Condon made an even more impressive save on to keep Boston off the board. But when the B’s look back on this one, Krejci’s inexplicable loss of control will be the major takeaway.

The team will limp off to Brooklyn to face the NY Islanders tomorrow, rested and waiting for a club that doesn’t have any time to dwell on this one.

UP

Frank Vatrano- It’s hard to believe that a year ago, the Western Mass. native was playing in just his first full season at UMass after having to transfer from Boston College due to academic issues and missing all but one game in the 2013-14 campaign. Since the B’s got wise to Vatrano’s willingness to forego his remaining NCAA eligibility last March and inked him as a free agent, the young winger has undergone an astounding transformation- losing significant weight and taking maximum advantage of every opportunity to show off his high-end offensive strengths. Playing on his “off wing” over on the right side tonight, Vatrano had a ‘welcome to the NHL’ moment in the first period when he tried to get past Montreal defender Alexei Emelin along the boards and was drilled with a hard, clean hip check. He then scored his goal in the second frame, and even made a nifty pass to Krejci in the third period that very nearly resulted in a goal and Vatrano posting a helper to go a long with his first NHL goal. The contrast between what Vatrano did with his opportunity and how Alex Khokhlachev looked this week against Dallas and Washington was striking: Vatrano leveraged what he does best and looked exactly like the AHL-leading goal scorer by playing aggressively and looking confident with the puck. He’ll make mistakes out there, but because he’s a dangerous player, you can live with those errors if he’s able to compensate for them by bringing offense to the table. The fact that he got 14:20 of ice playing with Krejci and Eriksson tells you all you need to know about what the Boston coaches thought of his fit on that line. Vatrano has not yet arrived, but even if he goes back down, there is every reason to think that much bigger things are in store.

Zach Trotman- Playing his first game since opening night, Trotman brought some physicality and played with a burr under his saddle. He did make one ill-advised pass in the third period that would have banished him to Siberia had Montreal capitalized, but overall, he played a strong game in place of Joe Morrow, who wore some goat horns after the loss to the Caps Thursday. He is what he is: a role player who is at his best when keeping things simple, but he did what the B’s needed to get out of him after missing so much time while sitting on press level over the past month.

DOWN

David Krejci- It’s hard to fathom how costly a penalty it was for the veteran leader to take even as you rewind the film and watch it. He went after Plekanec once and wasn’t called for it. At that point, he could have quit while he was ahead and skated back to the bench. Maybe the B’s still lose this game on a late goal, in overtime or in a shootout. But the reality is- he made a boneheaded decision that had a significant consequence. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he took all three Boston penalties tonight, two of which ended up with goals on the scoreboard. You give Krejci the benefit of the doubt because this is so out of character for him and he’ll no doubt take it hard once the emotions come down and the reality of how costly his actions were sink in. It’s on to the Islanders, but maybe a motivated Krejci seeking redemption isn’t such a bad thing.

Jonas Gustavsson- Some observers liked his play tonight, I thought he was out of position too much and did a poor job of controlling his rebounds, leading directly to the Eller and Desharnais goals. He gave the Bruins a chance to win, making 29 saves on 32 shots, but he was unable to make a stop when Boston needed it most. He doesn’t get the blame for this loss, but he didn’t do enough to make the difference, either. Back to Tuukka Rask tomorrow.

B’s Penalty Killers- They’re in last place for a reason. The PKers do not maintain their cohesion…they pressure and force at the wrong times, allowing teams to exploit them with puck movement. There is not enough speed and quickness across the board to win more races to pucks and battles along the boards than they should. Kevan Miller is probably not the best choice to kill penalties, but he’s what the coaches are going with. Finally, the last line of defense- the guys between the pipes- just can’t seem to pull out some stops. You feel for them because teams are able to collapse and disrupt the box and diamond with their possession game, but neither Rask nor Gustavsson seem able to stop the bleeding. This is Boston’s achilles heel, especially when the team takes bad penalties.

EDIT- For his part, Krejci took responsibility as expected he would. Here are some postgame quotes from him, which appeared on the Bruins Twitter feed afterwards:

“Stuff like that shouldnt happen…especially when it’s guys that have been in league and know better. Guys battle hard and I do something like that… It was stupid and it cost us the game. I feel bad for letting my teammates and coaches down.”

2015-16 AHL season, 2015-16 NHL season, Boston Bruins, Boston Bruins prospects , Leave a comment

Koko down, Frankie Vatrano up as forward carousel goes round and round

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The Boston Bruins announced today that Alex Khokhlachev has been returned to Providence of the AHL, with left wing Frank Vatrano summoned to Montreal for what could be the Bay Stater’s first career NHL appearance against the Canadiens on Saturday night.

