If you’re a Bruins fan and have been paying attention this season, Toronto forward James Van Riemsdyk’s power play goal just 1:54 into last night’s game probably didn’t give you a great feeling about Boston’s chances in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Luckily, the Black and Gold seemed to find that proverbial “switch” they’ve been referring to shortly after, exploding for four unanswered goals and 40 shots on net, handing the Maple Leafs an embarrassing 4-1 loss in the first game of the series. Tuukka Rask stopped 19 Toronto shots in net for the B’s, while David Krejci led the way offensively with a goal and two assists.

We’ve made a lot of references to the Bruins extensive depth (when they’re healthy) over the course of the regular season, and it was on display in full force last night. It was the “Merlot Line” of Dan Paille, Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton that turned the tides for Boston after a sluggish start, putting together a few high energy and dominant shifts midway through the first period, which seemed to spark the rest of the squad.

They also kicked things off on the scoreboard for the B’s, with Campbell and Paille assisting on a Wade Redden slap shot goal to get the game tied with just under four minutes remaining in the period. The goal was particularly tough for Toronto to swallow as the shot came from a relatively poor angle along the boards, a shot they’d expect goalie James Reimer to save 99% of the time.

The Bruins didn’t take their foot off the gas pedal either, as Redden figured into his second point of the night by wristing a shot from the point that was tipped in by a recently healthy Nathan Horton with just 12 seconds remaining in the first to give the Bruins the lead.

Despite the single goal lead, the Bruins were dominant, finishing the first period with 15 shots on net. David Krejci extended the lead to two after snapping a shot through Reimer’s five hole midway through the second period after a Toronto turnover in the high slot, and then followed it up by perfectly teeing up a pass for Johnny Boychuk, who ripped a slap shot into the top corner for the Bruins’ fourth goal.

That would be all that was needed for Boston, as they kept up the effort the rest of the way, coming as close to a “60 minute effort” as they have all season. They put another 14 shots on the Toronto net in the third period, and continued to play a rough-and-tumble style that seemed to wear down the Leafs. They kept their composure when the game got chippy late, but made sure to stick up for eachother when the time came for it, with Andrew Ference jumping Colton Orr after a cross check on Boychuk and Chris Kelly dropping the gloves with Leo Komarov as time expired.

The teams will meet for game 2 on Saturday night, and you’d have to expect the Leafs to come out hard looking to rebound from a poor performance last night. The Bruins meanwhile will look to have a repeat performance, as it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Game 1 was probably their best and most complete effort of the year.

Game Notes

This pretty much summed up last night’s game.

• Rich Peverley, Dougie Hamilton, and Carl Soderberg were the healthy scratches for the Bruins. Expect the same for Game 2 with the effort the Bruins put forth last night. 
• Up and down the lineup, all four lines and three defensive pairs were in high gear. Paille, Thornton and Adam McQuaid were the only three players without a shot on net, but the certainly made their presence felt on the physical side of the game combining for eight hits (five by Thornton). Even the Bruins’ power play generated good chances on their five opportunities, cashing in on Horton’s goal at the end of the first.
• Tuukka Rask didn’t have to be spectacular in net, but made good saves when he had to. The Leafs had a couple shot bursts of offense, including Van Riemsdyk ripping a shot off the crossbar before the Bruins took the lead, but Rask was up to the task for the rest of the game.
• Reimer on the other hand, looked shaky and uncomfortable all night. Redden’s goal to tie the game was just soft, and he couldn’t come up with the big saves to keep the Bruins from blowing the game open. If Toronto wants to have any chance in this series, he’s going to have to be better, and his defenseman are going to have to stop turning the puck over in bad areas like they did last night.
• Phil Kessel was invisible as usual. 13:51 of ice, one shot on net, no points.
• Patrice Bergeron nearly made the game 5-1 after poking in what appeared to be a loose puck from under the pads of Reimer, but the referees deemed the play dead after discussing it. Seguin also had a shot ring off the crossbar that the officials at first deemed a goal, but was also called back after replay was viewed.
• Nathan Horton looked energized after returning from an upper body injury. He had three shots including his tip in goal, along with three hits in 18:56 of ice.

