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

Final Buzzer: B’s break skid with comeback in Montreal

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If you watched the first 47 minutes of the Boston Bruins game against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre Wednesday night, then an eighth consecutive loss to the Habs probably appeared to be fait accompli.

Montreal’s Paul Byron had scored a fluky goal on a shot that deflected into the Boston net off of defenseman Zach Trotman in the first period that had given the home team a 1-0 lead and Canadiens netminder Mike Condon (he of nearby Needham Center) had frustrated Bruins shooters for two full periods and much of the third.

But a funny thing happened on the way to another loss to Boston’s hated rival to the north: goaltender Tuukka Rask turned in what was arguably his best game against Montreal, Loui Eriksson scored a pure hustle goal while killing a penalty, and then Landon Ferraro struck quickly to give the B’s a lead they would not relinquish in an eventual 3-1 victory.

It isn’t that the Bruins played poorly in the first two periods and change, but the Canadiens were the better team not only on paper, but on the ice, where they used their speed and skill to pressure the Boston defense and generate higher danger scoring chances than the B’s as the game went on.

However, Rask was up to the task. He settled in nicely after the Byron goal lent the impression that this might be another one of those games for him…one of the 14 he had lost in his career  (until last night, he had just three wins against that franchise) to a team that seemed to be renting space inside the Boston goalie’s head. If Montreal thought they were bound to add to the lead with the pressure they were putting on the Bruins last night, Rask clearly had other ideas.

With the team down 1-0 and Boston on defense killing a Dennis Seidenberg penalty after taking down B’s nemesis Dale Weise on a partial breakaway, the special teams came through.

Zdeno Chara batted an attempted Montreal pass from the point out of mid-air where it cleared the zone near center ice where Eriksson was. He gathered the puck and tried to separate from Canadiens defender Jeff Petry, but was near the end of the shift and was unable to do so. Although being hounded by his opponent, Eriksson used his experience and patience to maintain control of the puck as he skated in on Condon and then put a perfect shot through the former Princeton goalie’s wickets to tie the score at 7:53 of the final frame.

Ferraro struck just 42 seconds later, skating on a newly adjusted line with Ryan Spooner and Brett Connolly. Spooner got to a loose puck near the left side half-wall, but with his back to the slot, knew Ferraro was in prime scoring position and backhanded a perfect pass to his linemate. Ferraro did not miss, driving a hard snapshot into the upper portion of the net to give the B’s their first lead.

Patrice Bergeron closed out the scoring when he converted a Brad Marchand pass as he cut to the net, taking the puck wide and sliding into the net past a sprawling Condon, who was unable to seal the right post with his pad. Matt Beleskey made a fine play to set the goal up by forcing a turnover behind the Montreal net and getting the puck to Marchand.

The win was Boston’s first regular season victory at the Bell Centre since March 12, 2014 and was only the team’s second in the last 13 games. It also raised the team’s road record to 10-2-2, the top mark  in the Eastern Conference.

It sets up the two teams’ New Years Day matchup in Gillette Stadium for the 2016 Winter Classic nicely.

Tuukka_Rask

Tuukka Rask (Photo courtesy of Alison M. Foley)

UP

Tuukka Rask- Immense game from the guy who is on top of his game after a brutal start to the season. In 20 games, he is 10-7-2, with a 2.63 GAA and .910 save percentage- hardly Vezina Trophy-like numbers, but given where he started from, a drastic improvement. Rask had no chance on the Byron goal, but he was terrific when he needed to be, particularly on a Tomas Plekanec deflected shot early in the third period that would have put Montreal up 2-0.

Loui Eriksson- The veteran impending unrestricted free agent continues to have a fine year, netting his 11th goal of the season- good for second place on the team behind Marchand’s 13 markers. He was near the end of his shift on the penalty kill, but instead of playing it safe and dumping the puck, he recognized the opening and did a great job of protecting it from the harassing Petry, then being patient enough to let Condon open up his pads before putting the shot past him. It was an example of a player not having the breakaway speed to separate, but using guile and a strong hockey IQ to make the play.

Landon Ferraro- With three goals and five points in eight games since Boston plucked him from waivers, he’s provided needed speed and an offensive dimension that the Red Wings were hoping for back in 2009 when they made him their top pick (early second round). That Ferraro-Spooner-Connolly combo on the third line might be worth keeping together for a bit to see if they can keep going to the well.

Patrice Bergeron- He continues to be the heart and soul of this Boston team. It was white knuckle time as the Bruins desperately tried to cling to a one-goal lead with Montreal mounting the pressure to tie the game, and Bergeron snuffed it with one of his signature blue collar quick strikes to give the B’s insurance. It was also his 576th career point, moving him past Milt Schmidt into sole possession of 11th place on the team.

DOWN

The Boston defense- With Colin Miller and Joe Morrow scratched for this one, there is not enough speed and agility on the back line with a core veteran group. Kevan Miller is good (maybe ‘good’ isn’t the word to use) for at least one glaringly bad turnover per game, and Chara, although he made the play on Eriksson’s equalizer, is laboring to stay with quicker, more nimble forwards. Seidenberg and Adam McQuaid work hard, but are limited and don’t bring much of an offensive dimension, though the collective experience does make up a little for what other players can bring in the way of mobility. Bottom line- the Bruins can’t count on lights-out games from Rask every night, so if Claude Julien stays with this group, we’re going to experience our share of peaks and valleys during the course of the remaining schedule.

 

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

Final Buzzer: Bruins, Gustavsson can’t overcome Predators

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A Monday night matchup at home with the Nashville Predators ended in a 3-2 regulation loss for the Boston Bruins, who continue to play sub-.500 hockey at TD Garden this season.The play of Jonas Gustavsson, back in net two games after being yanked from action after surrendering three goals against the Calgary Flames, gave the team a chance but it wasn’t enough, as a Viktor Arvidsson goal in the final five minutes of the third period broke a 2-2 deadlock.

Defenseman Roman Josi near singlehandedly took out Boston with a two-goal performance one game after D partner Shea Weber tallied the first hat trick by a blue liner in franchise history. The B’s energy levels were up and down, but as the game went on, the visitors wrested control of the tempo and outshot the Bruins by a wide margin, 33-17.

Kevan Miller gave the B’s an early lead when his shot deflected off of Nashville defender Colton Sissons‘ skate and up under the crossbar behind backup goalie Carter Hutton. David Krejci and Matt Beleskey assisted on the defenseman’s second goal of the season, coming in his first game back after being on the shelf with an injury.

Josi tied the game with a power play marker in the final 25 seconds of the opening frame, getting some open space outside the left faceoff circle and placing the puck in a perfect shot over Gustavsson’s shoulder. The man advantage tally ended Boston’s string of 13 consecutive penalties killed.

Boston re-took the lead at 10:53 of the second period when Preds forward James Neal was  given a minor for embellishment and Loui Eriksson jammed a Ryan Spooner pass home for his 10th goal of the season.

The garden party was short-lived, however, as a poor Zdeno Chara clearing attempt was intercepted by Josi while the B’s were killing a Patrice Bergeron hooking penalty taken at 11:08.  It appeared that Chara was yelling at the referee for something that happened while he made the pass, and he compounded the situation by turning the wrong way and allowing Josi to skate by him with a direct path to the net. Cutting in from the right side, Josi not only evaded a weak stick check attempt by Chara, but then beat Gustavsson across the goalmouth to put the puck in on the far side, giving him his seventh goal of the season and second of the night.

That set the stage for a see-saw affair in the final frame, which saw Nashville enjoy the advantage in puck possession and scoring chances. Arvidsson took a Cody Hodgson pass, evaded Miller in the Boston zone, then deftly closed on Gustavsson, getting the goalie to bite on a failed poke check before putting the winning shot past him after skating around his prone form.

