2010-2011 Boston Bruins Puck Drop

The Final Five

Game 78 v. Atlanta (4/2/11):

The B’s opened April with a matinee date with the Thrashers, who despite making progress under Coach Craig Ramsay, will not be making a trip to the playoffs this year. This game also marked the return of Mark Stuart and Wheeler to Boston since their trade to Atlanta at the trade deadline.

Tuukka Rask got the start in goal against Ondrej Pavalec. Mark Recchi put the B’s ahead at 4:34 on a pass from Marchand. Recchi was waiting directly out front when Marchand threw the puck across the crease and Recchi popped it in. After Rask was called for delay of game when he shot the puck over the glass, Dustin Byfuglien tied the score on a slap shot from the point. Byfuglien plays a rover role on Atlanta’s power play and skated around with the puck until he was able to find a seam and fired the puck home. It was a soft goal that Rask shouldn’t have allowed. Ryder was called for a trip at 14:19, but the PK unit held the Thrashers without a shot during the power play. Burmistrov took a shot after the whistle and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct. He had taken a dive earlier and the refs were tired of his act. Neither team was particularly sharp in that period.

Evander Kane put Atlanta on top at 1:37 when he banged in a rebound of Antropov’s shot as three B’s defenders were milling about in front of Rask. The B’s came back to tie at 6:18 as Dan Paille scored on the shorthand as he picked a loose puck in Atlanta’s end and fired the puck high over Pavelec’s shoulder. It was a pure hustle goal all the way.

The B’s picked up their skating in the third period, as they peppered Pavelec with a series of shots. Midway through, Johnny Oduya hauled down Ryder on a break and the referee awarded a penalty shot. Ryder picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and skated in alone before getting dumped by Oduya. Ryder’s penalty shot was a bullet that beat Pavelec high right to give the B’s a 3-2 lead at 12:31. Pavelec was pulled with 1:30 left but the B’s did a great job keeping the puck away from Rask. With the win, the B’s clinched the Northeast Division title (big deal) and no worse than the third seed in the Eastern Conference. It wasn’t pretty but they got the job done.

Game 79 at NY Rangers (4/4/11):

The B’s have lost 9 of their last 12 games at MSG, as Rangers are holding onto eighth place in the East for dear life. The last time these teams played, Rangers won 1-0 and totally beat the B’s at their own game. In this game, Tim Thomas started against Henrik Lundqvist. The B’s started fast, putting five shots on Lundqvist in the first five minutes. Krejci put a backhander on Lundqvist just as Staal put a slash on him, giving the B’s an early power play. Chara put two heavy shots on goal, one of which struck Girardi in the face. After the power play fizzled, Bergeron was sent off for tripping at 10:15. To that point, Rangers had yet to put a shot on goal. The PK unit did a good job, allowing only two harmless shots. Dubinsky then put a tricky shot on goal that Thomas deflected away. Dan Paille put the B’s ahead at 15:16 on a tip-in of Boychuk’s shot from the point. Nathan Horton then scored at 16:53 on a rebound of Krejci’s shot to make it 2-0. Krejci had hacked at the puck while several Ranger defenders attempted to clear the puck and it bounced back to Horton, who slammed it past Lundqvist. The B’s had a strong period, outshooting Rangers 19-5.

Rangers returned to their aggressive forecheck style to open the second, limiting the B’s chances significantly. Krejci went off for hooking at 5:02 but the PK unit clamped down and did not allow any shots on goal. Halfway through the period the B’s only put one shot on Lundqvist, as Rangers were playing much like the way they did the last time these teams met. Chris Kelly beat Lundqvist from the right circle at 10:32 as he broke in alone and ripped a wrist shot into the net and it was 3-0 B’s. Rangers came right back to score at 11:34 as Vinny Prospal broke in with Wolski and Prospal rapped in the rebound of Wolski’s shot. Krejci then went off for slashing at 12:28. McCabe and Gaborik put shots on Thomas that were turned aside. McCabe then made a nice play breaking up Peverley’s shorthanded bid on a 2-on-1. Rangers made it 3-2 at 18:26 as Prospal scored again as Stepan raced to the puck, fed Wolski, who passed to Prospal on a bang-bang play. Rangers really picked up their play in that period.

