X75 Productions

Tag: Patrice Bergeron

  • Game Recap: New Jersey Devils vs Boston Bruins

    Game Recap: New Jersey Devils vs Boston Bruins

    New Jersey Devils (0-3-2 2pts) vs Boston Bruins (4-1-0 9pts)

     

    Game Recap

    Tonight the New Jersey Devils go back on the road to take on the Boston Bruins. The Devils are still winless on the season and are hoping to turn their early misfortunes around and finally get in the win column. Unfortunately for the Devils, they’re still not getting the starts that they’re hoping for. Boston struck twice in the first as they got goals from Brad Marchand and Joakim Nordstrom. After the first period, the Bruins would take a 2-0 lead and start the second period with a power play on a late interference penalty called against the Devils.

    The Devils started the second period on the Penalty Kill and were fortunate to kill the penalty off. However, it wasn’t enough as the Bruins towards the end of the period would cash in on the Power Play. Patrice Bergeron went to the front of the net and put the loose puck in the back of the net. Boston would take a 3-0 lead over New Jersey going into the third period.

    Unfortunately for the Devils, they could still not get anything going offensively in the third period. The Bruins played shutdown hockey and kept the Devils from generating any sort of offense. Tukka Rask would make 31 saves as he and the Bruins would shutout the Devils by a final score of 3-0.

     

    Lineups

    New Jersey Devils

    https://twitter.com/njdevils/status/1183153546025488391?s=21

    Boston Bruins

     

    First Period Highlights

     

    Second Period Highlights

     

    Third Period Highlights

    https://twitter.com/njdevils/status/1183193758545911813?s=21

     

    Finals Stats      NJ-0       BOS-3

    Shots:                31             32

    Hits:                  11             23

    PP:                   0/4            1/3

    Faceoffs:        46%          54%

     

    Sponsored by:

    DerpyCon_General Ad.png

     

  • Stanley Cup Final Game 3 – Boston Bruins v. St. Louis Blues

    Stanley Cup Final Game 3 – Boston Bruins v. St. Louis Blues

    Boston Bruins v. St. Louis Blues

    Game 3 – Series Tied 1-1

     

    Game Recap:

    Heading into the Game 3 the St. Louis Bues come home with the momentum in the corner after taking Game 2 in boston to even the series with the Bruins. The game would start off physically, and would see the Blues start with five straight shots, but when they had the chance to take the lead while on the powerplay they failed to do so. The Bruins on the other hand would not let their opportunity be squandered as Patrice Bergeron would redirect a Torey Krug point shot past Jordan Binnington to take the 1-0 lead. That goal would open the flood gates as the Bruins would score two more this period starting with Marcus Johansson feeding Charlie Coyle a one timer to make it a two goal lead. Then Sean Kuraly would shoot one right through the five hole of Binnington to make it 3-0. However, the Blues would challenge as it seemed Joakim Nordstrom was in the Blues’s zone before the puck was, but after review it was shown that Joel Edmundson pushed the puck back into the zone thus nullifying the offsides call.

     

    Going into the second period the Bruins would strike again in the first minute of the period as David Pastrnak would collect the rebound in front of the net and backhand it past Binnington to make it 4-0. However, the Blues would finally get on the board as Ivan Barbashev would net his second of the playoffs to cut the lead to three, but the Bruins would respond again on their third powerplay as Torey Krug would shoot one past Binnington to get their four goal lead back and would force Craig Berube to put Jake Allen in net for the Blues as the Bruins lead 5-1 going into the second intermission.

     

    In the third period things would get very chippy as we would see three penalties called in the first 91 seconds. Then Zdeno Chara would take an ill advised roughing call which would lead to a Colton Parayko powerplay goal to cut the Bruins lead to three. Then late in the period Noel Acciari would score on the empty net to ice the game, but Alex Pietrangelo would take a stupid slashing penalty and the Bruins would go a perfect 4 for 4 on the powerplay when Marcus Johansson would score on the powerplay off of the one timer from Torey Krug. Boston would win the game 7-2 to take the 2-1 series lead.

     

    Lineups:

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — David Backes

    Marcus Johansson — Charlie Coyle — Danton Heinen

    Joakim Nordstrom — Sean Kuraly — Noel Acciari

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo

    John Moore — Connor Clifton

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steven Kampfer, Karson Kuhlman

    Injured: Matt Grzelcyk (upper body) Chris Wagner (upper body), Kevan Miller (lower body)

     

    St. Louis Blues:

    Jaden Schwartz — Brayden Schenn — Vladimir Tarasenko

    Sammy Blais — Ryan O’Reilly — David Perron

    Patrick Maroon — Tyler Bozak — Robby Fabbri

    Zach Sanford — Ivan Barbashev — Alexander Steen

    Carl Gunnarsson — Alex Pietrangelo

    Jay Bouwmeester — Colton Parayko

    Joel Edmundson — Robert Bortuzzo

    Jordan Binnington

    Jake Allen

    Scratched: Michael Del Zotto, Mackenzie MacEachern, Chris Thorburn , Ville Husso

    Injured: Vince Dunn (upper body), Robert Thomas (undisclosed)