UP

Jonas Gustavsson- His 30 saves gave the Bruins a chance to win a game they could have been blown out in. The winning goal was scored on an aggressive but ultimately ill-advised play, but the rest of Gus’s mates weren’t there last night to give him better support. If he wanted to send a message after being off his game against Calgary, mission accomplished even if he didn’t achieve the desired outcome.

Patrice Bergeron- The assist on Ericsson’s second period PPG was the 575th point of his fine career. It tied him for 11th place on the team’s all-time list. 13 more points will move him past Peter McNab for 10th place and 591 points will jump ahead of Cam Neely. Bergeron is on pace to occupy eighth place, currently held by Terry O’Reilly with 606 points. On the down side, his hooking penalty in the second period allowed the Predators to tie the score on Josi’s second power play goal of the game.

Tyler Randell- Showed Eric Nystrom why he has a reputation for being one of the nastiest fighters during his tenure with Providence. One he got his right hand free during their second period bout, Randell began pistoning his fist into Nystrom’s head, at first making contact with his helmet, but then dropping him with two consecutive shots to the face. With four goals and the toughness needed for the bottom line, Randell is doing the tough work that the B’s need for balance in their lineup.

Ryan Spooner- His pass to Eriksson was vintage Spooner, and although he was denied on what should have been a layup goal after deking Hutton out of his jock in the second period, he impressed on a couple of hard-working defensive plays. For a player who receives significant criticism for his 5-on-5 play, Spooner skated hard and made one memorable back check deep in his own zone to separate the puck from Filip Forsberg and deny a quality scoring chance.

Roman Josi- His two goals made a big difference in this one, but he also engaged Brad Marchand in his first career NHL fight. It wasn’t much of a bout, but the Swiss defender killed the Bruins last night.

DOWN

Joonas Kemppainen- Suffered some kind of injury that kept him out of the lineup. Will be interesting to see how the lines look if he is unable to suit up Wednesday against Montreal.

James Neal- Called for a dive, which he may not have been guilty of, but this is what happens when you build a reputation for gamesmanship and embarrass on-ice officials. Tim Peel’s profanity-laced call was picked up by the microphones, which made it even more interesting. Neal is one of those players who generates a lot of schadenfreude, especially since it took the B’s just nine seconds to make him pay for it. When you talk  about players who don’t get the benefit of the doubt in those kinds of situations, Neal is exhibit A. But, he’s not the only one…ahem…Mr. Marchand.

 

2015-16 AHL season, 2015-16 CHL season, 2015-16 NCAA season Leave a comment

Bruins Prospects Update 12/07/15

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This past week was a good one offensively for Boston Bruins prospects at the pro (AHL) and amateur (CHL) levels.

Providence got Alex Khokhlachev back sooner than expected and went 3-0-0 over the weekend in the process, also getting good play in net from Malcolm Subban and Zane McIntyre.

The bigger story was a two-game explosion by Zach Senyshn, who posted 4-goal and 3-goal games on Friday and Saturday nights (he was blanked in Sunday OT victory) as his Soo Greyhounds also went 3-0-0 in their spate of weekend games. Neither Senyshyn nor Jake DeBrusk were invited to Team Canada’s World Jr. camp, but with that burst of offense, would imagine both players will be on the radar should Canada lose any forwards between now and the tournament to injury or illness. B’s fans might recall that back in late 2011, Ryan Spooner had made the team only to come down with mononucleosis over the holidays and lose his last chance to skate in the WJC. DeBrusk is a late ’96, so if he isn’t in the mix as a fill-in, then he won’t be eligible next year. Senyshyn, Jeremy Lauzon and Jesse Gabrielle, however, will all be strongly in the mix for Canada in 2017 given how their seasons are going.

Two Bruins futures are headed to the Czech Republic camp in defenseman Jakub Zboril and goalie Daniel Vladar, while Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson is an invite for Team Sweden after being on their squad that played exhibition games in Lake Placid last August- expect him to make the cut.

USA defenseman Brandon Carlo is a lock after being on the 2015 USA WJC squad and Notre Dame sophomore Anders Bjork is a veteran of the US NTDP and with his versatility and production this season for the Fighting Irish, is a good bet to make the roster.

And now

 

AHL

Alex Khokhlachev, C Providence Bruins

GP- 14 Goals- 5 Assists- 11 Points- 16 Penalty Min- 2 +/- -4

Koko not only made it back into the lineup sooner than expected by at least a week, but also registered three points (g, 2a) in Providence’s three wins. His production kept him atop the team’s scoring order with Seth Griffith just one point behind.

Seth Griffith, RW Providence Bruins

GP- 16 Goals- 7 Assists- 8 Points- 15 Penalty Min- 12 +/- -2

Three goals and five points in three games for Griffith gave Providence a nice boost in getting the team back on a winning track.

Austin Czarnik, C Providence Bruins

GP- 16 Goals- 3 Assists- 7 Points- 10 Penalty Min- 10 +/-  4

The rookie pro went 1-1-2 after going through a six game slump without a point.

Tommy Cross, D Providence Bruins

GP- 18 Goals- 1 Assists- 9 Points- 10 Penalty Min- 29 +/- -5

With a goal and three points in his last six games, Cross has been one of the few bright spots on Providence of late. Since returning from his first NHL stint, Cross is playing with renewed confidence and energy as team captain.

Chris Casto, D Providence Bruins

GP- 20 Goals- 0 Assists- 10 Points- 10 Penalty Min- 14 +/- -6

Has not found the back of the net, but Casto is quietly having a productive season, his third since signing with the B’s as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2013.

Colby Cave, C Providence Bruins

GP- 23 Goals- 6 Assists- 3 Points- 9 Penalty Min- 8 +/- -7

Colton Hargrove, LW Providence Bruins

GP- 16 Goals- 3 Assists- 4 Points- 7 Penalty Min- 23 +/- -1

Three assists and 15 minutes worth of penalties in Sunday’s game after being assessed a misconduct has given Hargrove pretty respectable numbers given the expectations coming in that he would be more of an enforcer in his first pro season. The 2012 seventh-rounder showed flashes of untapped offensive potential at Western Michigan, and he’s following up with that in the AHL.

Noel Acciari, C Providence Bruins

GP- 21 Goals- 3 Assists-3  Points- 6 Penalty Min- 7 +/- -1

After being one of Providence’s best players in the past couple of weeks following a tentative start, Acciari took a slap shot to the face and is out indefinitely with a broken jaw.

Anton Blidh, LW Providence Bruins

GP- 21 Goals- 5 Assists- 0 Points- 5 Penalty Min- 10 +/- -3

Blidh was held scoreless during Providence’s win streak last week. However, like everyone- the burst of offense did lower his plus/minus a few points.

Zack Phillips, C Providence Bruins

GP- 20 Goals- 2  Assists- 2  Points- 4 Penalty Min- 4 +/- -14

It’s looking more and more each day that both Phillips and Jared Knight, the player he was traded for, simply aren’t going to live up to where they were drafted in 2011 and 2010 respectively. Phillips has played poorly and was unable to capitalize on Koko’s long absence and the opportunity he was afforded to step up. He looks nothing like the first-round pick the Wild spent on him (28th) four years ago.

Linus Arnesson, D Providence Bruins

GP- 15 Goals- 0 Assists- 1 Points- 1 Penalty Min- 0 +/- -1

Out of the lineup with an injury.