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It was a disappointing finish to the 2013 regular season for the Boston Bruins, who lost back to back games and the top spot in the Northeast Division over the weekend. A 3-2 overtime loss to the Capitals on Saturday night was followed up by a 4-2 loss to the Senators last night at the Garden, dropping the Bruins to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference where they will face the fifth seed Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.

On Saturday night, it appeared the Bruins would be able to wrap up the second seed in the conference as they took a 2-0 lead into the third period against Washington on goals by Milan Lucic and Andrew Ference. But three straight Boston penalties in the first ten minutes of the period opened the door for the Caps, with defenseman Mike Green scoring twice on the man advantage to tie the game.

At the other end of the ice the Bruins had a prime opportunity to win the game, but failed to score on a 4-on-3 advantage in the final two minutes of the third. Sure enough another penalty in overtime on captain Zdeno Chara put the Caps back on the power play, and Eric Fehr put the dagger in the B’s knocking the rebound of a Green shot past Boston goalie Tuukka Rask to win the game.

Despite the loss, the Black and Gold still had the Division championship in their sights last night, as a win over the Senators would earn them the top spot with the rest of the league awaiting the outcome.

Already down 1-0 after the first period on an Erik Condra goal, a Jared Cowen slap shot found its way past Rask midway through the second to put Boston down two. But a Rich Peverley one timer goal with three seconds left in the period and a Dennis Seidenberg slap shot goal just 14 seconds into the third quickly drew the Bruins even and had the Garden crowd loud and raucous.

But Boston failed to grab a hold of the momentum after the goal and couldn’t find a way to beat Senators goalie Robin Lehner again despite finishing the game with 36 shots. Instead the Senators’ Jean-Gabriel Pageau knocked in a loose puck to the left of a sprawling Rask with three and a half minutes remaining in the game, and a Kyle Turris empty net goal sealed Boston’s fate, knocking them down to the fourth seed and allowing the Montreal Canadiens to take the top spot in the Northeast.

The B’s meanwhile finished the season with a terrible 3-5-2 record and now will have to face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, beginning Wednesday at the Garden.

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With just a few points separating the Boston Bruins from the middle of the playoff pack, and with the rival Montreal Canadiens (tied with the Bruins in points in the standings) in action in Winnipeg, the black and gold couldn’t afford another disappointing showing like the one on display Tuesday in Philadelphia. It would appear as if they received that message loud and clear last night, putting forth a solid, workman-like effort to earn a 2-0 shutout victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dennis Seidenberg and Daniel Paille did the scoring and Tuukka Rask stopped all 26 shots he faced, including some dazzling saves on Alex Killorn and Steven Stamkos, to lead the Bruins to the win.

It’s hard to be surprised anymore by a sluggish start by the Bruins, so when Tampa took the early momentum there was that feeling of “here we go again.” Rask showed early that he was on his game, turning aside nine first period shots, and for once the Bruins actually showed some push-back when Milan Lucic threw two big hits in the Tampa end to create a scoring chance before Andrew Ference dropped the gloves with former Bruin Benoit Pouliot in the Boston defensive end. There were finally some signs of life from a team that have been relative flat-liners for much of the season.

The penalty kill unit took care of a late first period roughing penalty to Adam McQuaid, and just four minutes into the second period a good defensive zone breakout by Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand ended with Dennis Seidenberg blasting a slapshot past Lightning goalie Anders Lindback to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead.

After killing another Boston penalty shortly after, Rask’s sharpness in the Bruin net was once again on display, robbing Steven Stamkos with a sprawling glove save on a 2-on-1. The Bruins responded at the thirteen minute mark, with Daniel Paille one-timing a Gregory Campbell feed past Lindback to put the Bruins up by two goals. It was great work by the trio as a whole, as Shawn Thornton hustled to keep a loose puck in near the blue-line, chipping a pass down to Campbell who made a beautiful cross ice feed to Paille. The goal was Paille’s 10th of the season, tied for fourth best on the team with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.

To add insult to injury, Lucic – who put forth one of his better efforts of the season in the game despite no points on the scoresheet – laid a beating on Tampa defenseman Keith Aulie shortly after, who made the mistake of engaging the Bruins winger in an effort to get his team going.