Seidenberg went off for tripping Wolski at 53 seconds (was it a dive?). The B’s again did a good job keeping the puck away from Thomas, not allowing any shots on goal. Callahan then nearly tipped in a shot but Thomas made a nice glove save. Ryder’s drive then hit the crossbar and deflected wide. Five minutes in, Horton put a shot on goal and seconds later, Recchi followed up with a tricky shot that Lundqvist steered away. Rangers tied the score at 16:12 when Dubinsky backhanded a shot on a nice setup by Callahan as Dubinsky was left wide open in front of the net as the defense broke down in front of Thomas. Rangers then went ahead at 17:03 as Sauer scored on a wrist shot as he picked up a loose puck at the right circle and banged it through Thomas’ pads. Disgusting. After Thomas was pulled, Stepan scored an empty net goal from the neutral zone. That was a brutal piece of work by the B’s, just brutal.

Game 80 v. NY Islanders (4/6/11):

As the regular season wound down, the Isles came to the Garden for a game that was pretty meaningless for both teams. Islanders will be headed for the links next week while the B’s are pretty much locked into the #3 seed in the East. With this game, Mark Recchi tied Chris Chelios for fourth in all-time games played with 1,651. Tim Thomas started against the oft-injured Rick DiPietro. Kaberle’s wrap around attempt in the opening moments went across the crease. Islanders got off to a fast start, peppering Thomas with several shots before a scrap sent both Gillies and Tavares to the penalty box at 7:03. The B’s had several chances on DiPietro with the two-man advantage but couldn’t put the puck in the net. Paille then had two chances late in the period that DiPietro knocked away. Shawn Thornton put the B’s ahead with one second in the period as he picked up a loose puck and blasted in a shot from the left circle past DiPietro. Despite the B’s not playing sharp in that period, Paille played like a man possessed.

Peverley went off for tripping at 1:52 and Michael Grabner tied the score on the power play at 3:24 on a slap shot from between the circles. He was able to take advantage of a line change in the PK unit and jumped up into the play. The B’s went back on top at 7:51 as Seidenberg took a pass from Kelly and ripped a slap shot through a crowd and past DiPietro. At 9:09, the B’s took a 3-1 lead when Gregory Campbell banged one in from directly out in front. On the play, Campbell picked up a rebound of McQuaid’s shot from the point, skated toward the net and popped in the puck. Thomas then came back with a brilliant save. Minutes later, Kelly had a backhanded attempt that DiPietro deflected away. Midway through the period, defense still remained something of a rumor as both teams had put 25 shots on goal. After Okposo went off for holding, Grabner scored on the shorthand at 14:26 when he grabbed a loose puck on a turnover in the neutral zone and backhanded the puck past Thomas. The power play broke down behind DiPietro and Grabner was able to skate the length of the ice virtually uncontested to score the goal. Although the Islanders put a ton of shots on Thomas in the first two periods, the B’s did a pretty good job of limiting the advances to the perimeter, with the exception of Grabner’s two hustle goals.

The defenses finally arrived in the third period as both teams clamped down on the number of shots fired. Boychuk went off for roughing at 14:27 but the B’s PK unit did a good job killing off the penalty. Late in the period, Boychuk went off again for a cross-check on Tavares. Once more, the Islanders couldn’t get beyond the perimeter. DiPietro was pulled with about a minute to go but the Isles couldn’t get close to Thomas at the end. The B’s came away with a hard fought 3-2 win. It was hardly a thing of beauty but they’ll take the points and keep moving.

Game 81 v. Ottawa (4/9/11):

The B’s played their final home game of the regular season on Saturday afternoon against the Senators, another team outside looking in at the playoffs for this year. It would also be the final game for Sens’ coach Cory Coulston, who was unceremoniously dumped at the conclusion of the game. The playoff matchups in the East are pretty much set, so the B’s needed to find a way of playing consistent hockey as a tuneup in preparation for the series against Canadiens. Tim Thomas started in goal against Curtis McElhinney. After a slow start, Paille scored at 12:53 on a pass from Campbell as Paille was waiting on the doorstep to receive a perfect pass, and he banged it home. Paille has played extremely well in these last few games. Late in the period, Thomas made a series of remarkable stops as the Sens crashed the net. Butler tied the score at 18:27 after a turnover that Spezza picked and Butler was in the right spot to pop in the rebound.