    Suspended: Oskar Sundqvist

     

    First Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 1:02 – Jake DeBrusk 2 minutes for Kneeing

    Blues Penalty – 10:26 – David Perron 2 minutes for Interference

    Bruins PPG – 10:47 – Patrice Bergeron (9) from Torey Krug (12) and Jake DeBrusk (6)

    Bruins Penalty – 14:22 – Connor Clifton 2 minutes for Roughing

    Blues Penalty – 14:22 – Ivan Barbashev 2 minutes Unsportsmanlike Conduct

    Bruins Goal – 17:40 – Charlie Coyle (8) from Marcus Johansson (7) and Danton Heinen (6)

    Bruins Goal – 19:50 – Sean Kuraly (4) from Joakim Nordstrom (4)

    Blues Penalty – 19:50 – Bench (David Perron) 2 minutes for Delay of Game

     

    End of 1st – BOS – 3       STL – 0

    Shots              12                08

    Faceoffs         12                08

    Hits               16                  14

    PP                 1/1                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Bruins PPG – :41 – David Pastrnak (8) from Torey Krug (13) and Patrice Bergeron (6)

    Bruins Penalty – 7:37 – Charlie McAvoy 2 minutes for Slashing

    Bruins Penalty – 7:37 – Zdeno Chara 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

    Blues Penalty – 7:37 – Pat Maroon 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

    Blues Goal – 11:05 – Ivan Barbashev (3) from Zach Sanford (1) and Alexander Steen (3)

    Blues Penalty – 11:41 – Colton Parayko 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Bruins PPG – 12:12 – Torey Krug (2) from Brad Marchand (12 and Patrice Bergeron (7)

     

    End of 2nd – BOS – 5        STL – 1

    Shots               20                 18

    Faceoffs          21                 17

    Hits                 25                  27

    PP                   3/3                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Blues Penalty – :54 – David Perron 2 minutes for Roughing

    Bruins Penalty – :54 – Connor Clifton 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    Bruins Penalty – 1:31 – Brandon Carlo 2 minutes for Interference

    Bruins Penalty – 5:18 – Zdeno Chara 2 minutes for Roughing

    Blues PPG – 5:24 – Colton Parayko (2) from Ryan O’Reilly (13) and Tyler Bozak (7)

    Bruins Penalty – 6:04 – Jake DeBrusk 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    Bruins ENG – 18:12 – Noel Acciari (2) from Joakim Nordstrom (5)

    Blues Penalty – 18:12 – Alex Pietrangelo 2 minutes for Slashing

    Bruins PPG – 1:35 – Marcus Johansson (4) from Torey Krug (14) and Connor Clifton (3)

     

    End of 3rd – BOS – 7         STL – 2

    Shots              24                   29

    Faceoffs        30                    24

    Hits               29                     35

    PP                 4/4                    1/5

     

    Next Up:

    Game 4 – BOS Leads 2-1

     

    Thank you for following TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

     

    TXHT’s Stanley Cup Finals coverage sponsored by:

    4380127

  • ECF Game 4 – Boston Bruins v. Carolina Hurricanes

    ECF Game 4 – Boston Bruins v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Boston Bruins v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Game 4 – BOS Leads 3-0

     

    Game Recap:

    Heading into Game 4 with the potential to clinch the series in Carolina, the Boston Bruins will have to do it without their captain and veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara who is listed as “day to day”.

    In the first period both teams would trade chances, and both teams would get at least one powerplay opportunity each, but neither would capitalize on their opportunities.

     

    Going into the second period the Carolina Hurricanes would shoot themselves in the foot when they would take a too many men on the ice penalty, and the Bruins would take advantage as David Pastrnak would get the puck past Curtis McElhinney to make it 1-0 less than five minutes into the period. Then much later in the second period, Carolina would get themselves into penalty trouble again as Patrice Bergeron would score from the slot area as McElhinney did not have a chance on the shot.

     

    Going into the third period it would be do or die for the Hurricanes, and despite their best efforts a turnover in their own zone midway through the period would push the game more out of reach as David Pastrnak would exhibit great patience to feed Patrice Bergeron for his second goal of the game to make it 3-0.

