BE A GM Thread - Part III (NHL 18/NHL 17/whatever)

[JohnJamieson]

BRUINS ACQUIRE KYLE OKPOSO

Feb. 3, 2016
​

In a surprise move today Kyle Okposo was traded to the Bruins along with the Isles 4th round picks in 2016 and 2017 in exchange for a pair of 1st rounders and Chris Kelly. The Islanders receive the Sharks 1st round pick this year, (which Boston obtained when they flipped Martin Jones to San Jose after acquiring him in the Milan Lucic trade) and the Bruins 1st round pick in 2017. It's well known that Isles GM Garth Snow was shopping Okposo around ahead of this year's deadline but the Bruins are a surprise destination. The Islanders sit in 13th in the East and Okposo is in a contract year and due for a big raise this off-season. You would have thought he would be going to a contender but nonetheless the Isles got a very good return on the 27 year old power forward, who has 41 points (18 G, 23 A) in 49 games this year. His 41 points are a higher mark than anyone on the Bruins this year, and his 18 goals would rank second only to Patrice Bergeron's 20.

Bruins GM John Jamieson: "We were definitely a little surprised when Garth approached us with an offer involving Okposo. We think he's a great character guy and that he brings tremendous skill and heart to the table. We love the way he plays and he's exactly the type of player we seek to acquire and to develop. We've spoken to him and his agent and we feel strongly that we'll get him signed to a deal that satisfies everyone come this summer."

The Bruins recent maneuvers leave them about $2.5 mil in cap space available this year. They have $46 million on the books for next season and so look to have lots of cap room to sign key FAs Okposo, Eriksson, Krug and Nichushkin. They will also have $2.75 mil coming off the books next year in retained salary.

It was known that Okposo would be on the move, but it was generally thought he would be a rental for a contender this year and his value may have also been enhanced by his modest cap hit of $2.8 mil. Even cash strapped teams would have been able to find ways to make an offer for him according to popular thinking. Still, it's hard to imagine the Islanders getting any more than they did for him. The 2 first round picks were a very heavy price to pay and Jamieson better be completely sure they will be able to re-sign him or this will be a complete disaster. This is a controversial move by Boston's rookie GM and he'd better hope it pans out because the risk is tremendous given the price he paid for Okposo.

Boston have put up a surprisingly good 6-3-0 record to start the second half and currently sit 27th in the league.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

BRUINS TRADE RANDELL FOR DZINGEL

Tyler Randell (left), Ryan Dzingel (right)

Feb. 25, 2016
​

With 5 days left until the trade deadline Boston has traded minor league RW Tyler Randell and a 2016 4th rounder (NYI) to Ottawa for C Ryan Dzingel and Ottawa's 2016 5th round pick. It's a small move but it helps the Boston organization get stronger down the middle. Dzingel's contract is up at the end of this year and he's likely to remain with the big club for the rest of the season as he is eligible to be claimed on waivers if sent down. Dzingel will be a healthy scratch for the Bruins' contest tomorrow tonight against the Hurricanes and for the foreseeable future.

The Bruins have gone 12-8-0 since the halfway mark, however they still place 27th in the league. Recent acquisition Valeri Nichushkin has performed especially well since joining the Bruins, recording 11 points in 14 games while the B's other big newcomer Kyle Okposo has 6 points in 11 games since joining the team from the Islanders. Torey Krug is on an incredible hot streak of late and now has 17 goals in 61 games.

The first round picks are just flying around ahead of the deadline. Florida got 2 of them from Colorado for Jiri Hudler today and the Isles got another one plus Gemel Smith from the Dallas Stars in exchange for Anders Lee.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

TRADE DEADLINE REPORT​

​

At the deadline...

Boston|91 OFF|88 DEF|93 GOA|80% CHEM
Providence|77 OFF|82 DEF|81 GOA|79% CHEM

​

Mar. 1, 2016
​

At the trade deadline the Bruins sit at 26-32-5. They have made great efforts to trade Beleskey, Hayes, and Liles but nothing came to fruition. Beleskey and Hayes are on multi-year deals and the B's will have further opportunities to make a deal regarding these two. Liles will go UFA but the Bruins just couldn't get anything they wanted for him and we expect him to hit the open market after this year. Tampa Bay made the biggest splash at the deadline this year, acquiring veterans Dan Hamhuis and Radim Vrbata from the Canucks in exchange for a 1st-round pick and a minor league prospect.​

​

 

[JohnJamieson]

END OF SEASON REPORT​

​

At year's end...

Boston|90 OFF|88 DEF|93 GOA|64% CHEM
Providence|78 OFF|82 DEF|81 GOA|79% CHEM

​

Apr. 26, 2016

The Bruins finished the season 35-40-7, placing 7th in the Atlantic, 14th in the East and 27th in the league. Their 2nd half of the season was encouraging however, as the B's 22-17-2 record would have been good for a playoff spot over the course of a full season. Missing the playoffs hit the B's hard and it was clear that team morale was pretty low while playing meaningless games towards the end of the year. Jimmy Hayes in particular appeared to disengage, declining interviews and generally appearing sulky on the bench. There was a notable incident in the last week of the season where Interim Head Coach Joe Sacco angrily confronted him after a lackluster shift resulted in a goal for Chicago in a 4-0 loss to the Blackhawks. Hayes didn't even respond, just got back on the bench and sat with his head down. It was very tough year for Hayes as his 23 points and -25 mark fell well below expectations. He spent the season bouncing from line to line and enduring trade rumours and it had to be very hard on him. We don't expect to see him in a Bruins sweater this year as it should be much easier for team GM John Jamieson to move him in the offseason.

Speaking of Sacco, the Bruins went 26-21-2 under him after the firing of Claude Julien, will the interim tag be removed or will the B's seek a replacement for 2016-17? He really brought the team together for a time and Val Nichushkin seemed to grow under his leadership, recording 21 points over his 35 games with the Bruins last year. Meanwhile the B's other big acquisition Kyle Okposo chipped in 22 points in 32 games after joining them from the Islanders. Let's look at some stats from the players who finished the year in a B's uniform.​

​

* "possession +/-" determined by takeaways minus giveaways.

|GP|G|A|PTS|PIM|+/-|HITS|POS+/-*
Okposo|81|25| 38 | 63 |56|+1|148|+21
Bergeron|82| 29 |30|59|23| +9 |38|+1
Marchand|82|13| 38 |51|68|+2|160|+4
Nichushkin|84|14|34|48|6|+1|26|+21
Eriksson|82|15|31|46|8|+1|40| +28
Krug|82|21|16|37|2|-21|17|-28
Spooner|82|6|28|34|4|-19|40|+6
Beleskey|82|17|13|30|49|-22|40|+6
Pastrnak|82|9|20|29|8|-7|26|+8
Krejci|76|4|24|28|10|-26|25|-9
Connolly|82|14|14|28|2|-13|27|+8
Hayes|82|6|17|23|14|-25|88|+17
McClement|81|6|13|19|26|-11|92|-11
Irwin|77|4|8|12|43|-11|123|-25
McQuaid|82|3|7|10| 189 |-20|174|-60
K. Miller|75|4|4|8|39|-8| 179 |-44
Chara|68|2|4|6|76|-8|157|-38
Liles|56|3|0|3|8|-11|19|-22
Arnesson|5|0|1|1|0|-5|0|-7
Ferraro|9|1|0|1|0|-2|3|-1

|GP|W|L|OTL|GAA|SV%|SO
Rask|70|33|32|5|2.37|.921|3
Gustavsson|17|4|9|1|3.45|.900|0

The Bruins were terrific in the faceoff dot this season. Their 4 regular centres, Bergeron, Krejci, Spooner, and McClement boasted a combined percentage of 55.2%.

Rask was leaned on heavily, appearing in 70 games this season. Gustavsson was just terrible and was pulled on a few occasions forcing Rask to come into games where the Bruins planned to rest him. Something will have to change this year.

The Bruins have a lottery pick this year. Where will they land and who will they select?

Pending UFAs: Kyle Okposo, Loui Eriksson, Matt Irwin, Kevan Miller, Max Talbot, John-Michael Liles, Brett Bellemore, Zach Trotman, Brandon DeFazio, Joonas Kemppainen, Colin Breen, Tommy Cross.

Pending RFAs: Torey Krug, Valeri Nichushkin, Seth Griffith, Alexander Khoklachev, Joe Morrow, Colin Miller, Landon Ferraro, Ryan Dzingel, Brian Ferlin, Ben Sexton, Peter Cehlarik.

Unsigned Rookie: Jesse Gabrielle.

The salary cap will be $75.785 million for the upcoming season which gives the Bruins roughly $32 million dollars to work with.

The Washington Capitals would go on to win the Cup in 6 games against the San Jose Sharks.

Patrice Bergeron picked up his 3rd consecutive Selke trophy for best defensive forward, while former Bruins Tyler Seguin (39 G) and Phil Kessel took home the Rocket Richard and Lady Byng trophies respectively. Sidney Crosby won the Hart and the Art Ross with 93 points and Connor McDavid picked up the Calder for best rookie after turning in a 61 point effort in his first campaign. Duncan Keith was awarded the Norris trophy, Ben Bishop took home the Vezina, and Alex Ovechkin won the Conn Smythe as this year's playoff MVP as he led his Capitals to their first ever Stanley Cup victory, recording 15 goals and 28 points along the way.​

​

AHL REPORT​

The Providence Bruins were shockingly ousted from the playoffs last night by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Baby B's had an AHL best record of 52-16-8 in the regular season but ultimately fell 3-1 in the first round after Shane Prince's OT goal ended their playoff hopes. The Vatrano/Khoklachev/Griffith line combined for 12 points in the series and Malcolm Subban put in a strong performance, recording a SV% of .927 but in the end it wasn't enough. It's a tough way to go out for the Baby B's but with the strong season they had there is certainly hope for next year.​

​

PROVIDENCE CATEGORY LEADERS

G |VATRANO|29
A |KHOKLACHEV|43
PTS |VATRANO|69
PIM |RINALDO|167
+/- |TROTMAN|+36
PPG |FERRIERO|6
GWG |TALBOT|7
HITS |BELLEMORE|235

AHL GOALTENDING STATS

|GP|W|L|OTL|GAA|SV%|SO
Subban|52|34|10|2|1.93|.931|8
McIntyre|26|17|6|1|2.02|.926|2
Smith|1|1|0|0|5.00|.865|0

TEAM STATISTIC REPORT

TEAM | W | L | OTL | PTS | GFPG | GF RANK | GAPG | GA RANK | PP% | PP RANK | PK% | PK RANK BOSTON |35|40|7|77|2.11|29TH|2.77|26TH|15.8|20TH|83.6|15TH
PROVIDENCE |52|16|8|112|3.00|1ST|2.05|2ND|17.0|10TH|88.0|4TH

 

[JohnJamieson]

HAYES TRADED, CHARA RETIRES

Jimmy Hayes (left), Zdeno Chara (right)

June 22, 2016
​

The Bruins made a small move ahead of tomorrow's entry draft, shipping disgruntled winger Jimmy Hayes to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for the Sens' 2017 3rd round draft pick. Much has been said about Hayes' performance last year and though the Bruins may be happy to see him go, the return may be a little less than they could have gotten if they had managed to move him earlier. The longer last season went on, the more his value as trade bait dwindled, it seemed.