Let me ask you- could achieving the dream of reaching the NHL get any better for a kid who grew up in Western Mass. cheering for the Bruins than by getting to take on the hated les Habitants?

Some folks are none too happy about Koko being relegated, but I have to be honest- I get that he’s played a total of 6 NHL games without ideal ice time, but the player I’ve seen do some impressive things at the AHL level is not the passive, tentative, mediocre forward I’ve seen for limited stretches in Boston. There is no doubt he’s skilled, but there seems to be an element of fans out there who so desperately want him to succeed that they’ve created this illusion of strong performances with the Bruins, and I don’t really see it at all. He’s just kind of been there- neither making egregious errors, but not asserting himself in particularly effective fashion, either.

Most on Twitter who engage me about it seem to want to blame Claude Julien once again- as some kind of Hobgoblin to young players- a draconian taskmaster who employs a system that only the Chris Kellys and Gregory Campbells of the world can figure out. I think at some point- you have to raise expectations for a player as talented as Koko is, and its okay to ask- “where’s the beef?” when he comes up and flits around the ice but doesn’t get a whole lot accomplished.

Too harsh on the guy? Perhaps. As was said before- we’ve seen a completely different, more assertive Koko down in the AHL. He’s capable of more.

So, Frankie Vatrano, Bruins nation turns its lonely eyes to you. The wicked shot with an instantaneous release, pinpoint accuracy and heaviness that belies his lack of height (though he is built like a bowling ball with a thick, powerful trunk) is already well documented. What isn’t as well known to B’s fans is the natural instincts/smarts, the willingness to hustle over all 200 feet of the ice even if the innate ability to play a defensive game aren’t there and the overall body of work still needs to improve.

With 10 goals in 10 AHL games, Vatrano is getting his first shot at the big show. We knew it was coming at some point sooner rather than later, but just a month into the regular season? I’d say that’s worth raising a glass.

As for Koko- it’s not over. He needs to go down, keep scoring and working hard. Many of us thought we had seen the end of Ryan Spooner in a Boston uniform as late as mid-February of this year, and he managed to establish himself. It’s not all lollipops and unicorns, but Khokhlachev could do the same thing if he’s willing to keep his eye on the prize and not give into his frustration by going through the motions or demanding a trade. It’s okay to be disappointed if you’re him, but at 22, it’s doubtful Boston has given up on Koko- he just hasn’t given them a reason to keep him in the mix. For now. The real test is to see how he reacts to this latest setback. We’ll soon learn how he spells c-h-a-r-a-c-t-e-r.

Until then, Vatrano is living the dream- from undrafted free agent snub to Boston Bruin in just under eight months with the offseason thrown into the middle. That’s not too shabby. And while he could soon find himself back down on the farm as well, he’s earned this shot…with that shot of his.

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Final Buzzer: Caps end Boston’s road streak in 4-1 victory

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The Washington Capitals lately the nemesis of the Boston Bruins thanks in large part to the stellar play of goaltender Braden Holtby, gave the Black and Gold their first road loss of the season at the Verizon Center Thursday thanks to goals from Alex Ovechkin, Brooks Laich, John Carlson and Karl Alzner (empty net).

Boston opened scoring in the first period, breaking up Holtby’s shutout streak against the Bruins of nearly 200 minutes when Jimmy Hayes drove hard to the net and banged in Brett Connolly’s shot/pass to the front of the net at 12:47. Defenseman Colin Miller got the secondary assist on the play, adding to his five-game point streak (goal, 4 assists).

The lead did not last, as a Kevan Miller turnover saw the puck end up on Ovechkin’s stick, who fought through traffic to get a shot into the net past Tuukka Rask.

Laich gave the Caps a lead they would not relinquish, as he deflected a Dmitry Orlov point shot down and past Rask just as Bruins defender Joe Morrow arrived to knock him down.

Boston came unglued in the second period, as Hayes took a needless neutral zone slashing penalty, and while Boston’s NHL-worst penalty killing unit was on the ice, Brad Marchand got into a physical battle with the Caps’ TJ Oshie in front of the B’s net. Both players went down, but as Marchand got up, he rabbit-punched Oshie in the back of the head. End result, a 5-on-3 power play for 1:18 that the Caps cashed in on.

With Nicklas Backstrom holding the puck on the right side of the Boston net just behind the goal line and K. Miller down on his knees and out of position, Backstrom slipped a pass to Carlson as he snuck in past the slot penalty killer and fired a shot home to give the home team a decisive lead.

In a mostly scoreless third period, with both Rask and Holtby trading quality saves, Alzner scored into the empty net to finish out the offense on the night in a 4-1 game.

Tyler Randell got back into the Boston lineup for this one and had his first NHL fight against Caps forward Michael Latta, a rival from their OHL days. It was a pretty even bout, with Randell getting the edge in punches landed and the takedown, but Latta got a couple of hard rights in to make it a no decision.