It was that blue-collar type of effort that put the Bruins in control of the game, and Rask was there to clean up the rest making two consecutive left pad saves on Bolts forward Alex Killorn near the end of the second before robbing Marty St. Louis in the third with another flashy glove save.

It was a big win for the Bruins who now can seal the top spot in the Northeast division by either winning their final two games or by a Canadiens regulation loss in their final contest. The B’s travel to Washington on Saturday to face the Southeast Division champion Capitals, before wrapping up their season Sunday at the Garden with a matchup with the Ottawa Senators.

Game Notes

• All aboard the failboat Bruins fans. Before the game rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who was a healthy scratch for the game, received the Annual 7th Player Award given to the player that most exceeds expectations. This isn’t so much a hit to Hamilton, who put up a more than respectable 16 points (5G, 11A) in his rookie campaign, as it is a complete oversight of the season that Daniel Paille has put forth. As mentioned above, Paille netted his 10th goal last night, tied for fourth on the team. He has been one of the team’s best penalty killers, netting two shorthanded goals. He’s also filled in across the lineup, even seeing time on the top two lines when injuries struck and playing well when he was there. That’s clearly above and beyond what most people would have expected for a fourth line player coming into the year, especially with the hype around a top prospect like Hamilton. For shame Bruins fans, for shame. 
• Tuukka Rask should definitely be in the Vezina discussion this year. He’s sporting a 19-9-4 record, his .930 save percentage is third in the league, his 1.97 goals against average fourth, and he leads the league with five shutouts. He’s had his ugly moments of course, but overall has been very good this year.
• Milan Lucic had one of his better games of the year last night, as mentioned above. While he didn’t figure into the scoring, he had his legs moving, was a physical presence, and was working hard every time he was on the ice. While it’s certainly encouraging, bringing the consistency will be a big next step with the playoffs around the corner.
• Brad Marchand had an interesting game. He was around the puck a lot and created a few chances with his speed including the Seidenberg goal, but also had a few costly turnovers just inside the Tampa blue line that directly led to a few of the Lightning’s best chances. It’s a little bit of a conundrum as you don’t want to take away his creativity but at the same time some of those turnovers can’t happen in the postseason. Needs to be a little sharper.

Highlights

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The wheels are dangerously close to falling off for the Boston Bruins as they head down the home stretch of the regular season. After subpar performances for most of the past two weeks, the Black and Gold came away with a rather unimpressive 3-0 win over the Panthers on Sunday, only to be taken to task last night by the Philadelphia Flyers, losing a by a disappointing 5-2 margin to a team on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. A relatively strong first period was followed by a lackluster second that saw the Flyers tally two goals in just seven seconds, before adding two more in the final period. The loss underscores the issues with the team right now, a lack of confidence, an inability to put together a full 60 minute effort, and a complete lack of puck management. Time is short to right the ship with the playoffs just a week away.

The game got off to a rocky start as Flyers forward Scott Hartnell ripped a wrist shot past Boston goalie Anton Khudobin just 1:40 into the game after a series of turnovers by the Bruins in their defensive end.

But some good puck movement just three minutes later between newcomers Wade Redden, Carl Soderberg and Jaromir Jagr pulled the Bruins right back in, with Redden chipping the rebound of a Jagr shot over the shoulder of Flyer goalie Steve Mason to tie the game. The Bruins continued to press and generated some good chances on Mason, outshooting Philadelphia 13-8 in the opening frame. But as has been the case recently, they were unable to grab the lead despite getting the better of the play, and the period ended 1-1.

And then…collapse. Boston was once again unable to carry any momentum into the second, and despite a spirited bout between Shawn Thornton and Jay Rosehill, it was the Flyers who took control of the game. Midway through the period a neutral zone turnover gave the Philly a 3-on-2 rush, and while the Bruins were able to handle the initial push, a Wayne Simmonds wrist shot was kicked out by Khudobin right in the direction of Flyers forward Matt Read, who made a spectacular play bat the floating puck out of mid air and into the Bruins net.