The much bigger news is that Bruins captian Zdeno Chara has announced his retirement. The 39 year old spent 9 seasons in Boston and recorded career marks of 171 goals and 373 assists for a total of 544 points in 1263 games. Chara played in 6 All Star games, was a Norris Trophy finalist 6 times (winning it in 2009), won a Stanley Cup in 2011 with the Bruins and the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2011. Chara's performance slipped last year but nonetheless his leadership and unmistakeable presence will be sorely missed on the Bruins D line.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

2016 NHL ENTRY DRAFT
​

The Bruins have 8 picks in this year's very deep draft. Their lottery pick moved up to number 2. Could it really happen? Could they...

The Panthers select Max Jones with the first overall pick. Bruins GM John Jamieson approaches the podium to make his first ever draft selection with a big smile on his face. Beaming with happiness he announces the Bruins choice. "With the 2nd overall pick of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, the Bruins select... From the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League, Auston Matthews!" It's a huge day for the Bruins and the fans simply cannot wait for Matthews to get on the ice with a B's jersey on. They might not have to wait long as Matthews game is already very complete and well rounded and pundits are saying already they expect him to skate with the big club when the new season starts.​

​

There were a few interesting trades today at the draft; one saw the Senators acquire Roberto Luongo from Florida in exchange for Francis Perron and Ben Harpur. Are the Sens loading up in anticipation of a strong year? Perron certainly seems like a bona fide prospect and Luongo is old. There must be more moves to come in Ottawa. The Panthers make a nice prospect pickup after their asinine decision to pass up Auston Matthews with the first overall pick. They'll need to do something to address their goaltending situation this summer though as Al Montoya appears to be their only true NHL option.

Daniel Sedin was moved to Detroit today for a first round pick and the Sedin twins are split up for the first time as Vancouver finally begins a long-awaited rebuild.

The Sharks had Joe Thornton retire and after their Cup Final loss have traded away Joel Ward to St. Louis and Paul Martin to the New York Rangers for picks and prospects. It looks like they plan to get younger this year; will they be able to ice another contender or are they planning to go full rebuild now that Jumbo Joe is gone?

Let's take a look at all of the Bruins draft selections today.​

ROUND|PICK #|PLAYER|AGE|HT|WT|POS|TYPE|POTENTIAL|OVERALL
1|2| Auston Matthews |18|6'3"|198|C|PLY| MED ELITE |83
2|39| Patrik Laine |18|6'3"|209|RW|TWF| MED TOP 9 |63
4|110| Nathan Noel |19|6'1"|172|C|PLY| LOW BOTTOM 6 |64
5|125| Logan Stanley |18|6'6"|210|D|DFD| MED 7TH D |55
5|127| Fabian Heldner |20|6'4"|210|D|DFD| MED 7TH D |68
5|139| Felix Kollejan |20|6'2"|173|G|HYB| MED BACKUP |69
6|158| Ondrej Panna |20|5'11"|178|LW|TWF| MED AHL TOP 6 |67
7|185| Martin Osmik |20|6'2"|182|RW|PLY| MED BOTTOM 6 |70

It certainly has the appearance of a strong draft for the Bruins. Matthews is a sure-fire future superstar and Patrik Laine is probably a steal at #39. Nathan Noel is an interesting player with room to grow. He adds to the growing depth at centre for the Bruins, a seeming obsession for GM Jamieson since he took the reins. Stanley and Heldner are big, stay-at home defensemen, the likes of which the Bruins are always employing. Kollejan was not projected to be drafted but he just narrowly missed the cut for Team Germany at the last World Juniors and could be a nice pickup for a 5th-rounder. Panna and Osmik are a pair of wingers who add to the Czech delegation in the Bruins organization. Not much is known about either of these players but Osmik played for the Czech Junior team this year and could compete for a roster spot this year in Providence.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

RE-SIGN PHASE​

PLAYER|AGE|POS|TYPE|OVERALL|POTENTIAL|YEARS|AAV|2 WAY?
Kyle Okposo |28|RW|PWF|88| ELITE |6|5.85|
Torey Krug |25|D|OFD|86| MED TOP 4 |7|4.65|
Valeri Nichushkin |21|RW|SNP|84| LOW ELITE |6|2.975|
Seth Griffith |23|RW|SNP|84| HIGH TOP 6 |3|2.475|
Auston Matthews |18|C|PLY|83| MED ELITE |3|0.925|YES
Alexander Khoklachev |22|C|PLY|82| HIGH TOP 6 |1|0.80|
Joe Morrow |23|D|TWD|81| MED TOP 4 |2|1.25|
Max Talbot |32|RW|GRN|80| AHL TOP 6 |2|0.825|
Brett Connolly |24|RW|SNP|79| LOW TOP 9 |3|0.775|
John-Michael Liles |35|D|OFD|79| 7TH D |1|0.725|
Colin Miller |23|D|TWD|79| HIGH 7TH D |3|0.75|
Brett Bellemore |25|D|DFD|78| 7TH D |2|0.80|
Landon Ferraro |24|RW|TWF|77| BOTTOM 6 |3|0.775|
Zach Trotman |25|D|DFD|77| AHL TOP 2 |3|0.75|
Brandon DiFazio |27|RW|GRN|75| BOTTOM 6 |1|0.80|
Joonas Kemppainen |28|C|PWF|75| AHL TOP 6 |1|0.575|
Ryan Dzingel |24|C|TWF|73| MED TOP 9 |3|0.70|
Martin Osmik |20|RW|PLY|70| BOTTOM 6 |3|0.80|YES
Jesse Gabrielle |19|LW|PWF|65| MED TOP 9 |3|0.70|YES

Retired: Zdeno Chara(88).

Departing UFAs: Loui Eriksson(86), Matt Irwin(82), Kevan Miller(80), Jonas Gustavsson(79), Colin Breen(74), Tommy Cross(74).

Non-tendered RFAs: Brian Ferlin(72), Ben Sexton(72), Peter Cehlarik(68).
​

FREE AGENT SIGNINGS

PLAYER|AGE|POS|TYPE|OVERALL|POTENTIAL|YEARS|AAV|2 WAY?
Keith Yandle |29|D|OFD|86| TOP 4 |4|5.35|
Roman Polak |30|D|DFD|83| TOP 4 |2|4.275|
Steve Ott |33|LW|GRN|81| BOTTOM 6 |2|1.375|
Luke Schenn |26|D|DFD|78| HIGH TOP 4 |2|0.80|
Mark Visentin |23|G|HYB|77| LOW FRINGE STARTER |2|0.70|

DEPTH CHART (NOT INCLUDING UNSIGNED ROOKIES)
C:10
LW:7
RW:12
D:14
G:4​

Changes in potential from last year noted as we reach the preseason:

• Valeri Nichushkin went from Low Elite to Low Top 6 F.
• Landon Ferraro went from Med Bottom 6 F to Med AHL Top 6 F.
• Max Talbot went from Exact Bottom 6 F to Exact AHL Top 6 F.
• Joe Morrow went from Med Top 4 D to Med Top 6 D.
• John-Michael Liles went from Exact 7th D to Exact AHL Top 2 D.
• Malcolm Subban went from Med Starter to Med Elite.
• Mark Visentin went from Low Fringe Starter to Low Backup.
• Fabian Heldner went from Med 7th D to Med AHL Top 2 D.

The best jumps in overall rating were for Seth Griffith, who went from 80 to 86 over the last year, Austin Czarnik who went from 74 to 80, and both Malcolm Subban and Alexander Khoklachev who went from 80 to 85.

GM JJ on the upcoming season: "I certainly thought I had signed several more of those guys to 2 way contracts... Not sure whether I screwed up or there is something weird with the game. I feel like I heard someone else on HFBoards make a complaint about this before. Hopefully Jacobs doesn't fire me if it was my fault! I am a fan of the scotch you know... and sometimes... Anyways, it appears that only the ELC contracts signed are two-way and I had saved long before I noticed this. This would make things more difficult if there are any injuries this year. Oh well, fingers crossed!"​

 

[JohnJamieson]

SEASON 2 BRUINS OPENING DAY ROSTER (2016-2017)

Nichushkin(86)|Bergeron(91)|Okposo(88)
Krejci(88)|Matthews(85)|Griffith(84)
Marchand(86)|Spooner(84)|Beleskey(83)
Vatrano(78)|McClement(81)|Ott(82)

Krug(86)|Polak(83)
Yandle(86)|McQuaid(82)
Morrow(83)|Miller(79)
Schenn(80)|

Rask(92)
Subban(85)

• The Bruins cap hit is at $67.685 mil. Having cleared the retained salary from last year and with the cap increase this leaves them $9.1 mil in cap space, plenty of room to work with in trade negotiations.
  
• The average age of our NHL roster is 26.6, noticeably younger than last year.
  
• Auston Matthews is the youngest player on the team at 19, while Steve Ott is the oldest at 34.
  