Malcolm Subban, G Providence Bruins

GP- 11 MIN- 663 GA- 31 GAA- 2.81 Spct- .890 W- 4 L-5 OTL 2 SO- 1

He’s back on track of late, but Subban needs to maintain the positive stretch for a lot longer. His 2-0 week certainly helped his numbers, though.

Zane McIntyre, G Providence Bruins

GP- 11 MIN- 658 GA- 32 GAA- 2.92 Spct- .883 W- 4 L- 4 OTL- 3

McIntyre still has much to learn as he adjusts to the speed and demands of pro hockey, but he’s been more consistent than Subban in the early going. Given his overall ability and work ethic, the former North Dakota star puck stopper is more than the sum of his parts.

 

OHL

Zach Senyshyn, RW Saulte Ste Marie Greyhounds

GP- 28 Goals- 18 Assists- 7 Points- 25 Penalty Min- 4 +/- -9

The Jack Black/Kyle Gass duo Tenacious D once wrote a song called “Explosivo” and that’s what Senyshyn was in two games this past weekend, firing home 7 goals and 9 points. It doesn’t matter if you think he should have more points as the 15th overall pick or if he was a “reach” or what have you. Senyshyn has demonstrated some major league upside with a lot of his plays this year that have wound up in the back of the net and with 18 goals already, he’s well on pace to crush his 26 goals from a year ago.

QMJHL

Jeremy Lauzon, D Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

GP- 26 Goals- 5 Assists- 28 Points- 34 Penalty Min- 50 +/- 26

Just three more points will move Lauzon past his point total from last season, which he achieved in 60 games. Rouyn-Noranda’s top defender is getting it done on both sides of the ice and is in this view, the best defensive prospect in the organization given how well-rounded his overall game is and the fact that he’s effective in any situation both as a skill player with ruggedness/the ability to shutdown offensive chances.

Jakub Zboril, D Saint John Sea Dogs

GP- 21 Goals- 3 Assists- 6 Points- 9 Penalty Min- 26 +/- 2

Watched his game against Halifax over the weekend and saw long stretches of ineffective/uninvolved play. He missed out on the next game due to injury, so that might have had something to do with it. Still, much more expected from the 13th overall selection to be honest.

 

WHL

Jake DeBrusk, LW Swift Current Broncos

GP- 19 Goals- 8 Assists- 15 Points- 23 Penalty Min- 13 +/- -3

Jesse Gabrielle, LW Prince George Cougars

GP- 28 Goals- 16 Assists- 10 Points- 26 Penalty Min- 45 +/-  4

Prince George’s top scorer keeps motoring along.

Brandon Carlo, D Tri-City Americans

GP- 20 Goals- 2 Assists- 12 Points- 14 Penalty Min- 55 +/- -4

Carlo got good news today, named to the Team USA WJC evaluation camp, but as mentioned earlier, he’s a lock for the Helsinki squad, as he is a WJC veteran from a year ago.

NCAA

Ryan Fitzgerald, F Boston College Eagles (HEA)

GP- 14 Goals- 11 Assists- 10 Points- 21 Penalty Min- 31 +/- 18

Fitzgerald played with a heavy heart this weekend after losing his grandfather, Thomas R. “Tommy” Fitzgerald, who passed away. Mr. Fitzgerald was a major influence on Billerica Youth Hockey and touched many lives with his passion and knowledge of the sport. His grandson tallied a goal and assist to continue to keep up his career scoring pace.

Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, C Boston University Terriers (HEA)

GP- 16 Goals- 4 Assists- 10 Points- 14 Penalty Min- 10 +/- 1

Anders Bjork, LW University of Notre Dame (HEA)

GP- 16 Goals- 5 Assists- 10 Points- 15 Penalty Min- 4 +/- 15

With three points in two games, Bjork added a +5 to his plus/minus rating. He was named to Team USA WJC evaluation camp today

Danton Heinen, LW Denver University Pioneers (NCHC)

GP- 14 Goals- 5 Assists- 5 Points- 10 Penalty Min- 0 +/- 1

Rough weekend for Denver, who scored just one goal as a team in two losses to the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks (sorry- just can’t get on board with the new team name there).

Ryan Donato, C Harvard University (ECAC)

GP- 10 Goals- 4 Assists- 5 Points- 9 Penalty Min- 10 +/-  6

Donato had a couple of assists over the weekend, but the best news came today when he was one of three Bruins prospects (Bjork, Carlo) named to the Team USA WJC evaluation camp in Boston later this month.

Cameron Hughes, C University of Wisconsin (Big Ten)

GP- 14 Goals- 1 Assists- 8 Points- 9 Penalty Min- 6 +/- -6

With three assists in his last three games, Hughes is finding ways to produce on one of the weaker NCAA offenses.

Sean Kuraly, C Miami University (NCHC)

GP- 16 Goals- 2 Assists- 4 Points- 6 Penalty Min- 17 +/- -5

Matt Benning, D Northeastern University (HEA)

GP- 17 Goals- 2 Assists- 4 Points- 6 Penalty Min- 17 +/- -12

Matt Grzelcyk, D Boston University (HEA)

GP-6 Goals 2 Assists- 3 Points- 5 Penalty Min- 12 +/- 2

Grzelcyk is still out with a lower body (knee injury).

 

 

Wiley Sherman, D Harvard University (ECAC)

GP- 10 Goals- 2 Assists- 2 Points- 4 Penalty Min- 6 +/- 5

Rob O’Gara, D Yale University (ECAC)

GP- 11 Goals- 0 Assists- 3 Points- 3 Penalty Min- 14 +/- -4

 

Europe

Peter Cehlarik, LW Lulea (Sweden)

GP- 19 Goals- 5 Assists- 3 Points- 8 Penalty Min- 0 +/- -2

2013 third-rounder scored a couple of goals in SHL play since last update.

Emil Johansson, D HV71 (Sweden)

GP- 23 Goals- 0 Assists- 2 Points- 2 Penalty Min- 12 +/- -1

Maxim Chudinov, D St Petersburg SKA (Russia)

GP- 35 Goals- 6 Assists- 8 Points- 14 Penalty Min- 75 +/- -7

Chudinov’s production has ticked up over last seven games with a couple of goals and helpers. It is still not known whether he and the Bruins will work to sign a contract or if the team will allow him to enter free agency in  summer.

USHL

Daniel Vladar, G Chicago (USHL)

GP- 13 MIN- 737 GA- 26 GAA- 2.12 Spct .925 SO- 2; 3-5-3

Jack Becker, C Sioux Falls (USHL)

GP- 23 Goals- 3 Assists- 5 Points- 8 Penalty Min- 2 +/- -1

2015-16 NHL season, Boston Bruins , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Thoughts on the Bruins and 4-0 win over Canucks

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Brad_Marchand

Brad Marchand is on a career-best goal scoring pace and is none the worse for wear after a Brandon Prust spearing incident (Photo courtesy of Alison M. Foley)

The Boston Bruins closed out their three-game Western Canada road swing with a decisive win over the fallen-on-hard-times Vancouver Canucks with a 4-0 win at the Rogers Arena Saturday night.

Brad Marchand continued his blistering scoring pace (8 goals in his last 9 games) by potting the game-winner just 2:54 into his 400th career NHL game. His 13th goal of the season has him on a 40+ goal pace, which would easily eclipse his personal best of 28 (in 76 games) which came during the 2011-12 season. To put it in perspective, Marchand’s best goals-per-game ratio happened during the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season when he tallied 18 markers in 45 regular season games. With 13 in 23, he is en fuego, and it could not have come at a more important time for the team as the defense collectively continues to be an adventure from night to night.