Shannon went off for high-sticking and Horton wasted no time putting the B’s ahead at 1:08 as he backhanded in a rebound of a shot right off the faceoff. Horton and Zach Smith then got into a nasty scrap right off the faceoff in front of the B’s bench. A lot of punches were thrown and Horton was left bloodied (but unbowed). Late in the period, the Sens crashed the net again and there was some pushing and shoving in front of Thomas.

Ottawa came out with a lot of spunk for a team that’ll be going home after this game. Midway through the third, Condra broke in alone and Thomas stoned him once and then again on the rebound. Benoit then crashed the net but Thomas came up with a nice stop. Peverley made it 3-1 at 14:52 on a backhander through a crowd directly in front of McElhinney. Seguin then broke in alone but his shot went just wide of the net. McElhinney was pulled with 1:30 left but the B’s did a great job keeping the puck away from Thomas. With 31 saves today, Thomas set an NHL record for save percentage at .938, besting the prior record of the great Dominik Hasek.

Game 82 at New Jersey (4/10/11):

The B’s wrapped up the regular season at the Pru in Newark for a meaningless game with the Devils. This may be Jacques Lemaire’s final game behind the bench, which would mark the end of an amazing career as a player and coach. The coach wisely kept Chara and Recchi at home for this one and started Tuukka Rask in goal against Johan Hedberg. The B’s are locked into the third seed and the Devils are heading home. A large contingent of fans from Québec City showed up for the game wearing Nordiques’ jerseys (trying to convince anyone watching that the city is ready for another franchise back in La Belle Province). The Devils came out flying with nothing to lose. Patrik Elias scored at 1:47 as he picked a pass from Ralston and tucked it home. The B’s had a power play midway through the period and Peverley had a great chance that hit the post. Peverley tied the score at 10:04 just as the power play expired when he grabbed a pass that deflected off of Ryder and banged it into a wide open left corner. Late in the period, the Devils went on the power play and they jammed in front of Rask but to no avail.

Moving into the second period, Boychuk was slammed into the boards behind the Devils’ net after having been up-ended and he was hobbled getting back to the bench. Dan Paille had a break early on, but couldn’t control the puck as he approached the net. Zajac nearly scored on a turnover in the B’s end (Marchand’s broken stick) as he skated in alone but Rask stoned him. Tyler Seguin took a head knock and had to come off the ice for treatment. Clarkson then skated around Shane Hnidy and put a backhander on Rask that was turned aside. Vladimir Zharkov came back with a tricky shot that Rask stopped and then Rask made an acrobatic stop of Clarkson’s shot with the left pad.

The first two periods (with limited exceptions) played out much like a senior men’s no-check league contest as the B’s didn’t bring a great deal of emotion and the Devils were just going through the motions. Tyler Seguin was back on the bench to start the third, which was good to see. The B’s had an early power play as Tallinder tripped Krejci in the opening seconds. The coach sent out the #2 PP unit and they didn’t do much. The first unit then came on and Lucic hit the post with a drive. Zharkov then put Jersey up at 4:00 as he broke in alone from the neutral zone and snapped a shot past Rask. It was a terrible breakdown in the neutral zone by Boychuk that enabled Zharkov to score. Zajac then broke in with Palmieri on a 2-on-1, kept the puck but Rask turned his shot aside. Alexander Urbom made it 3-1 Jersey at 9:10 as he swung around the net and tucked the puck into the net. Where was the defense on that play? Seidenberg scored on a wrist shot from the point at 19:57 to make it 3-2 to conclude the regular season. The B’s didn’t bring their “A” game today, which wasn’t all that surprising. But it would’ve been nice to see them using this game as a tune up for Montréal and play a crisp and inspired game and move into the playoffs on a high note. But that just didn’t happen on this day. We shall see…