• LW Jake DeBrusk and D Brandon Carlo will make the jump to the pros and join Providence while Jeremy Lauzon, Jakub Zboril, Zach Senyshyn and Jesse Gabrielle will begin the year with their respective CHL teams.
  
• The Bruins have 3 open contract spots.
  
• The Bruins are still heavy on right wingers but have added plenty of depth at centre and look well stocked. The left side is still a little weak for them both in the NHL and the AHL, especially after the departure of Loui Eriksson to free agency (Nashville Predators). Their forward groups are noticeably stronger at both levels this year.
  
• The B's could use another top 4 defenseman for the big squad. Losing Chara to retirement was tough. They have 3 top notch defense prospects in Carlo, Zboril, and Lauzon but they all need time to develop and none are near ready for NHL ice-time. Colin Miller and Joe Morrow graduated to the NHL and transition from first pair AHL to 3rd pair NHL together. Overall, it's safe to say the B's organization is stacked with potential on defense but could use just a little help now.
  
• Pending UFAs on the NHL roster this year: Jay McClement, Brad Marchand.
  
• The Bruins have only 5 picks for next year's draft- one 3rd, 6th, and 7th rounder with 2 in the 4th round. We can expect them to target some picks in the first 2 rounds via trade, especially since this year is expected to be another strong draft.
  
• The Bruins mirrored last year's preseason with a 3-4-0 mark. They showed more offensive upside as Val Nichushkin had 8 points while Seth Griffith and Torey Krug tied for the team lead with 4 goals each. Like last year, the Bruins 4th line continued to be awful and the Bruins gave multiple players looks in the bottom 6 as they tried to find some combination that didn't hemorrhage goals. There are rumours the team strongly considered placing Matt Beleskey in the AHL to start the season.
  
• The team had an incredible spike from 64% to 84% morale as we roll into the season. They look like a stronger group than last year despite their lackluster pre-season. Patrice Bergeron was named the new captain after Chara's retirement while David Krejci and Kyle Okposo will be the alternates.
  
• Joe Sacco had his interim tag removed and will be the head coach this year.

 

[JohnJamieson]

Heading into the season...

Boston|91 OFF|89 DEF|93 GOA|84% CHEM
Providence|81 OFF|77 DEF|79 GOA|79% CHEM

SEASON OPENER

Oct. 9, 2016
WASHINGTON

(0-0-0) vs. BOSTON

(0-0-0)​

The Bruins face the defending Cup champions in their first game of the year. Both 2016 first overall pick Auston Matthews and undrafted Massachussets product Frank Vatrano play their first NHL game for the Bruins tonight.

Matthews takes a hooking penalty just 3:20 into the game but it's killed off without incident. Unfortunately Adam McQuaid takes a minor for slashing at 5:54 and Ovechkin scores on the power play and it's 1-0 Caps. The Bruins get a long power play with some 5-on-3 after back-to-back penalties by Carlson and Latta and put 5 shots on goal but none evade Braden Holtby. The first period ends without further scoring but the Bruins pressed hard and had the better chances as the period went on.

The Bruins continue to press early in the second and get another 5-on-3 advantage but can't score and T.J. Oshie steps out of the box with perfect timing to receive a Nicklas Backstrom pass and walks in on Rask and makes no mistake. 2-0 Capitals.

McQuaid has a heavy scrap with Brandon Prust off a faceoff at 9:15 of the period, hoping to spark his team. Both guys flail away with right hands in front of the net, just eating hard punches until McQuaid lands a doozy and Prust is compelled to sit down a moment. Unfortunately it doesn't provide what the Bruins were hoping for and Ovie makes it 3-0 at 15:04 when he charges across the blue line and gets outside of Colin Miller where he drills a ridiculous wrist shot far side over Rask's catching glove.

At 1:36 of the 3rd Prust drops 'em with Ott when Ott bumps Holtby after he stops his tip of Krug's point shot. Prust is simply not nice to Ott at all. He spins him around some and drills him with punch after punch until Ott finally gives up and assumes a defensive enough stance the linesmen jump in and stop the beating. Ovechkin, the reigning Conn Smythe trophy winner makes it a hat trick just 12 seconds later and after his slapshot from the middle of the slot bangs off the back bar and out it's so quiet in the arena you can hear almost nothing except Ovechkin's linemates congratulating him on his fine performance in game 1 of the season.

At 3:12 Jay McClement scores the first Bruins' goal of the year. The 4th line cycle the puck down low behind the net and McClement is able to break from his man towards the front and stuff it between Holtby's pads. Frank Vatrano gets an assist for his first career point in his first career game. Jay Beagle takes a hooking minor at 9:03 and Kyle Okposo promptly responds with a power play goal for the Bruins. Patrice Bergeron wins the faceoff right after and Krug makes a nice pass to send him across the blue line with speed. He skates right down the pipe and his wrist shot goes off the top of Holtby's stick and in! In just 17 seconds the Bruins have closed the gap to 4-3.

The Bruins controlled much of the play tonight and outshot the Capitals 32-24 but couldn't overcome the 4-0 deficit. Okposo had a goal and 2 assists and Krejci who struggled mightily last year in his worst season to date had a pair of assists. Auston Matthews was -1 in 18:07 while going 10-for-17 in the faceoff circle in his NHL debut.​

Oct. 10, 2016
BOSTON

(0-1-0) vs. PHILADELPHIA

(1-0-0)​

A very hard fought first period ends 0-0 with the Bruins outshooting Philly 11-10. Each team took a minor and killed it but this game has been hotly contested and well-played so far with both teams succeeding at advancing the puck but both teams also blocking shots and giving no quarter in their defensive zones.

Wayne Simmonds takes an interference penalty 51 seconds into the second and on the powerplay at 2:37 Auston Matthews scores his first NHL goal. He wins the offensive zone faceoff to winger Nichushkin on his left then steps towards the middle. He receives the return pass and buries a huge one-timer over Michal Neuvirth's blocker shoulder that Neuvirth doesn't even react to. He gets mobbed by his teammates and Krejci digs the puck out of the net for him. You'd have to think it's just one of many.

Wayne Simmonds spoils the party with a goal of his own just 50 seconds later. For the rest of the second the teams lock horns in a battle of attrition where neither team can solve the other. The Bruins outhit Philly 18-10 but shots are tied at 18 and the score is tied at 1 heading into the 3rd.

At 7:06 of the 3rd Bergeron scores when he bangs home the rebound on a Yandle shot and the Bruins have the lead once more. The Bruins batten down the hatches and Seth Griffith adds an empty-netter for a 3-1 Bruins victory.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

Oct. 12, 2016
DALLAS

(1-1-0) vs. BOSTON

(1-1-0)​

The Bruins face the Stars for the first time since trading Dennis Seidenberg to them last year in exchange for Val Nichushkin. The first period sees fast-paced action with the Stars outshooting the Bruins 13-12 in the frame. Both aforementioned players took minor penalties early on in the game and the Stars also had to kill 2 more penalties but the score remains 0-0 after 1.

Sharp finally opens the scoring at 4:49 when Dennis Seidenberg blocks McQuaid's clearing attempt along the boards then feeds it to Sharp at the top of the slot. He finds a little seam and strides forward into a hard wrist shot that beats Rask low stick side through traffic. 22 seconds later the Bruins go on the penalty kill as Roman Polak takes an interference penalty trying to slow down Tyler Seguin. When the Stars regained the puck in their zone and Oduya made a nice exit pass, the transition up ice happened quickly and Polak got caught out of position. Seguin would record 3 shots on the power play but they were all turned aside as Rask holds the Bruins in this tight game. The Bruins got mean after the Sharp goal, outhitting the Stars 8-1 over the remainder of a 2nd period that ended 1-0 Dallas.

At the 2:09 mark of the third Johnny Oduya makes it 2-0 on what is already Dallas' 30th shot of the game. Just a minute later Adam McQuaid fights Antoine Roussel after Roussel hits him on the forecheck. Last year Roussel was suspended for 2 games for a vicious cross check to the throat of McQuaid and you had to figure he would want to settle the score tonight. Both guys went down in a heap after the check and as McQuaid is getting up he mauls Roussel a little and they lock eyes and drop gloves. They trade a couple of hard rights each but then McQuaid lands a very strong uppercut that quiets Roussel's action. McQuaid goes under again and then over. Roussel is trying to switch to his left and McQuaid manages to rip his helmet off and as he loads up the right Roussel lands a decent left but loses his balance and goes down and the fight is over. Probably lucky for Roussel as he's a gamer and no slouch when it comes to the fisticuffs but McQuaid was getting the better of him and it looked like it was just about to get a whole lot worse.

The Bruins have to kill a 5-on-3 midway through the period after McClement gets called for hooking and then Bergeron goes off for delay of game when he tries to clear the puck on the PK but lifts it over the glass. They manage to get it done and with 5:09 to go Seth Griffith scores during a wild goalmouth melee to bring the B's within one. The home crowd roars with approval as Griffith celebrates with a big fist pump as all are fired up and desperate for another goal. Sadly, the Bruins would not get it and they lose 2-1 despite the play of Tuukka Rask, who had 38 saves and even received the game's first star for his brilliant performance in the disappointing loss.​

Oct. 15, 2016
FLORIDA

(2-0-0) vs. BOSTON

(1-2-0)​

A couple lineup tweaks are made heading into tonight as Marchand will skate on the first line with Bergeron and Okposo while Valeri Nichushkin will move down to the third line with Spooner and Beleskey. Also Keith Yandle and Torey Krug will trade D partners- Yandle now has Polak on his right and Krug has McQuaid. Malcolm Subban makes just the second NHL start of his career, with his first being way back on Feb.20, 2015. That game didn't go so well for him and neither does the start of this one as Alex Petrovic beats him with a long wrister from the point with Florida's first shot of the game. Brad Marchand was forced to leave the game after just his second shift with a groin strain. Auston Matthews evens the score at 4:14 with a beauty give-and-go with David Krejci on a set play off a face-off. Nichushkin gives the Bruins a 2-1 lead when he drives the net on the power play and rifles a blur of a snap shot into the top corner past Al Montoya at the 10:14 mark.