Torey Krug ripped a one-timer slap shot past Canucks starter Jacob Markstrom and high into the net to make it 2-0, and for Krug, you had to figure that some of the many pucks (74 shots in 25 games) he’s been getting on opposing goaltenders would start to go through. It was Krug’s second goal in three games after going the first 15 contests of 2015-16 before finding the back of the net against Detroit on Nov. 14. Krug got off to a very good start as one of the most effective defenders in Boston, but hit a rough patch last month, when it appeared he was trying to do a little too much and started coughing up pucks and making ill-advised decisions with his passes. Of late, he’s settling back in (though his ice time has gone down on average from the highs of 24-26 minutes a game in late October to hovering around 20-22), and has focused more on the defensive side of his game. He had a season-high five shot blocks in the loss to Calgary Friday and has registered a total of 13 in his last four games. As an undersized player, Krug is never going to have it in him to take on the majority of the NHL forwards he goes up against in a sheer physical contest, but he can play it smart positionally and by giving up the body to deny scoring chances on his net minders, he’s doing the little things.

Landon Ferraro has been a revelation. He wired a shot past Markstrom in the second period after taking a long lead pass from Zdeno Chara and using his speed to create a shooting lane. His drive from the right side was  may have been deflected by a Canucks player on the way in, but his family including father Ray, and stepmother Cammi Granato (yes, that Cammi Granato and check out Landon’s younger stepbrothers all decked out in Bruins gear) were in the building to see him score his second goal as a member of the Bruins (he added an assist on Tyler Randell’s third period goal for his first career multi-point game in the NHL). Ferraro was an early second-round pick in 2009 who came out of the WHL with the reputation for speed and scoring, but not seen as all that accomplished in terms of playing a complete, 200-foot game. Well, the 24-year-old has addressed that, as he’s brought an energy, tenacity and diligence that Claude Julien and the coaches demand from the players. Ferraro was unable to carve out a niche for himself in the Motor City, but he looks like a real find for the Bruins to stabilize the bottom line for now, with a chance to develop and expand his role on the team going forward (two goals, four points in his six games with the B’s to date). When you consider that the team failed with their first rounder  Jordan Caron, the fact that Ferraro and Randell are giving them life from the 2009 draft, it takes some (but nowhere near all) of the sour taste away from Boston’s failures in that arena from 2007-09. The name of the game in the modern NHL is to have the complementary, lower-cost but effective and productive pieces in place to offset higher veteran salaries to manage the available cap space. With a cap hit of about $452k this season, Ferraro is doing precisely that for his new team. Having looked at film of him with Red Deer and Everett of the WHL and Grand Rapids (AHL) and Detroit, I have little doubt that Ferraro has a chance to develop into a high-end third line forward and special teams ace. He’s not likely to be a legitimate top-six forward option, but getting those types off the waiver wire is hard to do. On a team that needed an infusion of speed and puck skills, he’s brought that. But Ferraro has also played with more jam than I thought he would. Give Don Sweeney and his pro scouts (Adam Creighton chief among them) credit here- they may have found themselves a keeper.

Zach Trotman is playing on the top line and doing well given the circumstances. He’s got the natural size you want from a defender and as a right shot, he’s the best one suited to play on the other side with Chara. I said before the season that Trotman is a solid, if unspectacular option who isn’t likely to ever develop into a true No. 1 or 2 at the NHL level. Pointing to his mere presence on the top pairing and calling him a No. 2 is not how it works, guys. Having said that, I believe he is a serviceable player who just needs to keep playing in order to get the best out of him, and Julien has done that after benching him early in the year. Trotman is at an interesting nexus between statistical performance and trends and the long accepted “eye test” with his play. He’s more Allen Pedersen or Hal Gill (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that when employed properly) than he is a top two-way defender, but with his cannon and ability to make an effective first pass, he’s getting the job done with Chara. Trotman will still make poor decisions and giveaways in high danger areas in his own end- he’s got to cut down on that. But while I don’t agree with at least one supporter who sees him as a legitimate top defender at this level, I do not see him as a liability the way other critics do. He’s not as snarly as Kevan Miller is, but he’s a far more effective player in terms of his skating and the way he handles the puck and sees the ice. At the end of the day, both can play at this level, but if you’re counting on both of them in the top-six rotation at the same time, then the B’s are probably going to have issues being a real team in contention over the long haul.

Of course, with Adam McQuaid’s status up in the air after leaving last night’s game with what appeared to be a wrist injury, the team might end up doing just that. Here’s hoping we’ll see more of Dennis Seidenberg and Colin Miller, but you never quite know how the Boston coaches see things versus the rest of us.

Patrice Bergeron and Marchand are the best, most recognized center-wing combo in Boston since Adam Oates and Cam Neely– such a shame they only truly had just two seasons (one of them being the lockout year of 1994-95 at that) to make their magic together. I guess one could make the case for  Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov or Glen Murray and that’s a fair assertion to make. Either way, when it comes to what the fans crave and respect, it does not get much better than what Bergeron and Marchand are doing right now, and have done in the past. Bergeron is at just below a point-per-game pace with 24 in 25- but his previous season best for points was 73 in 81 games way back when he was 20 years old in the 2005-06 season. Not sure if his current production rate is sustainable, but given he led the club with 55 points a year ago, we’ll certainly take it. Bergeron does the little things that often go unnoticed and the fact that Marchand is finishing off the chances he’s getting from his center feeds into that production. As long as these two stay hot, the B’s have a chance at staying firmly in the playoff hunt.

Speaking of sustainable paces vs. unsustainable…Tyler Randell’s shooting percentage of 34 won’t stay up there, but there is a lot to be said for a guy who gets as little ice time as he does having four goals in just 14 of his team’s 25 games. His skating is better…the hands/shot were always there…he’s got to keep working hard and moving his feet. If you had told me before the season to guess a player with no previous NHL experience who would have the same or more goals than either of Jimmy Hayes and Matt Beleskey but in fewer games, Randell’s name would not have been on the tip of my tongue. He’s a tough bastard, too…he’s earned his limited ice time and should have an opportunity to get some more as the season goes on. His effort level is what will determine to a large degree how much of a role he can establish for himself, so that’s on Randell. He’s just got to keep grinding away, but so far, so good. And as for Hayes, he was a healthy scratch for the second time already this season- he’s on notice that when he doesn’t move his feet, he’s not accomplishing much. The team expects and ought to get more from him.

Speaking of the fourth line, even Zac Rinaldo got into the act of helping last night, coming up short in a quest for the Gordie Howe Hat Trick with an assist and his first fight as a Bruin against Derek Dorsett in one of the more spirited bouts I’ve seen this season. See for yourself if you like that sort of thing.

Tuukka Rask came in and gave his club a chance to win the Calgary game. Last night, en route to earning his third shutout of the season and 29th of his career (just two away from tying Timmy Thomas for third in franchise history) he wasn’t tested all that much (17 saves) by what is a pretty moribund Canucks team. Still, he’s trending upwards and has played much more of late like the former Vezina Trophy winner. I have always respected Rask’s talent, but his body language and attitude at times has been an area of contention for me. He’s certainly not alone in that regard when it comes to goalies over the years. Patrick Roy was infamous for this kind of thing when it wasn’t going his way, but he’s also a Hall of Fame player and four-time Stanley Cup champ. I was raised in a culture that the goalie is the last line of defense and even when the team in front of you screws up, you don’t show them up and jump on their case after a goal is scored against. Besides, most everyone watching who understands the game knew where the breakdown occurred, anyway. Rask has always been one of those guys where when he’s playing well, you hear him say “I…I…I…” a lot and “We…we…we…” when the club is losing or not playing well. Even the most ardent Rask supporters know that in their hearts he’s moody and tends to get surly when the good times aren’t rolling. On a team like Boston as currently constructed, where we all knew coming in that we were going to see peaks and valleys, that’s not necessarily a positive fit. So, I’ll just say that as long as he keeps playing like this, the Bruins have a chance. Good on him for shutting the Canucks down last night and allowing the B’s to maintain control throughout. That’s the type of play the Bruins need from their top goalie and proof that he doesn’t have to stand on his head every night to be effective.