For the Bruins, a tough week that began with the home loss to Dallas was made a little tougher by having to face a goaltender that has essentially owned them in his career. With just 1 goal given up in 246:43, and four consecutive wins against the Bruins, Holtby’s mojo persists.

Colin "Chiller" Miller has arrived in Boston- a keeper. (Photo courtesy of Alison M. Foley)

Colin “Chiller” Miller has arrived in Boston- a keeper. (Photo courtesy of Alison M. Foley)

UP-

Colin Miller- It’s hard not to like what “Chiller” is bringing to the table. He’s scoring points and carrying the puck with confidence, as evidenced by a third period rush, when he skated through three Capitals in the neutral zone, gained the offensive blue line and then put a low shot that Holtby had to squeeze the pads together quickly to stop. As with any defenseman in their first NHL season, there are things to work on, mainly in his defensive coverage and decisions with the puck at times, as he will make higher-risk passes or skate the puck into danger zones when there are better options. But overall, the former Kings prospect has come exactly as advertised and his tangible production and impact- six points in his first 12 big league games- are probably better than anticipated. He’s a keeper.

Braden Holtby- He’s a workhorse, All-Star and he absolutely has Boston’s number. In his last four starts against the Bruins, he posted games with 29, 32, 27 saves- all shutouts, then stopped all but one of Boston’s 28 shots in this one. As someone who used to live in the D.C. area when Holtby was coming up through Washington’s system after a standout WHL career with the Saskatoon Blades, I was always far more impressed with him than I was with the other higher-touted goalies in Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth. When Holtby showed up in April of 2012 to beat the defending Stanley Cup champs in a seven-game first-round playoff series, some mocked me on Twitter at the time for saying the guy was headed for the upper echelon in the NHL. Not too many would deny him his spot there today. “Holt-beast” indeed.

DOWN-

Brad Marchand- His lack of discipline hurt the team badly, and there’s absolutely no excuse for it. If the team didn’t need him so much, it might have made sense to send him a sterner message. Marchand has always been on the edge, but his selfishness tends to manifest at the worst possible time. I’m sure he’ll take accountability for putting his team in the hole like he did if he’s not on record already doing it, but talk is cheap. At some point, he’s got to wake up and stop taking bad penalties like this. That the referees made a ticky-tack call on Hayes to put the B’s down a man to begin with is not the point- Marchand inexplicably gave a head shot to Oshie in full view of the referee. That kind of stuff is unacceptable, and there are no more passes for Marchand- he’s a veteran enough player to understand that by now.

Boston defense- We knew this group of players would have a rollercoaster season given their relative inexperience with Dennis Seidenberg still out (though getting closer to a return). The youngsters have done well for the most part, but tonight, they were a step behind and not effective at doing the corner work or keeping the front of their net clear. Washington forwards did a nice job of pinballing off of checks and working pucks to the net. This kind of thing is going to happen, and fans will have to understand that, but in a game the B’s had the lead in, it’s a shame to see the kinds of breakdowns on the back end that led to Washington goals. Rask didn’t have a lot of help and deserved a better fate. Morrow and K. Miller in particular had forgettable performances and will need to shake that off going forward.

Here are some postgame notes and quotes compliments of the Washington Capitals media relations team:

Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby on slowing down the Bruins…
“[The Bruins] still do one thing really well – that’s getting shots to the front with traffic, and that presence. They’re still really good at that. They have some good D-men that can get the puck on net with wrist shots or what-not and create havoc, and that’s where their toughest plays for us were…I thought we did a good job, especially in the neutral zone – didn’t give them anything really throughout the whole game. We stuck to our game plan, and the power play was huge for us too.”


Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien on how the game got away from the Bruins…

“The first ten minutes were good. I thought once we scored that goal, that’s when I thought we took our foot off the gas and let them get themselves back into the game. Second period was a matter of some real bad penalties that kind of hurts your team and gives them some momentum. Third period we had to claw our way back into it. They’re a good defensive team, and we didn’t get enough shots on net, and we didn’t get enough players in that area as well to be able to score some goals.”

Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien on the effects of the Bruins’ penalties…

“All three penalties – you take a slashing in the neutral zone, you have too many men on the ice when your guy that you’re jumping for [is still on the ice] and the puck is coming – it’s like you’ve got to be smarter than that. So, it’s not just [Brad Marchand]. I thought the second period penalties were real bad penalties on our part.”

 

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand on playing against Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby…

“He’s a good goalie. I think they have a really good team over there, too. We just have to get a few more bodies out front. He’s one of the really good goalies in this league. We just have to find a way to beat him and just get bodies in front.”

The Bruins get to face Montreal on Saturday, with another game Sunday in Boston against the Islanders. This week isn’t going to get any easier.