At the end of the 2nd the score is still 2-1. Florida are outshooting Boston 23-18 but Malcolm Subban has overcome his early nerves and made several good saves, especially early on in the period when the Panthers had some good offensive zone time and pressed hard in their attempt to even the score.

The Panthers get in trouble early in the 3rd with a series of penalties but Al Montoya deflects all the rubber Boston send his way and made a particularly great glove save on Colin Miller, sliding across the crease and snatching the puck out of mid-air when it appeared to be headed for a yawning, wide- open net. The Bruins would go on to outshoot Florida 12-8 in the scoreless 3rd period as they improve to 2-2-0.

Malcolm Subban earned his first career NHL victory with 30 saves and was named the first star after he finished the game with about 58 and a half minutes of shutout hockey. The Krejci/Matthews/Griffith line continue to impress, combining for 5 points tonight and 13 on the season so far through the first 4 games.​

Oct. 16, 2016
BOSTON

(2-2-0) vs. FLORIDA

(2-1-0)​

Brad Marchand is out day-to-day with his groin injury and David Pastrnak has been called up and will skate all the way up on the first line as Joe Sacco said before the game that he doesn't want to disturb any of the other lines. This will result in recent 7th round draftee Martin Osmik dressing for his first action of the year in Providence. Rask gets the nod tonight in the 2nd half of a back-to-back against the Panthers.

The Bruins come out firing on all cylinders and Torey Krug puts the Bruins on the board early when he beats career AHL goalie and this year's Florida backup Mike McKenna with a slap shot from the point. After being outshout 7-2 up to this point Florida get engaged and by the time they tie it with former Bruin Reilly Smith's goal at 3:01 of the 2nd period the shots are tied at 12. Dave Bolland takes a holding penalty and Patrice Bergeron makes it 2-1 Boston at 8:02 when he stuffs home a Joe Morrow point shot rebound past a sprawling McKenna on the power play. Jussi Jokinen ties the game at 2 with just 7 seconds left in the 2nd. Rask is incensed and chases after the referee giving him an earful as he feels Jokinen interfered with him on the play and the Bruins challenge but the goal holds up after review.

The Panthers are throwing their weight around in the 3rd, having delivered 9 hits by the time Jokinen scores again at the 10:16 mark to give Florida the lead. The goal sucks the life out of the Bruins and a Vincent Trochek empty netter seals it for a 4-2 Panthers win.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT

JEREMY LAUZON
Age:19
Position: D
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 195
Shoots: L
Drafted: #52 overall by Boston (2015)
Player Type: TWD
Potential: HIGH TOP 4
Overall Rating: 68
​

Jeremy Lauzon is another top-tier blue line prospect for the Bruins. He is a flashy, energetic two-way defender with good size. Lauzon is very aggressive in transition with the puck and will take risks to create offensive chances. At times he gets himself in trouble by making low-percentage decisions which leave him out of position, but his elite speed and acceleration have often helped him recover on plays where most would be unable to.

Lauzon scored 50 points last year in 46 regular season games with Rouyn-Noranda in the QMJHL. He had a scary incident in last year's playoffs where his neck was cut by a skate. He was rushed to hospital and required surgery on his larynx. Incredibly he missed only a month of play before returning for the Memorial Cup when most thought his year was certainly over. He is a tough kid and has the type of competitive edge that most others simply don't have.

Defensively he has some work to do with his positioning and awareness, but he's a great hitter and particularly adept at lining up his opponents in open-ice. He has some NHL-quality skills already in his skating and his shot, but will need to make adjustments to be effective at the pro level. His offensive creativity is a huge asset but will need to be reined in a little against the higher level of competition he will face. By all accounts he's got the smarts and the work ethic to make the changes he needs to make and he projects to be a top 4 defender some day.
​

JAKE DEBRUSK
Age: 20
Position: LW
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 179
Shoots: L
Drafted: #14 overall by Boston (2015)
Player Type: SNP
Potential: HIGH TOP 6
Overall Rating: 71​

Jake DeBrusk is an offensively gifted young left winger who made his pro debut in Providence to start the year. He's a natural goal scorer who finds his way to scoring areas and has terrific stickhandling skills in tight quarters and a great shot. His speed is only average but he has a great first step and can expertly use deception and agility to create space for himself with and without the puck. Jake is the son of former NHL tough guy Louie DeBrusk. The youngster can't quite throw 'em like his dad did but he's got some grit to his game and will fight occasionally.

DeBrusk is pretty well-rounded for a 20 year old and doesn't have any one true weakness in his game. He works very hard on and off the ice and scored 42 goals two seasons ago with the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL. He suffered a terrible injury last season and perhaps came back too soon. He had half as many goals with 21 but was still better than a point-per-game player as his playmaking skills showed improvement.

DeBrusk has a goal and an assist in his first 3 games with Providence, and has registered 10 shots already. He's been deployed for 18:58 a night so far and it looks like he'll be given every opportunity to develop this year under Head Coach Bruce Cassidy.​

AHL UPDATE​

The Baby B's got crushed 5-0 in their season opener in Springfield but have a pair of 5-2 wins to their name against the Lehigh Valley Phantons since. The Bruins signed 2016 5th round pick D Fabian Heldner to a 3 year entry level deal yesterday and he will join Providence on the third pair with Linus Arnesson.

Free agent signing Mark Visentin and last year's AHL backup Zane McIntyre have been neck and neck for the starting job and it'll be interesting to see if either can claim it for himself. Rookie D prospect Brandon Carlo is +3 in the team's first 3 games and has seen some time on both the PP and the PK. Rapidly improving Austin Czarnik has record 2 goals and 3 assists already as he continues to show improving offensive upside.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

Oct. 19, 2016
BOSTON

(2-3-0) vs. NEW YORK

(3-1-1)​

The first period is a heavy-hitting affair that sees little offense early. Midway through the period things start to open up as Auston Matthews gets sprung on a breakaway when David Krejci floats a great pass over the Rangers D off a turnover but Henrik Lundquist stones him with a beautiful pad save. Play intensifies and the teams each squander a power play opportunity before Paul Martin scores with 3:35 to go in the first with a wrist shot that finds it's way through traffic and Tuukka Rask. Hits are 21-9 NYR and shots favour them 23-16 through two periods as they clearly have an edge on the Bruins tonight while the stellar play of Rask holds them in the game again for now.

The Bruins go all out in the 3rd period trying to salvage the game and they get chance after chance only to be denied by The King. They go 0-for-5 on the power play tonight and despite outshooting New York 14-5 in the 3rd they drop another game. Dylan McIlrath added an empty netter with just 4 seconds remaining for your 2-0 final. The Rangers outhit the Bruins with a barely credible stat of 33-12.​

Oct. 20, 2016
BOSTON

(2-4-0) vs. TAMPA BAY

(2-2-0)​

Malcolm Subban gets the start the next evening against Tampa. Kucherov stakes the Lightning to a 1-0 lead 5 minutes in but Okposo responds at 7:08 with the Bruins first goal since the first period against Florida 2 games ago.

Early season call up David Pastrnak gives the Bruins a 2-1 lead at 3:42 in the second when Bergeron's strong play along the boards allows him to cut towards the net where his pass finds Pastrnak waiting for an easy tap in on the other side of the net. Both teams have been very engaged physically and things start taking a turn for the nasty after Steve Ott crashes the crease on a play shortly after Pastrnak's goal. After all kinds of pushing and shoving Ott and Brian Boyle are sent off with matching minors and the penalties continue to accumulate after that. Each team would take 3 further minor penalties in the period but the defenses held strong and the 2-1 score is maintained.

Joe Morrow takes a silly holding penalty behind the Bruins net 18 seconds into the third and Anton Stralman cashes in a minute later. We have a tie game. Vladislav "Baby don't hurt me" Namestnikov punches one through Subban from the point at 3:18 and Kucherov makes it 4-2 just over a minute later when he buries a chance up top on a 2-on-1. Patrice Bergeron scores on the power play at 6:09 and the Bruins pull within one. At 8:04 the much maligned Matt Beleskey scores on a tremendous effort in front of the net. After Bishop stopped his initial shot he fought through Garrison and Hamhuis to get a couple more whacks at it and manages to chip it in and the Bruins have tied it in a wild 3rd period!

2 minutes later Hamhuis gets shown the gate and receives a 5 minute major for boarding when he crushes Bergeron from behind as Bergeron beat him to the puck on a dump in. A wild melee ensued where little guys Torey Krug and Tyler Johnson dropped the gloves and Adam McQuaid engaged in a spirited bout with Braydon Coburn. Stephen Stamkos and Kyle Okposo also received minors for roughing on the play and Subban skated out of his net towards his blue line and challenged Bishop to a fight but that didn't materialize; perhaps that was best for the young netminder given the incredible size of Ben Bishop.

The teams settled down and Tampa killed the long 5-on-4 and the 3rd came to a close without further incident at 4-4. David Krejci logged 3 shots in OT and did a magnificent job controlling the puck late in the frame before his no look saucer pass to Patrice Bergeron in the slot was emphatically drilled through Bishop's pads for a 5-4 Bruins win! Bergeron had 4 points as the struggling first line broke out tonight and Krug, Pastrnak and Okposo each had 2 points.​

Oct. 23, 2016
BUFFALO

(2-4-1) vs. BOSTON

(3-4-0)​

Brad Marchand returns tonight as David Pastrnak received unwelcome news after his strong recent performance and was sent back down to Providence yesterday. Sacco hopes Bergeron and Okposo build off their recent momentum and switches Griffith and Nichushkin in the hopes of stimulating the stagnant 3rd line and the 2nd line which has cooled off after their hot start.

Marchand/Bergeron/Okposo
Krejci/Matthews/Nichushkin
Beleskey/Spooner/Griffith
Vatrano/McClement/Ott

Malcolm Subban gets another start against a weak Sabres squad. Bergeron scores on the first shot of the game just 43 seconds in on a nifty feed on the wing from Marchand. Then at 2:28 Beleskey scores his second in 2 games on their second shot leaving Robin Lehner frustrated and visibly angry. It's a good thing you can't read lips through a goalie mask! Buffalo control the play a little more through the period and do a good job blocking shots and stifling the Bruins offense from there but when the first ends it's still 2-0 Boston.