Then just seven seconds later, a Flyer dump in was mishandled by Bruin defenseman Zdeno Chara, who flubbed a backhand pass towards the Bruin net. The puck somehow snuck through the pads of Khudobin, blowing the game open and temporarily ending Khudobin’s night (the goal was credited to Flyer Oliver Lauridsen).

The Bruin power play had three consecutive opportunities before the end of the period to cut the lead in half, but instead generated next to nothing leaving the Bruins frustrated and deflated heading into the third.

The Bruins went down 4-1 after allowing a Jake Voracek breakaway goal five minutes in, and despite a beautiful David Krejci strike at the eight minute mark to pull the Bruins back within two, a Simon Gagne goal just 13 seconds after that pretty much sealed the Bruins’ fate.

Boston put 17 shots on Mason in the final period after coach Claude Julien made some line changes, but once again the finishing touch was nowhere to be found. Khudobin came back in to replace Tuukka Rask after Rask allowed the fourth and fifth Flyer goals, finishing the game with 14 saves (Rask finished with 11).

Boston also blew an opportunity to put a small gap between themselves and the Canadiens for the top spot in the Northeast Division, with Montreal losing their game last night as well. The teams are currently tied with 59 points but the Bruins have a game in hand which gives them the advantage at the moment.

The B’s are back home on Thursday night to face the Lightning, and expect an even lighter lineup as Julien tries to get certain players some rest as the season concludes. The team is clearly out of synch right now and while Julien was visibly frustrated after the game, he needs to figure out some worthy combinations up front and on the blue line. And with the playoffs right around the corner, the players need to start getting the job done or it’s going to be golf season a lot sooner than anyone expected.

Game Notes

• Not a lot of positives to take out of this one. Carl Soderberg and Jaromir Jagr seemed to be building some chemistry as they made a nice play on the Redden goal, but because of the trouble later Julien ended up breaking up their line. 
• Milan Lucic seemed to be getting more physically involved and moving his feet a little better, but he was still largely a non-factor. The Bruins need him to be leading the way physically, and he just isn’t consistent enough right now. 
• Anton Khudobin, while not at fault for the first two goals, can’t allow that third one. It ended up being a game changer. This lack of awareness has been a problem up and down the lineup this season, and these types of mistakes will make for a quick exit in the playoffs.
• Zdeno Chara had one of his worst games of the season. Looks extremely tired. Don’t be surprised if he sits out one or two of the final three games. Dougie Hamilton was back in the lineup, but he didn’t have a great game either (-2, 3 shots, ~18 mins ice).
• Power play = terrible.
• Bruins decision making with the puck = terrible.
• Julien after the game:

“These last three games [coming up], we need a wakeup call mentally. We need to be willing to do the stuff that’s given us success. We’re willing to do it some of the time, but we’re not willing to do it all the time. Let’s stay away from excuses because it’s not going to work. Excuses are a lot of BS right now. We have to take the responsibly and quit hiding behind those excuses because that is a load of crap.”

Yikes.

Highlights

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After a completely hectic week around the city of Boston, the Bruins hoped to help restart the healing process and sense of normalcy by earning wins this weekend against the Penguins and Panthers. While they couldn’t manage to carry the positive emotions forward from the previous night on Saturda, suffering a 3-2 loss to the Pens, a 3-0 win over the Panthers and an emotional “Shirts Off Their Back” ceremony today certainly helped to move things in the right direction, as Boston temporarily took back the 2nd spot in the Eastern Conference from the Montreal Canadiens.

Another crowd-led singing of the National Anthem and an excellent first period had everyone feeling pretty good about the Bruins chances against the Penguins, who coming into the game had won five games in a row. Brad Marchand put the Bruins up midway through the first with an impressive power play rush that ended in a wrist shot sneaking through the arm of Pens goalie Tomas Vokoun, and the B’s appeared energized as they outshot Pittsburgh 13-5 in the opening frame and engaged in two fights.

But similar to how many games have gone for the Bruins this season, they couldn’t maintain the push. While they certainly had their chances in the second period (15 more shots), Vokoun was solid and Boston nemesis Jussi Jokinen drew the game square by tapping in a loose puck just to the right of a sprawling Tuukka Rask.