Finally, Brandon Prust and his spear on Marchand’s “fun spot” (his words not mine) in the game’s final moments (he got a match penalty but the Bruins didn’t get a power play out of it) is a fitting coda last night and spotlight to the mess the Canucks are right now.

Their goaltending isn’t very good…their core players are aging…the young players, while skilled and impressive options for the future aren’t ready for primetime. Prust’s actions, while meet with jeers from Boston fans and cheers from everyone else who despises Marchand, demonstrate the hypocrisy that has become so ugly and prevalent in the modern age of the Internet. There is simply no excuse for that kind of lousy sportsmanship and blatant disrespect. As someone who did not ever once defend Milan Lucic when he did it himself while wearing a Boston uniform and has at times been critical of Marchand’s on- and off-ice antics that have distracted away from the professional pursuit of winning, I don’t want to ever see or hear any righteous finger wagging coming from Vancouver and their fans/analysts again. At some point, we have to get past the intellectually dishonest partisanship of justifying bad behavior and call things for what they are.

What happens to Prust is up to the NHL and its player safety department, but I’m disappointed in those who seem to think that spear was in any way justified or acceptable. You instantly lose any moral high ground you think you own when you resort to that kind of moral equivalence in your reasoning, and to be frank- it’s beneath contempt and shameful. Prust embarrassed himself, his team, the league and the sport. This from a guy who ranted at an opponent recently on Twitter for fighting one of his young teammates, too. The hypocrisy from Prust and his enablers over the entire course of his checkered hockey career going back to the cheapshot he delivered to former Bruin Matt Lashoff when the two were in the OHL, reeks.

I expect a lot more from a Willie Desjardins-coached team, and being around him during his time with the Texas Stars, I bet he wasn’t at all amused with Prust’s actions last night and the stain (however small) that put on Vancouver in what was a pretty putrid game for them overall. Enough with the moral outrage out of that lovely city (man, they’re such a riot sometimes)- that team and their fans have just given up the right to complain about anything for a while and maybe they should just shut up and worry about winning hockey games from now on? Just a thought. No Cups in 45 years. No Cups for that franchise, period. Let that sink in for a bit and one more thing: scoreboard, Vancouver- better luck next time.

Okay- off the soapbox. Bruins got four out of six points on the roadie. Maybe not enough to inspire another Meatloaf song, but good enough to get them back into the tight jockeying for playoffs in the East.

 

 

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Johnny Hockey hatty lifts Flames in OT

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I’ll do more via Final Buzzer tomorrow, but the Boston Bruins overcame 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to take a 4-3 lead into the final seconds before coughing it up on a Jiri Hudler strike with 1.2 ticks left to send the game at the Scotia Bank Saddledome to overtime. Johnny Gaudreau completed his hat trick in memorable fashion after Zdeno Chara inexplicably tried a fancy, behind-the-back pass that was picked off and sent the Flames off on a jailbreak rush.

Game, set, match.

It was a rough night for Chara all around despite scoring his fifth goal of the season in a multi-point effort- his giveaway resulted in Gaudreau’s first goal of the night, just 33 seconds in. The captain was also on the ice and unable to get to a weak David Krejci clearing attempt that was slowed down by the end-of-game ice surface and held in, resulting in the tying goal. To top it off, he took a delay of game with 2:17 left in regulation for putting the puck out of play.

So, yes- you hate to pile on Chara because he’s been such a top performer over the years, but the team rightfully expects and should get better play from its most senior veteran and top d-man (though Chara’s place among the NHL’s other No. 1s is rapidly diminishing). Mistakes are understandable, but a giveaway like the one he made in OT is not.

He simply has to be better in that situation and others from here on out. This defense is simply not talented or balanced enough to survive nights when Chara’s head is writing checks his aging body can’t cash.

Yes, the Bruins got a point in the standings, but they’ve surrendered two points to teams below them in the standings now in the last two games. We saw this movie last year and it didn’t end well. You simply cannot give away opportunities.

The dedicated Chara fans out there will point to the offense or point out mistakes made by others in predictable fashion to justify his mediocrity in Calgary, and they aren’t completely incorrect. Sure- he had a couple of points tonight, but this is an important example of a player getting on the scoresheet but not having a strong performance in the final review. When the question is asked of whether Chara was there when the team needed him most tonight, the execution was lacking.

Claude Julien has no problem hammering and benching the Zach Trotmans and Joe Morrows of the world when they screw up on ice. Let’s see if he has the moral courage and intestinal fortitude to jerk a knot in the captain’s ass over this one.

Probably not, but the team can’t afford too many more of these nights, even as entertaining as the game certainly was.

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Scouting Post Bruins Prospect of the Month November: Ryan Fitzgerald

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With Massachusetts native Frank Vatrano getting the honor last month (and what do you know- he was up to the big club shortly thereafter) we’re staying in the Bay State this month with Boston College junior Ryan Fitzgerald winning a close race between Prince George Cougars forward Jesse Gabrielle and crosstown NCAA rival Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson.

The intent for the SPBPOTM is not to stick with the hometown guys, but North Reading native Fitzgerald earned it with his consistent offensive play, impact on special teams with power play and shorthanded scores, and an overall energy and hunger to prove himself. The 2013 fourth-round selection is currently second on the Eagles in scoring behind freshman and Ottawa first-rounder Colin White.

Fitzgerald’s highlight game happened against Michigan State on Nov. 13, when he scored a pair of goals (one into an empty net) and added two more assists for the first four-point night of his NCAA career in a 6-4 win over the Spartans.

The former two-time Massachusetts state champion at Malden Catholic played a season of junior in the USPHL with the Valley Jr. Warriors before entering BC for the 2013-14 season. Going into the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Fitzgerald was widely projected as a second-round pick, but concerns about his size and lack of breakaway speed might have conspired to give his hometown Bruins a superb value with the penultimate pick of the fourth round (120th overall).

Like his father, Tom, who played more than 1,000 career NHL games after being a first-round pick of the NY Islanders in 1986 (and finished his playing career with the B’s two decades later), the oldest of three sons plays a scrappy, energetic game. If he’s not blazing fast, Fitzgerald uses his high-end hockey sense and anticipatory instincts to get the jump on opponents. Constantly in motion, he creates turnovers with an active stick and reads the play before it develops, getting himself into position to set up and finish plays.

Fitzgerald’s ties to the Bruins are not just restricted to his father’s brief stint in the Black and Gold. His uncle, Scott Fitzgerald, is the team’s assistant director of amateur scouting and is hitting his scouting stride again after suffering life-threatening injuries in a vehicular accident in early 2013. A younger brother, defenseman Casey Fitzgerald, is a freshman at BC and was not selected in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

With 10 goals and 19 points in his first 12 games, Fitzgerald is off to the best start in his three impactful seasons on Chestnut Hill. He scored 30 goals in 78 games of his first two NCAA seasons, so the consistency and ability to finish has been evident from day one.

The Bruins will be patient with Fitzgerald and allow him maximum time to develop, and when he turns pro, expect for him to spend time in Providence of the AHL before he’s ready to try his two-way game at the NHL level and follow in his dad’s footsteps.