Tyler Ennis gets the Sabres on the boards 2 minutes into the second as their offense continues to pile up the shots on goal, a disturbing recent trend. McQuaid and Josh Gorges get into it at 11:05 but it's at the end of a long shift for both of them and no truly significant blows are landed in the short affair. Keith Yandle nets his first of the year when he joins the rush and smashes a hard one-timer by Lehner from the slot on Ryan Spooner's drop pass. Buffalo have the edge in shots 27-18 through 2.

Malcolm Subban makes an astounding 18 saves in the third and Auston Matthews adds an empty netter in the final minute as Boston win 4-1. Subban was Su-perb in this one as his 44 saves earned him the game's first star. Could he be emerging as a challenger to Rask's grip on the starting job in Boston? His 44 saves underscore the Bruins weak team defense as of late. They'll need to make some adjustments and tighten up. They are carrying the defensive minded Luke Schenn as their 7th D man and it's a bit surprising he has yet to crack the line-up but the problem is this: Morrow and Miller have probably been the team's best D pair and you'd have to think the Bruins are loath to scratch any of their top 4 in favour of Schenn. David Krejci had 2 assists tonight and already has 10 through the first 8 games though he has yet to score.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

Oct. 26, 2016
DETROIT

(6-2-0) vs. BOSTON

(4-4-0)​

AHL G Zane McIntyre left the team's 3-1 win against the Binghamton Senators on Friday night and in turn the Bruins have signed G Felix Kollejan, whom they drafted at pick #139 in the summer to a 3 year entry level deal. Kollejan flew over from Germany on Tuesday and the 20 year old is expected to start against the St. John's Ice Caps this Saturday night in his professional debut. McIntyre is expected to be out at least two weeks with a groin injury.

The Bruins host the red hot Red Wings tonight and Keith Yandle opens the scoring early when he gets around his man at the point, skates into the slot and rips a cannon of a drive that gets under Jimmy Howard's glove at 2:06. With Riley Sheahan in the box for roughing young speedster Andreas Athanasiou blocks a Krug shot at the point and takes off with the puck on a breakaway and finishes with a nice backhand over Rask's shoulder to even the score at 3:24. That would be all the scoring in the period as the Bruins controlled play, looking confident tonight in search of their 3rd straight win.

Yandle scores his second of the night on the power play at 8:36 of the second period. Bergeron digs the puck out of a little scrum in the corner and moves it to Yandle who pinched down on the play. Yandle fires it immediately on net from the low half wall and it seemed to take Howard by surprise as he couldn't get the wickets closed and was beaten five hole on a shot he probably should have stopped. 2-1 after 2, with the Bruins leading in shots 21-10.

Riley Sheahan ties it at 5:30 into the third when he beats Rask over the shoulder directly off a faceoff. The Wings have been hanging tough and doggedly cling to life as the Bruins continue to dominate the flow of play. Tomas Tatar and Mike Green get sent off 37 seconds apart but the Bruins can't beat Howard on the long 5-on-3 and the game heads into overtime. Just 31 seconds in Andreas Athanasiou scores his 2nd of the night to win the game when he takes a pass from Green in the neutral zone, speeds across the blue line and fires a low wrister that beats Rask to his glove side. A bitter loss for the Bruins, whose power play went 1-for-8 on the evening.​

Oct. 29, 2016
BOSTON

(4-4-1) vs. NEW JERSEY

(4-3-1)​

Luke Schenn is inserted into the lineup for tonight's matchup against the Devils. Colin Miller has done a good job so far but will sit this one out as the low man on the totem pole so the team can get a look at what Schenn can bring to the table. Schenn takes a pair of minor penalties early in the game much to the chagrin of GM JJ, Joe Sacco and Colin Miller but Rask bails him out. The first period is a chippy affair as New Jersey takes 3 penalties of their own, all for stick infractions but it comes to a close knotted at 0.

The game remains tied until 7:47 of the second when Trazis Zajac scores on the power play for the Devils. It feels like a bit of a back breaker for a Boston squad that has entered the year with high hopes but hasn't performed much better than they did last year so far. It takes some time for them to get their feet back under them again and finally at 11:10 of the 3rd Ryan Spooner scores his first goal of the year to tie the game when he carries the puck past the blue line and down to the top of the circle where he fires a quick wrister that eludes Corey Schneider who was screened by his own defenseman. Radim Vrbata scores for NJ with 2:13 to go and just when you thought it was over Frankie Vatrano scores his first NHL goal with 1:07 left in regulation to send us off to overtime.

Overtime is a chess match to keep possession of the puck until late in the frame where the Bruins press and Bergeron gets a couple quality looks but Schneider holds the door shut and off to the shootout we go. Vrbata goes first for New Jersey. He's one of the best in the shootout and it shows as he gets in tight on Rask and makes a beautiful deke to his left that Rask bites on but when he goes back to the forehand he hits the post as the Bruins get very lucky. Bergeron steps up for Boston and moves out to his right of Schneider with speed. He fakes a wrister then jukes backhand and Schneider slides across the crease with him as he drags the puck back to his forehand and finishes with ease into an empty net. Mike Cammalleri goes next but he takes the wrist shot a bit early trying to fool Rask who makes an easy pad save. Krejci comes up for Boston and makes a beautiful move to his backhand and lifts it in to get the Bruins the win.

At 5-4-1 the B's record is a hair better than last season's 4-5-1 through 10 games. This is where the wheels fell off last year and you have to feel like this next stretch of games will give us a look at whether they've improved and learned from last year or not.​

Oct. 30, 2016
COLORADO

(4-3-2) vs. BOSTON

(5-4-1)​

Tonight the Bruins are back at home to take on the Avalanche and Subban gets the start between the pipes. News out of Colorado indicates that talented young defenseman Brandon Gormley is unhappy with his role there and that he has asked the team to trade him. It seems the team doesn't want to see him go and they hope things can be mended but this situation should be monitored to see if he becomes available. Rumour also has it the team is fielding offers for promising D prospect Chris Bigras. Colorado have 17 defensemen signed right now- more depth than they can use while they are lacking on the right wing, which would seem to make them ideal trade partners for the Bruins. The Avs are right up against the cap and could use some relief.

Steve Ott gets the Bruins on the board early as the pesky grinder bangs in a rebound off Vatrano's shot and there is a little shoving after as Erik Johnson is not happy with the way Ott asserted himself in front of the cage. Tempers flare but it passes quickly and the show goes on. The teams fly back and forth trading hits and shots. Gormley has a strong first period with 2 shots and 2 hits. He's mostly been the odd man out this season. Is Colorado letting Boston have a look at him to encourage an offer? Taylor Beck ties the game with just under 3 minutes to go and we enter the second period 1-1.

Brandon Gormley scores at 4:07 of the second and the 'Lanche take the lead. He picked his spot well joining the rush and got in tight on Subban and buried his own rebound while flying past the net. Then he takes a penalty for holding a few minutes later but Colorado kill it successfully. He steps out of the box at just the right time, takes about 5 strides and just labels Ryan Spooner in the neutral zone as he received a pass from Roman Polak. The chirping gets going from both benches and the Bruins buckle down and play some great hockey for the rest of the period, getting lots of chances but Semyon Varlamov refuses to be solved.

Just 19 seconds after the puck drops to start the 3rd Patrice Bergeron takes a pass as the B's enter the zone and takes a shot that bounces off Nikita Zadorov's leg and in to tie it up. Gormley lands a solid hit on Auston Matthews 22 seconds after that and McQuaid has a chat with him and a few shoves are exchanged but play moves on. Tough guy Cody McLeod replies for Colorado when Spooner loses a D zone draw and the Bruins fail to get it out. The Avs throw it on net a couple of times and McLeod stands on the doorstep and bangs a rebound home with 14:09 remaining in regulation. The Bruins efforts to tie the game are in vain and who else would score an empty netter to ice the game but... Brandon Gormley. His second of the night (and season} makes it a 4-2 final. Can Boston even trade for him now? They might just hate him!​

 

[JohnJamieson]

Nov. 2, 2016
BOSTON

(5-5-1) vs. CALGARY

(7-2-1)​

A few lineup changes have been made ahead of tonight's game in Calgary. Krejci and Okposo have switched lines giving a new top 6 of:

Marchand/Bergeron/Krejci
Nichushkin/Matthews/Okposo​

Joe Morrow will be given a shot on the top pair with Keith Yandle tonight and Colin Miller re-enters the lineup in place of Luke Schenn. The Bruins hope that emphasizing speed in their defensive unit will help them deal with the fast, young Flames team who are on a roll to start the season. Here's the look at D:

Yandle/Morrow
Krug/McQuaid
Polak/Miller​

Tuukka Rask returns to the crease this evening and the game sees it's first goal when Sean Monahan tallies on the power play at 8:14 of the first period. Jonas Hiller made 7 saves in the first for Calgary, who take a 1-0 lead into the second.

Early in the second Joe Colborne gets in on the forecheck and knocks Morrow down against the boards with a hard, clean check. Former Bruins draftee Colborne picks up the puck and the Flames are able to cycle a little before Tyler Wotherspoon steps into a big slapshot that scrapes Rask's glove on it's way by into the net. Michael Frolik adds another at 10:31 for a 3-0 Calgary lead. With 4:55 to go in the second Okposo gets the Bruins on the board when he pots a goal off a slick cross-ice Colin Miller pass.

Former Bruin Dougie Hamilton makes it 4-1 Flames with a power play goal (both CGY PP goals came with Marchand in the box) but Okposo scores his second of the night also on the PP at 11:25. Later Matt Beleskey drives hard to the net around Dennis Wideman and rifles a hard shot through Hiller to bring them within one. When the puck goes in Beleskey immediately looks up at the scoreboard to check how much time is left as his teammates gather to congratulate him- there is 5:55 left for the team to tie the game. They can't manage it and Mikael Backlund notches an empty netter at 19:12 to kill the Bruins' hopes.