Then, with Brad Marchand in the box early in the third period after jumping Jokinen in front of the Bruins net, Jarome Iginla blasted a slap shot through a Chris Kunitz screen and past Rask to give the Pens the lead. Just four minutes later with the Bruins short a man yet again, defenseman Kris Letang –undressed by Marchand on his first period rush — got some revenge by snapping a shot past Rask from just above the left circle to give Pittsburgh a two goal cushion.

While the B’s finished with 40 shots on net, a Tyler Seguin goal with just three seconds left was the only other strike the Bruins could muster, taking their fourth straight loss for the first time all season.

Luckily, they had a good opportunity to rebound against the Florida Panthers, currently the worst team in the league. Their fortunes were better this afternoon earning a 3-0 victory, with Tuukka Rask earning his fourth shutout and 18th win of the season.

Jaromir Jagr put Boston up early with a snapshot past Florida goalie Jacob Markstrom just three minutes into the game, and Dougie Hamilton added a slap shot goal midway through the second to put the B’s comfortably ahead. Brad Marchand potted an empty netter in the closing minute to seal the win.

The Bruins then held their annual “Shirts Off Their Backs” ceremony, but apparently at the request of fans and season ticket holders, the jerseys went to various first responders from the awful events that befell the city this week. It was another very emotional ceremony and another classy move by the Bruins organization, who continue to strengthen their already close relationship with the people of Boston.

The B’s now enter the final week of the regular season by heading to Philadelphia for a matchup with the Flyers on Tuesday night, before heading home again to face the Lightning in a makeup game from earlier in the season. They have one game in hand over their rival Canadiens, who will face the Devils, Jets and Maple Leafs in their final three games.

Game Notes & Comments

• Saturday’s first period against the Penguins was one of the better periods the Bruins played all season. Unfortunately, the same themes were problematic for the final two frames, not enough scoring and not enough of a full game effort. The penalty kill has struggled of late, allowing the two third period goals that cost Boston the game. 
• Carl Soderberg was in the lineup for both weekend games, his first in the NHL. He looked a little nervous on Saturday, but appeared to develop some chemistry with Jagr, taking regular shifts and getting power play time with the veteran. He added his first NHL point today by assisting on Jagr’s goal. While he isn’t going to wow anyone in the short term, it appears that he has a decent skillset that could help the Bruins down the stretch, especially if injuries continue.
• Tuukka Rask took most of the blame after Saturday’s game, saying he needed to make more saves on the PK to give his team a chance. In my opinion the Iginla goal wasn’t his fault, but the Letang goal hurt as he was just flat out beat by the shot.
• Injuries are once again an issue, as Nathan Horton went down with what appeared to be a wrist or hand injury after a scrap with Iginla, and everybody’s favorite Penguin Matt Cooke appeared to charley horse Adam McQuaid with a low hip check. Both players missed today’s game with the Panthers, but don’t appear to be seriously hurt as they participated in the jersey ceremony after the game.
• Milan Lucic was a healthy scratch on Saturday for the first time since his rookie season, but returned today against Florida. Still rather unimpressed by his effort. He had three shots today and five hits, but still not the force that everyone knows he can be. Hopefully he can get some momentum over the last week.
• The Bruins defensive zone play appears to have stabilized a little over the past week which is a positive sign, as though they haven’t been getting the outcomes, the goals they’re giving up haven’t been nearly as bad as earlier in the year. The penalty kill is starting to become a bit of a concern though.

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Obviously there are events taking place in Boston that are far more important than the Bruins this afternoon. But just for reporting purposes, the Bruins’ game against the Penguins has been postponed until tomorrow, tentatively scheduled for 12:30pm.

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Last night’s game at the Garden between the Bruins and Sabres was about more than hockey, it was about a city and its people coming together in a first step towards healing. And as far as that goes, the night was a complete victory. Unfortunately for the Bruins, they couldn’t hold it together on the ice, blowing yet another third period lead and falling in the shootout.

The night got off to an emotional start, as a ‘Boston Strong’ montage was followed by a moving rendition of the National Anthem by the Rene Rancourt and the Boston crowd.