Gabrielle, who has 16 goals and 25 points in 26 games with the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, is having his finest WHL season to date after beginning with the Brandon Wheat Kings before a mid-season trade to the Regina Pats in 2015. Dealt to the western outpost of Prince George over the summer, Gabrielle has been a productive, gritty forward who isn’t afraid to bring some nastiness to the mix. He’s scoring, hitting and fighting. He’s bigger than his idol, Brad Marchand, and therefore able to assert himself more on the physical side. Also like Marchand, he’s still working on reining in the emotions at key moments and not putting his club behind the 8-ball with undisciplined play. The fourth-round selection who played Minnesota high school hockey before major junior is looking like an impressive value pick on the back end of Boston’s 10-player 2015 draft.

Forsbacka-Karlsson or “JFK” is having a strong freshman campaign after being Boston’s fifth choice at 45th overall last June. The slick and heady playmaking Swede spent the last two seasons in Omaha of the USHL, adapting to the smaller North American ice surface and dealing with the challenges of travel and play in a rugged league, so don’t expect him to hit the “rookie wall” that affects other young players who enter the NCAA out of the less-demanding prep/high school ranks. With four goals and 13 points in his first 14 games for BU, he’s playing a mature, refined game that has earned Terriers coach David Quinn’s trust out of the gate. One NHL scout who saw him recently came away impressed with how much better JFK looked in the Hockey East than he did a year ago in the USHL.

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Final Buzzer: B’s stumble in first game of road swing

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The Boston Bruins came up short against the Edmonton Oilers in their final visit to Rexall Place, formerly known as the Northlands Coliseum, ending their five-game win streak. The chances were there but the B’s dropped a 3-2 shootout loss to the team that hired former GM Peter Chiarelli and has not enjoyed much success early in the 2015-16.

The B’s negated 1-0 and 2-1 deficits compliments of Mark Letestu and former Bruin Matt Hendricks with goals by Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara late in the second and third periods. Matt Beleskey played another solid game

The teams each posted eight shots apiece in a scoreless opening period that, but Edmonton broke through at 10:23 of the second frame while on the penalty kill when a poor line change by David Krejci left Krug alone to fend off a 2-on-1 break. With Krug backing in and Hendricks skating in on net, the Boston defender lost his edge and went down. Hendricks put the puck back against the grain to Letestu, who redirected it into the net with Tuukka Rask leaning over to his right and unable to get back over to prevent the puck from crossing the goal line.

Krug evened the game with 1:33 remaining in the period after he took the puck out near the left point and threw it on net. It hit Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera and bounced into the cage on the short side past Edmonton goalie Anders Nilsson. It was only Krug’s second goal of the season and his first tally in seven games since lighting the lamp against his hometown Detroit Red Wings on November 14.

Letestu returned the favor to Hendricks in the third period to restore the Edmonton lead, getting the puck to his linemate as he drove to the Boston net for the deflection.

That set the stage for Chara to get the equalizer after an excellent shift by the Beleskey-Krejci-Loui Eriksson line to gain possession along the end boards. Krejci then came out from behind the right post and found the captain uncovered between the hashmarks for his fourth goal of the season to make it 2-2 with less than four minutes remaining in regulation.

The teams battled hard in overtime, which was made interesting in the final minute and change when the referees whistled Beleskey for an interesting (a mild way of putting it) interference call in the Boston crease when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had the puck. Beleskey buried him from behind and knocked the goal off the moorings, shaking Rask up in the process, but the B’s top goalie stayed in and made several crucial stops in the 4-on-3 power play to keep the score tied.

In the shootout, Rask denied Hendricks, not taking the bait on the head fake as the puck slid wide. Patrice Bergeron was unable to get the puck over a sprawling Nilsson. Jordan Eberle then beat Rask with a forehand shot in off the post. Nilsson then denied Brad Marchand and Krejci to get his sixth shootout win of his career to extend his record to 6-0.

Bruins take on Calgary next on Friday night.

No ups or downs tonight- early work call.

 

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Bruins Prospects Update 12/01/15

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We’re in the final month of 2015 and it’s time for another prospects update from the Boston Bruins system.

Providence continues to have problems finding the back of the net consistently without the presence of Alex Khokhlachev (injured) and Frank Vatrano (in Boston). The goaltenders have been better but still rank among the last in AHL for key statistical categories.

Ryan Fitzgerald is having a superb season for BC, breaking out offensively as a junior and scoring on the power play and while shorthanded. Crosstown rival Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson continues to impress in his freshman season, scoring at nearly a point-per-game clip and demonstrating a mature, refined game beyond his 19 years.

Daniel Vladar had an outstanding week with the Chicago Steel, allowing just one goal in two wins. When on top of his game, he’s fluid and tough to beat with his size and quickness.

AHL

Alex Khokhlachev, C Providence Bruins

GP- 11 Goals- 4 Assists- 9 Points- 13 Penalty Min- 2 +/- 6

Hand injury; did not play. Expected to be out an additional 2-3 weeks.

Seth Griffith, RW Providence Bruins

GP- 13 Goals- 4 Assists- 6 Points- 10 Penalty Min- 10 +/- -4

As an indicator of how much the Providence offense has struggled this year since Koko was injured two-plus weeks ago and Frank Vatrano called up to the Bruins, Griffith is still three points away from tying Koko for team best in scoring.

Tommy Cross, D Providence Bruins

GP- 16 Goals- 1 Assists- 9 Points- 10 Penalty Min- 29 +/- -6

With a goal and three points in his last six games, Cross has been one of the few bright spots on Providence of late. Since returning from his first NHL stint, Cross is playing with renewed confidence and energy as team captain.

Austin Czarnik, C Providence Bruins

GP- 13 Goals- 2 Assists- 6 Points- 8 Penalty Min- 10 +/-  3

Czarnik has struggled to find the score sheet since coming back from a shoulder injury-he has just one assist in his last six games.

Chris Casto, D Providence Bruins

GP- 14 Goals- 0 Assists- 8 Points- 8 Penalty Min- 14 +/- -10

Colby Cave, C Providence Bruins

GP- 20 Goals- 5 Assists- 2 Points- 7 Penalty Min- 6 +/- -8

Like Czarnik, Cave has just one assist in his last six games after scoring a respectable five goals in his first 14 contests.

Noel Acciari, C Providence Bruins

GP- 20 Goals- 3 Assists-3  Points- 6 Penalty Min- 7 +/- -3

The former PC captain has three points in his last six games to pick up some of the scoring slack after tallying just 3 points in his first 14 games.

Anton Blidh, LW Providence Bruins

GP- 18 Goals- 5 Assists- 0 Points- 5 Penalty Min- 10 +/- -5

Colton Hargrove, LW Providence Bruins

GP- 13 Goals- 3 Assists- 1 Points- 4 Penalty Min- 8 +/- -2

Linus Arnesson, D Providence Bruins

GP- 15 Goals- 0 Assists- 1 Points- 1 Penalty Min- 0 +/- -1

Malcolm Subban, G Providence Bruins

GP- 9 MIN- 542 GA- 19 GAA- 3.10 Spct- ..872 W- 2 L-5 OTL 2 SO- 1

Subban has shown improvement since the last update, raising his save percentage, lowering the GAA and posting his first shutout of the season against Lehigh Valley this past Saturday.

Zane McIntyre, G Providence Bruins

GP- 10 MIN- 598 GA- 31 GAA- 3.11 Spct- .876 W- 3 L- 4 OTL- 3

 

OHL

Zach Senyshyn, RW Saulte Ste Marie Greyhounds

GP- 20 Goals- 11 Assists- 5 Points- 6 Penalty Min- 4 +/- -10

With one goal/point in his last five games, the scoring has fallen off. The 15th overall pick last June has tallied several highlight reel goals over the course of the season, using his speed and hands to light the lamp, but while the tools are there, the consistent production has been elusive to date.