At 5-6-1 we will presently abandon daily coverage but we may return at any time if the team can make things a little more exciting.

The Bruins offense is definitely stronger and deeper this year and Auston Matthews has been very good in his rookie season and figures to develop into a bona fide star. There is great veteran leadership in their forward group and Griffith, Pastrnak, Khoklachev and a few other forwards look to be developing nicely in their various stations in the Bruins organization. While they aren't quite there yet, it looks like they could be a dangerous offensive team in the next few years without necessarily having to add any major pieces- if they can make it work with the salary cap. They're still weaker on the left wing than on the right and could address that this year.

It seems the Bruins lack a true difference maker at D right now. 3 of last year's top 6 are gone as Chara retired and Matt Irwin and Kevan Miller departed via free agency. Irwin got a huge raise from the Leafs and the Bruins just weren't willing to pay him the 3 plus million he was asking for. Contract negotiations with Miller went sour as the two sides couldn't agree on term. They added the best D man available in free agency in Keith Yandle but his best days are behind him and they swung and missed on Kyle Quincey who landed with Arizona. Joe Morrow has progressed nicely of late but seems unlikely to develop into a #1 type guy- and you get the feeling Boston might like to add that type of guy. The question is: are they willing to part with the resources necessary to acquire such a player- and should they? They have 3 very strong D prospects in Carlo, Zboril, and Lauzon but they are very young and it will take some time for these players to become NHL ready.

Rask and Subban are an excellent goal tending tandem and the depth in the AHL is nice with good prospects Visentin, McIntyre and Kollejan. If Boston can't insert themselves into the playoff race they could consider sending Subban back to the AHL to be a full-time starter. Having given up this year's first-rounder in the Okposo trade, the Bruins will definitely hope the pick the Isles received is not a high one in what is expected to be another strong draft.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

BRUINS ACQUIRE 3RD, 4TH ROUND PICKS FROM JETS

Nov.10, 2016

Logan Stanley​

The Bruins have announced a trade with the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets receive 2 of the B's 2016 draftees- 6'6" stay at home defenseman Logan Stanley and Czech winger Ondrej Panna for the Jets' 2017 3rd round and 2018 4th round picks. The Jets made more than one attempt to acquire Stanley according to multiple sources and it will be interesting to see how this deal pans out. The Bruins wanted to acquire draft picks and managed to do so- in fact last year's 5th and 6th round picks turned into 3rd and 4ths for Boston which looks very good on GM John Jamieson. The 18-year old Stanley was the primary target for Winnipeg and his size alone makes him an intriguing prospect. He has had a solid start to the year with Windsor in the OHL and Jamieson said he did not really want to trade Stanley but felt he had to with the value on the table. No one thought much of the selection of Ondrej Panna but he has played very well for Karlovy Vary this year in the Czech Extraliga and could be an underrated prospect. It's a little surprising to see the Bruins part with a left wing when they are so thin at the position but it's thought this could be a precursor to further deals by Boston to try to get into the first and/or second rounds of this year's draft, where the B's currently do not own picks.​

 

[tmlms13]

Is there a way to tell the owner to give me some freaking money to maintain the building, not upgrade, just freaking maintain. It's year 3 and I haven't upgraded a single thing, pissing me off so much.

 

[JohnJamieson]

HALFWAY REPORT​

​

After 41 games...

Boston|91 OFF|89 DEF|86 GOA|85% CHEM
Providence|81 OFF|78 DEF|80 GOA|79% CHEM

​

Jan. 10, 2017
​

At the halfway mark the Boston Bruins are 9th in the east, just one point behind the Ottawa Senators for a wild card spot. Meanwhile, in Providence the team has seen it's ups and downs. After an excellent start to the year they are recently 0-5-1 after a spate of injuries and find themselves tied for the final Eastern playoff spot.

Boston had been 13-16-1 but have gone on a 7-3-1 run to make a jump in the standings despite the loss of Tuukka Rask to injury midway through this stretch of strong play. The Bruins chose to call up pro rookie Felix Kollejan to back up Malcolm Subban but have not played him yet. Visentin and McIntyre were deemed too valuable to lose on waivers and the AHL squad had their own difficulties with goaltending when McIntyre missed several weeks due to injury. The AHL squad is expected to rebound as they are returning to full strength and Boston's offense has recently been consistently good with 3.27 GPG in the last 11; they seem to have settled into their individual roles as of late and each line is performing well. The Bruins' unheralded D have made good strides lately and the most recent pairings of Yandle-McQuaid, Krug-Morrow, and Polak-Miller are gaining traction and starting to show real chemistry together.

The team does have room to improve between now and the deadline; let's look at how they could try to do so, beginning with a recap of the team's NTC situation this year.

Tuukka Rask has a full no movement clause this year which changes to an 8 team list modified NTC for the following 2 years and a 15 team list for the final 2 years of his contract after that.

Krejci has full no movement until 2019-20. He had a brutal campaign last year but is on pace for one of the better seasons of his career.

Bergeron's situation remains the same- he may be asked for a 3 team list and this scenario remains far-fetched.

Marchand can be asked for a 15 team list and will go UFA after the season. With the growth of Pastrnak and Griffith, could the team really cut ties with a piece of their 2011 Cup team? It seems possible. Marchand had an awful start to the season but is starting to settle down. He had 21 and 28 goals in his first 2 seasons, then 18 in just 45 games of a strike shortened year. After seasons of 25 and 24 goals he had just 13 last year though his 38 assists were a career high. This year he has played 38 games and registered just 4 goals and 12 assists. So the question is- what kind of contract will he be looking for at year's end? At $4.5 mil this year the Bruins won't be about to give him a raise with a performance like that. Marchand enters his prime contract years without putting up a prime performance. A delicate situation.

Matt Beleskey could still be asked for a 23 team list but with 11 G and 23 PTS through the first half with a 19.3% shooting percentage on the third line the Bruins are probably glad they couldn't manage to trade him last year. He has shown tremendous chemistry with Ryan Spooner and is exceeding expectations.

Kyle Okposo has a full no movement clause until 2020-21 when he may be asked to provide a 15 team list during the final 2 years of his contract.

Keith Yandle has a no movement clause until 2018-19 when he may be asked for a 12 team list and a 20 team list the following season in his final contract year.

Jay McClement will go UFA this year but his trade value and cap hit are low. He is doing a good job and there is no one else in the organization suited to his job so odds are nothing happens here and the Bruins consider an extension later on.

If the Bruins aim to bring home a sizable return this year in a trade they would probably have to deal one of their best young NHL-ready forwards: Pastrnak, Nichushkin, Khoklachev, Spooner, Griffith. They're all developing well but there might not be space for all of them on the big club anyway. 20 year old LW Jake DeBrusk has 12 G and 26 PTS in 34 games in Providence and is probably untouchable. Don't expect the team to deal any of it's best defensive prospects either.

The Bruins trade targets could include: a top 4 D man, draft picks and good prospects. From the team's right wing minor league depth they could deal Brett Connolly or Zac Rinaldo.​

BOSTON CATEGORY LEADERS

G |BERGERON|16
A |KREJCI|24
PTS |BERGERON, KREJCI|33
PIM |MCQUAID|133
+/- |MARCHAND, MCQUAID|+8
PPG |BERGERON|7
GWG |BERGERON|4
HITS |MCQUAID|95

PROVIDENCE CATEGORY LEADERS

G |CONNOLLY|14
A |KHOKLACHEV|25
PTS |KHOKLACHEV|37
PIM |RINALDO|58
+/- |ARNESSON|+10
PPG |CONNOLLY|7
GWG |DEBRUSK|3
HITS |BELLEMORE|120

TEAM STATISTIC REPORT

TEAM | W | L | OTL | PTS | GFPG | GF RANK | GAPG | GA RANK | PP% | PP RANK | PK% | PK RANK BOSTON |20|19|2|42|2.66|13TH|2.68|17TH|13.6|28TH|84.0|11TH
PROVIDENCE |17|14|3|37|3.00|1ST|2.74|24TH|17.7|22ND|81.9|12TH

 

[JohnJamieson]

Is there a way to tell the owner to give me some freaking money to maintain the building, not upgrade, just freaking maintain. It's year 3 and I haven't upgraded a single thing, pissing me off so much.

Wish I could say, haven't played '17 yet. I'm not sure if there is anyone else in this thread to answer you. Might just be me posting to myself over and over at this point

 

[JohnJamieson]

BRUINS ACQUIRE KEVIN BIEKSA

Bieksa (left), Brandon DeFazio (right)


Jan. 16, 2017
​

The struggling Bruins, who have lost their last 5 in a row made a move to bolster their defense today. They traded AHL right winger Brandon DeFazio to Pittsburgh in exchange for Kevin Bieksa. The 35 year old veteran defenseman Bieksa was unhappy with the Pens after missing the last couple of weeks as a healthy scratch. According to Bruins GM John Jamieson, Bieksa is expected to skate on the third pair tomorrow in place of Colin Miller. Bieksa carries a $2.775 mil cap hit this year and next, and his addition leaves the Bruins $7.6 mil of cap space available as we approach the deadline. It's an incremental improvement, but the team does take on a contract that could be seen as undesirable. It's noteworthy that Bieksa is not waiver eligible and could be moved down without risk of losing him if the Bruins are unhappy with his play or need to free some cap space.

