Bruins Live Blog: Rask Records Second Shutout, B's Win 3-0
Final, 3-0 Bruins: That's all she wrote here from the Garden. The Bruins ride an explosion of goals in the first period all the way to a victory. It was a stellar defensive effort that really made that happen, as Rask really didn't have to be great in this one. I think the Bruins will tell you that's a nice change of pace.
Third period, 3:11, 3-0 Bruins: Now would be a good time for the Bruins to add a cherry on top of their matinee victory Sunday, as Grossman goes to the box for cross-checking David Krejci. I'm not sure whether it was the first, second, third or fourth cross-check that drew the call, but he'll nevertheless spend some time in the box.
Third period, 6:04, 3-0 Bruins: The Flyers own the puck in the offensive zone for pretty much the entire power play but get nothing for it. Rask caps it off with a beauty of a glove save on Meszaros. He has 21 saves now and is sniffing his second shutout of the year.
Third period, 8:00, 3-0 Bruins: Another power-play opportunity for the Flyers as Jordan Caron gets called for slashing.
Third period, 9:58, 3-0 Bruins: The B's kill off the penalty, though they got a little help from Tuukka Rask's best friend -- the post -- on a Voracek one-timer from the right dot.
Bergeron, Marchand and Thornton (hopping out of the box) were able to generate a nice scoring chance right after the kill, too.
Third period, 13:01, 3-0 Bruins: Not much action to begin the third, though Bryzgalov did make a rather nifty glove save on a Zdeno Chara wrist shot that would have essentially ended this game. So if the Flyers are able to climb back into this one, that save will loom large.
Krejci went missing from the bench again earlier, but he did return. Chances are he's dealing with some leftover pain from getting crushed the other night by Korbinian Holzer.
Shawn Thornton is in the penalty box right now to serve a too-many-men penalty, so the Flyers' PP will get a chance to get on the board.
Third period, 20:00, 3-0 Bruins: The final period is under way. It's worth mentioning that the Flyers are 1-8-0 when trailing after two periods. That's pretty bad. They also have just 12 shots through 40 minutes, which, also, is bad.
End of second period, 3-0 Bruins: That wasn't a great period for either team, and frankly it will probably be forgotten by everyone who watched it (save for maybe the Thornton beatdown on Rinaldo).
Now we'll get to see what each team is made of. The Bruins have blown a few third-period leads this year, and while they were able to hang on the other night against Toronto, they still did allow a late goal to cut their lead to just one goal. Today, they'll much prefer tacking on a fourth goal and skating to an easy win, something they've been unable to have all season long.
Second period, 5:09, 3-0 Bruins: There was a temporary moment of worry in the building when David Krejci skated quickly off the ice and walked down the runway to the Bruins locker room, but he only missed one shift and is back on the bench.
Second period, 8:55, 3-0 Bruins: This period was really lacking emotion and energy, but Shawn Thornton just changed all that in about 15 seconds.
The B's tough guy challenged Zac Rinaldo to a fight moments after Rinaldo demolished Boychuk in the corner. Rinaldo probably regrets accepting Thornton's offer, because Thornton fed him a steady dose of rights that led to Rinaldo going down in a heap. Thornton wins the unanimous decision.
Second period, 14:02, 3-0 Bruins: The Bruins' defense is bearing down pretty good to start the second, as the Flyers have just one shot. That's thanks to some blocked shots, including Boychuk wearing a Gagne blast on his shin. Boychuk was in some pretty obvious pain for a bit but, because he's a hockey player, finished his shift and will probably tell you he feels just dandy right about now.
Second period, 20:00, 3-0 Bruins: Under way here in the second.
End of first period, 3-0 Bruins: The Flyers might have been in a bit of shock after that three-goal outburst by Boston, as they're not able to generate much for the remainder of the period. There's still something a little haunting, though, about looking at the scoreboard and seeing 3-0 Bruins. People don't forget. Maybe a fourth goal early in the second will help ease those concerns.