QMJHL

Jeremy Lauzon, D Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

GP- 23 Goals- 4 Assists- 27 Points- 31 Penalty Min- 40 +/- 23

Rouyn-Noranda’s top scoring D continues to play well at both ends, logging a lot of minutes, playing strong positional defense and continuing to put up points.

Jakub Zboril, D Saint John Sea Dogs

GP- 20 Goals- 3 Assists- 6 Points- 9 Penalty Min- 24 +/- 2

 

WHL

Jake DeBrusk, LW Swift Current Broncos

GP- 16 Goals- 8 Assists- 15 Points- 23 Penalty Min- 13 +/- -2

Jake DeBrusk returned to action last week, scoring in the first two games he played for a total of three points in the two contests.

Jesse Gabrielle, LW Prince George Cougars

GP- 24 Goals- 14 Assists- 8 Points- 22 Penalty Min- 38 +/-  2

Brandon Carlo, D Tri-City Americans

GP- 18 Goals- 2 Assists- 11 Points- 13 Penalty Min- 51 +/- -5

Carlo is back in the Americans’ lineup after missing games to injury. He tallied a goal and five points in seven games since getting back on the ice while maintaining a physical, rugged edge to his play.

 

NCAA

Ryan Fitzgerald, F Boston College Eagles (HEA)

GP- 12 Goals- 10 Assists- 9 Points- 19 Penalty Min- 29 +/- 19

Fitzgerald is off to the best offensive start in his third/junior season for the Eagles with three goals in his last three games. He’s making an impact on both the PP and PK special teams. His 10 goals lead BC, but is second in overall points to freshman Colin White (Senators), who has 21.

Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, C Boston University Terriers (HEA)

GP- 14 Goals- 4 Assists- 9 Points- 13 Penalty Min- 10 +/- 4

JFK is tied with Ahti Oksanen for second on the Terriers in scoring and has been impressive in the faceoff circle thus far this season with a better-than-projected impact as a freshman.

Anders Bjork, LW University of Notre Dame (HEA)

GP- 14 Goals- 3 Assists- 9 Points- 12 Penalty Min- 4 +/- 10

Danton Heinen, LW Denver University Pioneers (NCHC)

GP- 12 Goals- 5 Assists- 5 Points- 10 Penalty Min- 0 +/- 3

Ryan Donato, C Harvard University (ECAC)

GP- 8 Goals- 4 Assists- 3 Points- 7 Penalty Min- 10 +/- 5.

Cameron Hughes, C University of Wisconsin (Big Ten)

GP- 12 Goals- 1 Assists- 5 Points- 6 Penalty Min- 6 +/- -2

Matt Grzelcyk, D Boston University (HEA)

GP-6 Goals 2 Assists- 3 Points- 5 Penalty Min- 12 +/- 2

Grzelcyk was sidelined briefly by a knee injury- not the same surgically repaired knee from offseason.

Sean Kuraly, C Miami University (NCHC)

GP- 14 Goals- 1 Assists- 4 Points- 5 Penalty Min- 17 +/- -6

Another stretch of play with no offense for the senior center.

Matt Benning, D Northeastern University (HEA)

GP- 15 Goals- 2 Assists- 3 Points- 5 Penalty Min- 17 +/- -10

Wiley Sherman, D Harvard University (ECAC)

GP- 8 Goals- 1 Assists- 2 Points- 3 Penalty Min- 4 +/- 4

Rob O’Gara, D Yale University (ECAC)

GP- 9 Goals- 0 Assists- 2 Points- 2 Penalty Min- 12 +/- 0

A slower-than-expected start offensively…more expected of the senior D and he will pick up play at both ends as the season goes on.

 

Europe

Peter Cehlarik, LW Lulea (Sweden)

GP- 19 Goals- 5 Assists- 3 Points- 8 Penalty Min- 0 +/- -2

2013 third-rounder scored a couple of goals in SHL play since last update.

Emil Johansson, D HV71 (Sweden)

GP- 21 Goals- 0 Assists- 2 Points- 2 Penalty Min- 12 +/- -1

Maxim Chudinov, D St Petersburg SKA (Russia)

GP- 32 Goals- 6 Assists- 8 Points- 14 Penalty Min- 75 +/- -7

Chudinov’s production has ticked up over last seven games with a couple of goals and helpers. It is still not known whether he and the Bruins will work to sign a contract or if the team will allow him to enter free agency in  summer.

USHL

Daniel Vladar, G Chicago (USHL)

GP- 11 MIN- 610 GA- 20 GAA- 1.97 Spct .930 SO- 2; 3-4-2

Vladar went 2-0 last week, allowing one goal and posting his second shutout of the season.

Jack Becker, C Sioux Falls (USHL)

GP- 20 Goals- 2 Assists- 4 Points- 6 Penalty Min- 2 +/- -1

 

 

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Matt Beleskey- not quite your MVP but a key contributor

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If not for the numbers, it would not be a stretch to argue that left wing Matt Beleskey is one of the Boston Bruins’ most valuable players over the first quarter of the 2015-16 NHL season.

The two goals and 10 points in 20 games is disappointing given he scored a career-high of 22 a year ago with the Anaheim Ducks and was expected to reach the 20-goal plateau at least this season after the B’s made him their priority target in free agency last July. Signed to a five-year pact that carries an AAV/cap hit of $3.8 million per season, Beleskey is currently the eighth-highest paid Bruin on the roster. However, this blog post will argue that he’s closer the top-five in terms of impact and importance to the team’s fortunes. That may not translate when it comes to pure production, but in terms of other traditional and advanced metrics, Beleskey has been one of the more consistent forwards on a team that has had other players provide the needed scoring impetus early on. Based on his role in Anaheim a year go, Beleskey will eventually bring more in terms of production, and when he does, his overall physicality, energy and grit will be even more significant in proper context.

Background: Beleskey was the 116th overall selection (fourth round) by Anaheim in the 2006NHL Entry Draft, spending his entire OHL career with the Belleville Bulls (2004-08). His best season was a 41-goal, 90-point affair for the Bulls in his final junior campaign in 2007-08, signing with Anaheim and spending the 2008-09 season in the AHL (he did have a two-game scoreless NHL stint with the Ducks that year.) Beleskey scored 11 goals in 60 NHL games the following season and established himself as a full-time NHLer in 2011-12. The lockout and injuries have conspired to deny him more than 70 games in a single season, but he hit a career best for goals and points last season in only 65 games. The Ducks attempted to keep him out of free agency with a contract extension offer before the regular season ended, but Beleskey opted instead to go the free agency route.

Traditional statistics: With just a pair of goals in 20 games, there is no denying that Beleskey’s production is way down from a year ago. He’s scored in a loss against Montreal and an October 31 win over Tampa Bay, so both of his goals have come against division rivals. However, his assist totals put him on pace for about 40 helpers, which will far exceed his career-best 15 assists from 2013-14. His points/60 min average is a little off from what it was a year ago, but is comparable, and he is on pace to surpass his top output of 32 points.

Granted- you expect more from your $3.8M than 40-50 points, but that’s not terrible value offensively. At even strength, where the B’s have not been the greatest this season, Beleskey is among the team’s leaders in points with a 1.89 points/60 rating. Compare that to David Krejci– 2.41; Patrice Bergeron– 1.23; Loui Eriksson– 1.73 and Brad Marchand– 1.70. That Krejci leads Beleskey by .52 P/60 5v5 is not a surprise, but would you have put money on him beating everyone else- and Bergeron by .66? Beleskey’s even strength P/60 are No. 3 on the team overall- behind Krejci and Tyler Randell (2.30), who has played a paltry 78 minutes at even strength. Beleskey’s  even strength 1.89 P/60 would be only seventh-best on the Montreal Canadiens (just ahead of Tomas Plekanec), but he would lead the Tampa Bay Lightning, whose best 5v5 player, Jonathan Drouin, has just a 1.88 P/60 to boast of.