The start of the game reflected the heavy weight that was present in the building, as both teams were a little tentative after the opening faceoff. But the energy quickly returned when Daniel Paille buried a Chris Kelly net front pass to give the Bruins the early lead just six minutes in.

The Sabres would rebound before the end of the period as, to the surprise of no one, Sabres forward Thomas Vanek tipped in a Christian Ehrhoff shot past B’s goalie Anton Khudobin to tie the game. It was Vanek’s 17th goal and his sixth point in four games against the Bruins this year.

The Bruins battled back in the second and it was the Paille, Kelly and Nathan Horton line at it again, with Kelly doing the honors this time. Some good work at the point by Andrew Ference kept a bouncing puck in the zone, and Paille fired a quick cross crease pass to Kelly who flipped a soft shot over the pads of Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller.

It appeared as though the Bruins would be able to hold the 2-1 lead as the clock ticked all the way down to the one minute mark of the third period. But a bouncing puck in the Boston defensive end was swatted out of play by Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference with just 48 seconds to play, earning an automatic delay of game penalty. The Sabres then capitalized as a Steve Ott faceoff win was fired towards the net by Vanek, hitting the skates of Sabres forward Cody Hodgson before trickling into the net.

The teams battled through overtime and into the shootout, but after Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin all failed to score on Miller, Drew Stafford beat Khudobin in the third round to seal the victory for Buffalo, who now sit just two points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Bruins meanwhile earned a playoff berth of their own with the point earned by getting to overtime, so despite the loss there are still positives to be taken. The game quite frankly was one of the better games the Bruins have played this year (aside from the continually non existent physical game), firing 43 shots on Miller, many of the high quality variety. Unfortunately the Sabres goalie was extremely sharp and kept the Bruins from extending their lead.

The night was capped off by both teams heading to center ice for a stick salute to the crowd, an appropriate finish to an emotional night.

Couple quick game notes:

• Props to the Sabres, who proved to be a very classy team throughout the evening. The center ice salute idea was apparently Vanek’s, coordinating with B’s captain Zdeno Chara during warmups. Sabres forward Steve Ott also was extremely well spoken in his post-game interview with Pierre McGuire.
• Carl Soderberg took morning skate but didn’t dress. He could make his debut on Friday night when the Bruins take on the Penguins.
• Defenseman Wade Redden made his Bruins debut, but was quiet in 12:42 of ice time.
• The reunited line of Bergeron, Marchand and Seguin was very good despite not scoring, accounting for 14 of the Bruins’ 43 shots on Miller. Bergeron in particular looked like he didn’t miss a beat in his return winning 76% of his draws, though he did lose the defensive zone draw that led to the tying goal. Overall though he was one of Boston’s most consistent players on the night (again, to the surprise of no one).
• Despite taking the delay of game penalty that led to the tying goal, Andrew Ference had one of his stronger games of the year. He played over 23 minutes in the game, assisted on the Bruins second goal, and played tough in his own end all night. He had a great chance to win the game in overtime as well, but Miller came up with the save.
• Dougie Hamilton was back in the lineup after being scratched for two games. He had two shots on net and a hit in 15:42 of ice.
• Milan Lucic once again was a non-factor, failing to respond to his demotion to the fourth line. He had no shots in 10:53 of ice and took a four minute high sticking penalty in the third period.

Highlights

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New Bruin Carl Soderberg does in fact exist and is on the ice today for morning skate with his new teammates. He’s rotating in with Greg Campbell, David Krejci and Jaromir Jagr, and most likely will be a healthy scratch tonight. He could make his debut Friday when the Bruins take on the Penguins.

Brad Marchand is skating again today as well, back with former linemates Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin. Coach Claude Julien, according to those in the know, confirmed after the skate that both Marchand and Bergeron will in fact be in the lineup tonight.

In somewhat surprising news, Milan Lucic is (finally) taking shifts with Shawn Thornton and Rich Peverley on the fourth line. This would be the first major demotion for Looch (aside from being taken off the power play against the Hurricanes), so if this lineup sticks it will be interesting to see how the big man responds.

Defenseman Wade Redden will also make his Bruins debut.

7:30 pm puck drop tonight, NBC Sports Network. Don’t miss the anthem.

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