The Penguins receive Brandon DeFazio, a gritty 28 year old winger who scored 32 points last year in Providence and had 43 including 21 goals the previous year. With so many right wing options available in the organization DeFazio lost playing time to Martin Osmik and others this year and will join Pittsburgh as their 13th forward. He carries a cap hit of only $0.8 mil, clearing $2 mil of space for the Penguins who have been up against the cap all year. This is DeFazio's 2nd time around in the Pittsburgh organization as he spent 2 years with their ECHL and AHL clubs from 2010-2012. The cap space afforded in this deal is extremely valuable to the Penguins, who have a multitude of good young players on expiring deals this year. Derrick Pouliot, Brian Dumoulin, and Matt Murray among others will all need to be resigned in the offseason and should command hefty raises. Pouliot is an excellent young defenseman who has spent the year in the AHL; a surprising move by the Pens after he played regular minutes for them last year. The Penguins have announced they are calling him up as a result of the Bieksa deal but there are rumours that Pouliot remains unhappy with the team. Could he be another player the Bruins target?​

 

[JohnJamieson]

BRUINS TRADE POLAK, PASTRNAK, PICK FOR BURNS, MCLAREN

Bruins acquisition Brent Burns


Feb. 22, 2017
​

The Bruins made a huge trade today. They sent promising 20 year old RW David Pastrnak, D Roman Polak and the Senators 3rd round pick this year (acquired in the Jimmy Hayes trade) to the San Jose Sharks for All-star defenseman Brent Burns and Frazer McLaren. The 29-27-3 Bruins have been on fire of late and have climbed into the first wild card spot. They trail the Panthers by just one point for 3rd in the Atlantic Division. The Sharks, meanwhile are having a disappointing season, sitting 12th in the West after going all the way to the Cup Final last year. Burns is a 31 year old pending UFA and was not expected to re-sign with San Jose, who were actively shopping him for several weeks.

Pastrnak is a great young talent but fell down the depth chart this year as the Bruins are simply loaded on the right wing. He's expected to be a high caliber scoring line player some day and this deal could be one the Bruins come to regret, especially if they can't get Burns signed to a new contract in the summer. He is making $5.76 mil this season but will be looking for real big money as he has made tremendous strides in the past few years while establishing himself as one of the league's premier defenseman.

Roman Polak was a free agent signing this year that didn't quite work out as well as the Bruins hoped he would. They tried implementing him on the top pair with Keith Yandle to start the year but he never found success in the top 4, though he had recently been more effective on the 3rd pair with Kevin Bieksa. Expectations may have been too high in Boston and Polak figures to benefit from the change. 6'5", 230 lb. Frazer McLaren could be viewed as a throw-in on the deal. The 29 year old LW is known more for his fighting skill than anything else but could provide useful depth for Boston's bottom 6. He's signed through the end of the season on a 2-way deal worth $0.855 mil. He has 18 points in 44 AHL games this year. The Bruins still have lots of cap space to work with and could consider further trades as we still have 9 days to go before the deadline.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

OTT INJURED, BRUINS RECALL RINALDO, SEND DOWN VATRANO

Zac Rinaldo

Feb. 28, 2017​

Steve Ott left last night's loss to Carolina with an undisclosed upper-body injury. The team in turn recalled Zac Rinaldo from Providence and sent Frank Vatrano down. Frazer McLaren will dress for his first NHL action of the year while Ott recuperates as the Bruins look to inject some life into the 4th line, which has been strong most of the year but have had some defensive struggles of late.

Vatrano had a good start to the season, notching 6 goals in the first half from the fourth line but hasn't scored in over 20 games and the Bruins feel Rinaldo can help tighten things up defensively. The moves give Boston's bottom 6 a decidedly meaner feel. Meanwhile, Providence will appreciate the scoring help from Vatrano, who will join their second line. Providence are starting to heat up with the return of key D-men Trotman and Bellemore, who both missed significant time due to injury and at present lay claim to the last playoff spot in the East.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

TRADE DEADLINE REPORT​

​

At the deadline...

Boston|90 OFF|91 DEF|93 GOA|84% CHEM
Providence|81 OFF|79 DEF|81 GOA|81% CHEM

​

Mar. 3, 2017
​

At the trade deadline the Bruins sit at 30-28-5. They sit in 9th in the East, tied on points for the last playoff spot with the Senators with the Sens having a game in hand. The Hurricanes came calling with multiple offers involving James Wisniewski but the price was too high for the Bruins. Rumour has it the 'Canes were asking for promising minor league G Felix Kollejan and multiple draft picks. Next to no trade action was seen around the league as today's only deal saw Thomas Greiss acquired by Nashville from the Isles for a couple of prospects. The Bruins ultimately stand pat and hope the Burns trade was enough to get them into the playoffs.​

​

 

[JohnJamieson]

Apr. 3, 2017
TAMPA BAY

(38-28-11) vs. BOSTON

(38-33-7)​

With 4 games left the Bruins will go head to head with Tampa in a critical game with playoff implications. The Bruins are 10th in the East as of now but a win tonight would catapult them all the way up to 7th, past Washington, Florida, and Ottawa. They'll have a game in New Jersey on the 6th and a pair of incredibly important home games against Ottawa on the 9th and 10th to finish the season. They have won their last 3 in a row after an awful 1-3-2 stretch that nearly sank their playoff hopes.

Right from the get go the Bruins show they've got jump and a great first shift by their 4th line results in three shots, including a very good chance in tight by Zac Rinaldo that Bishop made a sharp pad save on. Dan Hamhuis is called for hooking in the game's 8th minute and Kyle Okposo brings a sold out TD Garden to their feet when he tips a Ryan Spooner shot in on the power play. The resurgent Matt Beleskey scores his 18th of the year with a hard drive to the net on the rush at the 13:03 mark and the Bruins are off to a 2-0 lead. Boston outshot Tampa 17-8 in a terrific first period effort.

The second sees Tampa charge right back into the game. They get an early power play and Stamkos nearly brought them within one but Joe Morrow made a spectacular play diving in front of the empty net and taking a sure goal off the chest when Rask was down and out. Halfway through the period David Krejci leaves the ice doubled over after blocking a Stamkos shot from the slot and would not return. Boston's legs are getting tired on this last half of a back-to-back and it shows as Tampa dominate in the period, landing some big hits and controlling the puck for the majority of the frame. The Bruins PK make 3 huge kills in the period and Rask makes 12 saves to preserve their lead heading into the 3rd.

Jonathan Drouin finally solves Rask at the 4:16 mark and the lead is cut to one. The Bruins absolutely have to hold the lead in this must win game. The Bruins dig deep and button down defensively. Play slows down and chances are limited but Tampa start taking some risks and stretching on zone exits. Victor Hedman manages to spring Val Filppula on a breakaway by dumping the puck over the Bruins D and Filppula equalizes the game with just 2 minutes remaining with a terrific backhand shot over the glove of a sprawling Rask.

Overtime is a wild affair with both teams rushing end-to-end and recording 5 shots each but Bishop and Rask are unflappable and we head to a shootout. Stamkos goes first and scores on a deadly snap shot that surprised Rask and left him shaking his head. Bergeron returns the favour with a sweet move that makes Bishop look silly. Shooter after shooter is denied until the 5th round when Filppula comes up and pulls a similar deke to his breakaway in the 3rd but goes forehand instead and it goes crossbar and in. Val Nichushkin is next for the Bruins and must score to keep them alive. He breaks in fast to his left and makes a beautiful move, sweeping the puck across to his backhand as Bishop misses with a pokecheck and converts to keep the Bruins hopes alive. 3 more rounds pass without scoring. In the 9th round, Tampa send up J.T. Brown. Brown skates in and lets a hard wrist shot go from close range. Rask gets a tiny piece of it with his glove and it goes off the post. With no further scoring we reach the 12th round. The Bruins are running out of options and Zac Rinaldo will be next. Rinaldo, a career 4th line grinder, pest, undersized enforcer, he of dubious hits and suspensions has 8 career NHL goals... in 235 games. Rinaldo skates in fast on Ben Bishop, fakes to the backhand and tucks it in through the five-hole! An unlikely hero is made as the Bruins get 2 crucial points and vault into a playoff spot with 3 games remaining.​

Apr. 6, 2017
BOSTON

(39-33-7) vs. NEW JERSEY

(36-31-11)​

The Bruins will be without David Krejci, who is tied for the team lead in points with Patrice Bergeron for tonight's contest as he is out with an unspecified upper-body injury after blocking a Steven Stamkos shot in Monday's shootout win over Tampa. It's a difficult pill to swallow for the Bruins who now sit 2 points outside of a playoff spot after the Panthers and Caps each earned 3 points in 2 games while the Bruins have been idle. The loss of Krejci has led to a number of changes through the forward lines, and Frazer McLaren will dress in his place. How will the team respond?

The Devils control play early and record the first 5 shots on net of the game. 4 minutes in Beleskey gets a good chance and wires a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle but Cory Schneider makes a nice glove save. Bergeron ties up Adam Henrique on the resulting faceoff and Nichushkin picks up the puck. He steps to the middle and sells an incredible fake to the short side on Jersey defender Damon Severson then bullrushes the net and drills a perfect wrist shot into the top left corner for a 1-0 Bruins lead. New Jersey are consistently creating more offense and are outshooting the Bruins 12-6 already when Ryane Clowe pounds home the rebound of a Sergey Kalinin shot to tie the game with 5 minutes to go in the first.

Schneider makes a nice glove save on Keith Yandle at 4:43 of the second but falls awkwardly on the play and has to be helped off the ice. Keith Kinkaid is forced to come in and at 10:04 Kyle Okposo beats him to make it 2-1 Boston. Auston Matthews made a great play coming across the blue line, beating the D man on the left side. It turned into a 2-on-1 and he made a crisp cross crease pass that Okposo slammed home for his 19th goal of the year.

At 5:45 of the third Adam McQuaid and Kalinin get tangled up in the neutral zone along the boards battling for the puck and McQuaid shoves him down to the ice. Adam Larsson is there and grabs McQuaid and the gloves come off. Larsson has bitten off more than he can chew and McQuaid hits him with a series of strong right hands that cut him open, and when the fight is over he has to head off for some repairs. Just a minute and a half later Kyle Palmieri ties the game at 2 when he finds himself open low in the slot and Zajac hits him with a pass from behind the net. He rips a quick wrist shot past Rask waist high on the glove side and the Bruins are in perilous danger of having their slim playoff hopes ended. The Devils continue pressing but Rask is playing like a man possessed tonight. Boston's 4th line have several good shifts as Boston really seem to gain momentum when they are on the ice. McClement lands 2 huge hits on Devante Smith-Pelly on the same shift; one in the D zone and then another in the Devils' end of the ice. With just over 3 minutes to go Steve Ott gets in on the forecheck and hammers Palmieri against the boards. He picks up the puck and sends it back to the point where McQuaid sends it across to Torey Krug. Krug has a little space and skates a few feet into a thunderous slapshot that gives the Bruins a 3-2 lead. Okposo would add his 20th of the year on an empty netter and the B's have kept hope alive. Rask turned in a clutch performance and made 39 saves, claiming the games first star. Boston move into a 3 way tie for the 7-8-9 spots with Washington and Florida who each have a game in hand.​

​

 

[JohnJamieson]

Apr. 9, 2017
OTTAWA

(41-32-6) vs. BOSTON

(40-33-7)​

The Bruins have back to back home games against the Sens. Word is David Krejci will not be available tonight but he is day-to-day and could potentially play tomorrow. The Senators hold the final playoff spot in the East and have a one point lead over Boston with a game in hand. The Panthers are tied with the Bruins but Boston have the edge on tiebreaks. If Boston could win these next two games in regulation it would guarantee them a playoff spot.