Beleskey has not had an opportunity of any significance with the man advantage or on the penalty kill, with just 6:39 of power play time (compared to his 285:38 and counting at even strength) and 49 seconds  on the ice while shorthanded. The lack of impact on special teams is both a ding on him in terms of how valuable he is and an example of how successful he’s been despite the opportunities that his higher-scoring teammates receive in the special teams game. When you factor in the Bruins P/60 rates in all situations- Beleskey (1.97) drops to 10th on the team, with every forward on the active roster save for Frank Vatrano, Landon Ferraro, Joonas Kemppainen and Zac Rinaldo ahead of him. Colin Miller’s (2.00) rating puts him ahead of Beleskey, the only defender in the top-nine. On the Toronto Maple Leafs, for example, Beleskey’s 1.97 P/60 puts him fourth on that team.

Where Beleskey is shining is in the hits department, where he is currently in the top-10 with 82 hits, more than 4 per game on average. By comparison, Milan Lucic, the Boston forward Beleskey was widely considered to have been brought in to address the lost production from, has 78 hits in two more games. Beleskey doesn’t have Lucic’s natural size or ability to be as physically dominant, but he’s a scrappy, physical guy for his 6-foot-and change size. He’s always willing to finish his checks and make a big hit. Just ask Derek Stepan. Ouch…too soon? Que dites-vous, Alain Vigneault?

Beleskey is shooting the puck more than he did a year ago and right now, not a whole lot is going in for him, but when he starts finding the back of the net, watch for him to get on a streak. Beleskey fired five shots on Henrik Lundqvist Friday and if he continues to get pucks to the net, he’ll raise the scoring bar. A year ago, he scored 18 even strength goals on just 124 shots, a shooting percentage of 14.5 percent- well above his typical numbers (he tallied 10.3 percent in his 11-goal season during 2009-10, but typically scored at under a 10 percent clip in his other years), but most analysts predicted (correctly) a natural regression from that 14.5 percentage this season. Admittedly, the B’s need more than his current 6.67 shooting percentage, and he’s a good bet to get that number up closer to his career average of about 9-10 percent by season’s end.

Advanced statistics: Beleskey is on the positive side of the ledger in terms of goals scored for his team when he is on the ice versus goals against (per 60 minutes), with a GF60 of 2.941 and GA60 of 2.101. good for a GF percentage of 58.3. Bergeron’s even strength offensive numbers for example aren’t as good- the B’s have scored just 2.255 GF/60 but his GA/60 average is better with a 1.845.  That gives him a 55.0 GF%. Bergeron’s iCorsi (74) is higher than Beleskey’s (66) because he takes more shots, but his even strength shooting percentage is lower.

Beleskey’s PDO (shot percentage + save percentage while player is on the ice- I like this stat because it tends to be a little more predictive versus some of the others) is 101.7, which is lower than his 103.8 and 103.0 in each of the last two seasons. Bergeron’s even strength PDO is 98.8- up two percentage points from the less productive 2013-14 season, when he posted a 96.8. Even in his 30-goal campaign of two years ago, his PDO was 102.4- just .7 points higher than Beleskey’s number as of today.

Bergeron significantly overtakes Beleskey on the power play where his production is tops on the Bruins with 9.88 P/60 (he has 11 of his 21 points against Beleskey’s 0.00. Bergeron’s PDO on the power play is 120.6 (compared to his 5v5 of 98.8), which gives you an idea of just how much his production with the man advantage skews the scoring totals in his favor. The bottom line for me when I look at the two players- at even strength, where the two have similar minutes on the ice, Beleskey is the more productive (note- I said productive not better) player. I won’t peel the onion back too much more in terms of Beleskey’s zone starts or how he does when close or trailing, but he’s been one of the more consistent performers at even strength- admittedly and area that the Bruins need to improve on going forward if they want to remain in the playoff picture.

(Statistical source: Hockey Analysis.com- David Johnson)

Intangibles: Going back to July 1, when Beleskey chose the Bruins in free agency, he’s said and done all the right things. He and his wife were active on social media and quickly traveled to Boston after signing, showing their excitement to be joining the organization at a time when the team’s outlook was anything but rosy. The B’s and Don Sweeney had just traded Dougie Hamilton and more questions than answers swirled around the B’s, even though Beleskey and trade acquisition Jimmy Hayes pumped some excitement into fans who had seen their contributions while wearing other team jerseys and envisioned good things from the new additions. Thus far, the two have combined for just six goals, which is well off of expectations given that they posted a total of 41 between the two of them with the Ducks and Florida Panthers a year ago.

Beleskey is hard-nosed- he’s had a couple of fights with Minnesota’s Brett Bulmer and NY Ranger Dylan McIlrath in the past seven days, racking up an impressive 10 total hits in both contests. He’s a gritty, willing combatant, which should endear him to Bruins fans as they warm up to him in Boston and see where his consistency and ruggedness comes from.

Against McIlrath, Beleskey was out of his weight class and took some shots and jabs from the much larger former WHL pugilist and first-round pick before coming back with a right cross and then went to the ice.

Beleskey did a lot better in his scrap against Bulmer, however…

What’s more- Beleskey wants to be here. Sweeney did a good job of moving guys who didn’t feel the same way out. If you’re going to invest millions in a player- at least pay for the ones who want to be a part of the solution. These guys are only human and sometimes we forget that if someone doesn’t want it as badly, we can expect them to be professionals, but without being able to see inside a person’s heart, we don’t know if they are giving it their all. One need not do any more than simply watch the way Beleskey hurtles around the ice on every shift, looking to to make a hit or force a turnover if he’s anywhere near the puck when someone with another jersey has it, to know that the guy is giving it his maximum effort.

Beleskey was in the news this past week when he and his wife purchased $2,000 worth of pies and distributed them to homeless veteran charities in Boston for Thanksgiving. It’s a nice gesture from a player who has backed up his words of being proud to be a part of the Bruins organization with the kind of gritty play the team values, as well as taking the time to give back to the community.

Summary: The Bruins are getting the guy they coveted from the West Coast. The goals aren’t there, but he’s brought a needed effort each and every night and plays hard, providing the all-important leadership by example. His 10 points in 20 games has him on pace for his best offensive season, and he’s creating space for his line mates with his physical brand of hockey. Beleskey doesn’t have the natural size to be a classic and even feared power forward, but he’s not shy about sticking his nose in and taking one for the team.

There are some who will just point to the $3.8M cap hit and draw a direct correlation to the downturn in goals, but when you consider that some pundits were predicting him to sign for upwards of $4.5 or 5 million last July, the Bruins are getting solid value. At age 27 and with four more years on the books, he’ll probably live up to the contract and then some so long as he can stay healthy. Because of his kamikaze style of play, it takes a toll on his average frame. However, when all is said and done, no one will ever accuse Beleskey of being soft.

In short, you win with guys like that, and this is why- as we look at Boston’s record after 22 games- they sit at a solid 13-8-1 overall. There aren’t many who would have put money on them being 5 games over .500 at the quarter pole with the team they had on paper coming into the season. Beleskey’s contributions, especially at even strength when the power play has not been there to carry the club offensively, are a big reason you can make a case that he’s right up there with the big guns- Krejci, Bergeron, Marchand, Eriksson as one of the team’s most valuable players during this stretch of the 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.

UP

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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.

DOWN-

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.