First period, 5:47, 3-0 Bruins: The Bruins have more than made up for their early lack of shots, as Daniel Paille all alone beats Ilya Bryzgalov for the Bruins' third goal in two and a half minutes.
Credit to Shawn Thornton for paying the price to make a pass to Campbell from the blue line. Campbell then sent a pass from the half wall out to Paille, who was all alone in space. He just deked Bryzgalov, and the Bruins now have three goals on five shots.
First period, 6:32, 2- 0 Bruins: Jordan Caron has skated all of two minutes on the ice today, but he already has his first assist. He dished from behind the Philly net out to Chris Kelly in the slot and he fired a wrister past Bryzgalov.
First period, 8:07, 1-0 Bruins: That was some great puck movement by the Bruins' power play, as David Krejci passed down low to Milan Lucic, who twirled and sent a no-look pass through the crease to Tyler Seguin. The kid roofed it (he's real hot right now) and the Bruins lead 1-0.
Worth mentioning that Claude Julien left that top PP unit on the ice after a stop in play about 30 seconds into the power play. Earlier in the season, he might not have done that.
First period, 8:48: Still no score as the Bruins' power play gets to work. Timmonen hooked Horton right in front of the net.
First period, 9:10: It took nearly 11 full minutes, but the Bruins finally have a shot on net. It wasn't really a shot, more like a crossing pass from Danny Paille from the corner, but it goes down as a shot.
Flyers are leading in shots 3-1! They have also out-hit the Bruins 12-5 early on.
First period, 13:35: Still no score, and the Flyers actually lead in shots by a whopping 1-0 margin.
Jordan Caron just got his first shift of the day and season, too. He mad a nice little pass in his own zone, but Peverley's breakout pass to Kelly went a little long, and Bryzgalov covered it up down the other end.
Of note: Scott Hartnell hit Boychuk from behind into the boards earlier. We'll see if and how the Bruins respond later on.
First period, 16:24: Penalty, killed. Good work by the PK.
First period, 18:57: Oh, so it's going to be one of these games. David Krejci to the box for holding, after he had been on the ice for about three seconds. Let's hope for the sake of hockey we don't see a thousand penalty calls today.
First period, 20:00: Patrice Bergeron with a somewhat rare faceoff loss to open the game, and this one's under way.
1:02 p.m.: The lineups are in, and Jordan Caron will be skating on the third line. Jay Pandolfo, along with Aaron Johnson and Lane MacDermid, are the healthy scratches.
The Giroux line (Hartnell, Voracek) will start for Philly, with Kimmo Timonen and Luke Schenn on the back end. For the Bruins, Bergeron's line (Marchand, Seguin) will start, with Boychuk and Chara on the back end in front of Rask. Let's drop the puck.
12:43 p.m.: Well, we know Tuukka is starting, but the third line picture remains unclear. Both Pandolfo and Caron participated in line rushes on the third line, so that truly will be a game-time decision. Pandolfo seemed to take a couple of more rushes, if that counts for anything. We'll find out shortly.
12:29 p.m.: Marc Savard has been a bit of a fortune-teller on Twitter over the past year or so, and if you believe he can see the future, you might like what he tweeted today:
I think I speak for everyone who enjoys watching great hockey players make great plays when I say I miss watching Savard play.
12:25 p.m.: If there's one major benefit of the lockout-shortened season, it's the abundance of matinee hockey we seem to be getting here at the TD Garden.
Today, the Flyers are in town for a matchup that always lives up to the promise. Occasionally, teams have trouble getting "up" for these early puck drops, but something tells me that won't be a problem this afternoon.
Warmups will begin momentarily. I'll be back in here to provide any updates from the skate. Tuukka Rask is expected back in between the pipes, and Jordan Caron (I'm betting) will be on the third line. Claude Julien said it'll be a game-time decision between Caron and Jay Pandolfo. I've watched Pandolfo in action this year, and while he's far from a bad player, he just looks like an older version of a good player. That is to say, he's not a liability, but he doesn't present much of a threat offensively and may hold back Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley in that regard. I think Caron will get his chance, but we shall see.