Michael Keranen scores for Ottawa on the first shot of the game 58 seconds in and the crowd is silenced immediately. Matt Beleskey takes a run at Curtis Lazar just 25 seconds off the next faceoff and just crushes him into the Sens bench when Lazar dumps the puck in near the red line. Mike Kostka jumps on Beleskey and the whistle goes as a melee ensues. There was lots of pushing and shoving and words exchanged but at the end of it Beleskey and Kostka get matching roughing minors and that is all. Emotions are running extremely high in this important game for both teams and it soon boils over as at 3:29 McQuaid and Alex Chiasson drop the gloves. Chiasson's nickname is "Toaster" but this time... he is the toast. McQuaid delivers a beating in a fight that couldn't be considered competitive. Just a few minutes later former Bruin Jimmy Hayes levels Jay McClement in front of the Ottawa net and it looks like his stick got up high but there is no penalty on the play. Rinaldo and Phaneuf go at it at 7:08 after Rinaldo knocks Phaneuf down on the forecheck and gives him another little shot when he was down. It's an absolute barn burner of a scrap as both players swing for the fences and connect with solid shots before the stronger Phaneuf finally pushes Rinaldo down against the boards. Play continues on the edge and the teams battle fiercely for every loose puck and every check is getting finished hard all over the ice. Frazer McLaren scores a rare goal at 13:19 when he blocks Phaneuf's point shot and takes it all the way home on a breakaway to score when he banks a shot off Craig Anderson's pads and directs his rebound into the net. The home crowd go absolutely insane as they celebrate the tough guy's 5th career goal. Shots are 15-9 Ottawa after 1 but Rask is on his game again tonight and holding the Bruins in there.

The Bruins come out strong to start the second and have some great chances, especially on a power play they get 6 minutes in on a Bobby Ryan holding penalty. However, Ottawa turn it around and dominate the last half of the period. The score remains tied at 1 after 2, with Ottawa having a considerable edge in shots; 29-18.

The teams buckle down in the 3rd and the chippiness finally subsides as neither team can afford a penalty here. The Bruins press hard and Ryan Spooner has several quality chances late in the period but the game heads to overtime. The Bruins do a great job of controlling the puck and Torey Krug registers 3 of Boston's 5 shots in the 5 minute period but the teams would need a shootout to decide the game.

Karlsson goes first and gets stopped by Rask. Bergeron tallies for Boston only for Mike Hoffman to tie the shootout back up. A string of 11 straight shooters are stopped as Boston find themselves in another long shootout with huge implications. Jimmy Hayes steps up for Ottawa. He had a great game against his former team with 5 hits and must want revenge on the team that gave up on him. He's had 8-18-26 for Ottawa this year, a little better than last year in Boston but still below the promise he showed in what was thought to be a breakout season two years ago as a Panther. He buries a heavy wrist shot through Rask's pads and the Bruins next shooter must score to extend the game. Brent Burns skates to center ice. The new Bruin performs a beautiful toe drag to pull Craig Anderson out of position and buries it to keep Boston's playoff hopes alive! Phaneuf can't buy a goal when his shot is confidently turned away by Rask's blocker. Zac Rinaldo, whom Phaneuf fought earlier and who scored the winner in Boston's recent crazy long shootout against Tampa also fails to convert. Wiercioch can't make it happen for the Sens and Matt Beleskey gets his turn. He skates it right down the pipe, fakes a forehand shot that sells Anderson and drills a backhander into the top shelf for a Bruins victory! They are in a tie for the last playoff spot with Ottawa!​

Apr. 10, 2017
OTTAWA

(41-32-7) vs. BOSTON

(41-33-7)​

It is announced that Krejci is still out at game time. The Bruins will be forced to roll with their improvised lines once again in their last game of the season. If Boston lose tonight they will be eliminated from playoff contention. Providence punched their ticket to the AHL playoffs last night with a win over Hershey.

The game starts off feisty like the last. Chiasson and Rinaldo fight 1:20 into the game as they choose new partners after last night's bouts. Tuomo Ruutu takes a slashing penalty at 2:38 but Marchand nullifies it with a hooking minor a minute later. Just a second after Ruutu is released from the box Mike Hoffman strikes for what is technically a power play goal and a 1-0 Ottawa lead. Boston were forced to kill a Joe Morrow penalty not long after but at 10:48 captain Patrice Bergeron gets the Bruins on the board and back in the game when he scores his 31st of the season with a greasy goal in tight on a rebound.

The second is a physical affair in which Phaneuf and Bieksa are each sent off for 2 but their respective teams kill the penalties and we head to the 3rd still tied at 1.

Nichushkin gets his stick tangled up in Kyle Turris' skates at 5:28 of the third and heads to the box with his head down as the Bruins season hangs in the balance. Rask makes 3 huge saves on the PK and when the penalty ends the puck is turned over and Bergeron carries it through the neutral zone and into Ottawa territory. Nichushkin and Marchand are heading off for a change but he leaves a drop pass for Yandle who read the play well and he delivers a howitzer of a slap shot that beats Anderson and the Bruins lead 2-1! Ottawa respond when Clarke Macarthur dumps Marchand in the neutral zone along the boards and digs the puck out. He makes the pass to Erik Karlsson crossing the blueline and he feints right on Kevin Bieksa and beats him to the middle. He walks in on Rask with Bieksa shadowing him and lights the lamp with his 20th for Ottawa with just 8:30 left on a wrister that sneaks between Rask's blocker and pad. Less than a minute later Ryan Spooner wins a draw in the offensive zone and Seth Griffith one times it by Anderson and the Bruins are up again, 3-2! Ottawa press hard and record 7 more shots before it's over but Rask can't be beat and the Bruins win! For the 3rd game in a row Rask faced 40 shots or more but led his team to victory. All Boston can do now is cross their fingers and hope that Ottawa lose their final game, or that Washington loses their last 2 since Boston have the tiebreaker in that scenario.​

​

Apr. 12, 2017​

The Capitals lost their last 2 and Boston is playoff bound as the 8th seed after an incredible 7 game win streak to finish the season! Reports indicate David Krejci will be back for game 1 of their playoff series against the Eastern Conference winning Pittsburgh Penguins. Boston faced Pittsburgh 3 times this season- and won all 3 contests.​

 

[Duke16]

2016 -17
The Leafs started off the year with a minor deal sending LW Prospect Tobias Lindberg to the Calgary Flames for a 2017 3rd (CGY)

Line-up:
J. Leivo (79) - A. Matthews (86) - W. Nylander (83)
J. Van Riemsdyk (86) - T. Bozak A (85) - M. Marner (84)
L. Komarov A (84) - N. Kadri (85) - C. Brown (79)
M. Martin (81) - B. Boyle (83) - Z. Hyman (79)
E. Fehr (81)

M. Rielly A (85) - N. Zaitsev (83)
J. Gardiner (85) - C. Carrick (80)
M. Hunwick (81) - A. Marchenko (81)
M. Marincin (79) - R. Polak (79)

F. Andersen (88)
C. McElhinney (74)​

1/27/17 - [TOR/LA] R. Polak for a 2018 5th (CHI)
2/19/17 - [TOR/DET] J. Leivo, J. Bracco, 2018 2nd (TOR) for T. Tatar
3/31/17 - Nikita Korostelev signs 3 year ELC

Record: 40-35-7 (5th in Atlantic, 11th in Eastern Conference)

Awards:
Stanley Cup - Washington Capitals
Art Ross Trophy - Sidney Crosby
Hart Memorial Trophy - Steven Stamkos
James Norris Memorial Trophy - Erik Karlsson
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy - Steven Stamkos
Calder Memorial Trophy - Auston Matthews
Conn Smythe Trophy - Alexander Ovechkin
Vezina Trophy - Andrei Vasilevskiy
William M. Jennings Trophy - Andrei Vasilevskiy & Peter Budaj
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy - Justin Faulk
Frank J. Seller Trophy - Patrice Bergeron
Ted Lindsay Award - Steven Stamkos
Maurice Richard Trophy - Vladimir Tarasenko

Draft:
1-11: C Cody Glass MED Top 6 F
2-37: RW Lukas Elvenes MED Top 9 F
2-58: D Josh Brook MED 7th D
3-63: D Cale Fleury LOW Top 4 D
4-101: D Filip Westerlund MED 7th D
4-109: D Jarret Tyszka MED 7th D
5-131: LW William Wikman MED Bottom 6 F
6-161: LW Filip Lestan MED AHL Top 6 F
7-191: G Daniel Marmenlind MED Fringe Starter

Re-Signings:
Cody Glass signs 3 year ELC
Adam Brooks signs 3 year ELC
Carl Grundstrom signs 3 year ELC
Vladimir Bobylev signs 3 year ELC
Tomas Tatar signs 5 years/5.25M AAV
Martins Dzierkals signs 3 year ELC
Nikita Zaitsev signs 6 years/4.75M AAV
Brendan Leipsic signs 1 year/850K
Connor Brown signs 4 years/2.35M AAV

FA Signings:
G Markus Ruusu signs 3 year ELC
G Peter Budaj signs 1 year/1.6M
G Dominik Hrachovina signs 1 year/650K (2-way)
C Dennis Rasmussen signs 1 year/1.025M
D Karl Alzner signs 3 years/5.8M AAV