     

    Lineups:

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — David Backes

    Marcus Johansson — Charlie Coyle — Danton Heinen

    Joakim Nordstrom — Sean Kuraly — Noel Acciari

    Matt Grzelcyk — Charlie McAvoy

    Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo

    John Moore — Connor Clifton

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steven Kampfer, Karson Kuhlman

    Injured: Chris Wagner (right arm), Kevan Miller (lower body), Zdeno Chara (day to day)

     

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Teuvo Teravainen

    Nino Niederreiter — Jordan Staal — Justin Williams

    Warren Foegele – Lucas Wallmark — Brock McGinn

    Micheal Ferland — Greg McKegg — Saku Maenalanen

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Haydn Fleury — Calvin de Haan

    Curtis McElhinney

    Petr Mrazek

    Scratched: Jake Bean, Patrick Brown

    Injured: Jordan Martinook (lower body), Trevor van Riemsdyk (left shoulder)

     

    First Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 1:18 – Matt Grzelcyk 2 minutes fot Tripping

    Hurricanes Penalty – 10:35 – Nino Niederreiter 2 minutes for Slashing

    Bruins Penalty – 12:19 – Charlie Coyle 2 minutes for Interference

     

    End of 1st – BOS – 0       CAR – 0

    Shots              10                13

    Faceoffs         12                10

    Hits               08                  07

    PP                 0/1                 0/2

     

    Second Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – 4:26 – Bench (Justin Williams) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

    Bruins PPG – 4:46 – David Pastrnak (7) from Brad Marchand (11) and Torey Krug (11)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 18:10 – Greg McKegg 2 minutes for Goalie Interference

    Bruins PPG – 18:34 – Patrice Bergeron (7) from David Pastrnak (7)

     

    End of 2nd – BOS – 2        CAR – 0

    Shots               18                 18

    Faceoffs          25                 23

    Hits                 15                  19

    PP                   2/3                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Bruins Goal – 10:32 – Patrice Bergeron (8) from David Pastrnak (8)

    Bruins ENG – 17:43 – Brad Marchand (7) from Patrice Bergeron (5) and David Krejci (10)

     

    End of 3rd – BOS – 4         CAR – 0

    Shots              23                   24

    Faceoffs        35                    31

    Hits               17                     33

    PP                 2/3                    0/2

     

    Next Up:

    Stanley Cup Finals – Boston v. STL/SJ

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • ECF Game 2 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    ECF Game 2 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Game 2 – BOS Leads 1-0

     

    Game Recap:

    Coming into Game 2 this afternoon the Carolina Hurricanes look to tie the series at one and take away the home ice advantage from the Boston Bruins. The first half of the period saw the tempo change hands between the two teams, and we alao saw a Hurricanes powerplay that did not generate much offense. Then in the last five minutes of the period Matt Grzelcyk would get one through Petr Mrazek and just over the goal line to score the first goal of the game. The Bruins would not be done there as they would get a late powerplay opportunity and would need only six seconds as Jake DeBrusk would knock in her own rebound and give the Bruins a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission.

     

    Going into the second period the Bruins would get themselves into penalty trouble as Patrice Bergeron would take a tripping penalty, but the Hurricanes would squander their opportunity and moments later the Bruins would capitalize as Marcus Johansson would exhibit great patience as he feeds Connor Clifton with the pass for Clifton to bury the puck into a wide open net for his first career playoff goal. Then late in the second period Matt Grzelcyk would strike again, this time on the powerplay to give the Bruins a 4-0 lead going into the second intermission.

     

    Going into the third period the Hurricanes would stick with Petr Mrazek between the pipes, but the Bruins would continue their assault as David Backes would score 70 seconds into the period. Then after killing off their second Patrice Bergeron tripping penalty of the game, it would be Bergeron out of the box and setting up Danton Heinen to make it a commanding 6-0 lead. The Hurricanes would eventually end Tuukka Rask’s shutout bid when Justin Williams would deflect a Justin Faulk poimt shot to make it 6-1. Then the Hurricanes would build on that as they would catch Tuukka Rask cheating to play the puck as he would accidently shoot the puck into Teuvo Teravainen who would shoot it into the wide open net to make it 6-2, but it would be to little too late as the Bruins take Game 2 and the 2-0 series lead.

     

    Lineups:

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho – Teuvo Teravainen

    Nino Niederreiter — Jordan Staal — Justin Williams

    Warren Foegele – Lucas Wallmark — Brock McGinn

    Jordan Martinook — Greg McKegg — Micheal Ferland

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Haydn Fleury — Calvin de Haan

    Petr Mrazek

    Curtis McElhinney

    Scratched: Jake Bean, Patrick Brown

    Injured: Saku Maenalanen (upper body), Trevor van Riemsdyk (left shoulder)

     

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — David Backes

    Marcus Johansson — Charlie Coyle — Danton Heinen

    Joakim Nordstrom — Sean Kuraly — Chris Wagner

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo

    Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Clifton

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steven Kampfer, Karson Kuhlman, John Moore

    Injured: Kevan Miller (lower body), Noel Acciari (upper body)

     

    First Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 11:56 – Zdeno Chara 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins Goal – 15:22 – Matt Grzelcyk (2) from Marcus Johansson (5) and Charlie Coyle (4)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 18:26 – Justin Williams 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins PPG – 18:32 – Jake DeBrusk (3) from David Pastrnak (6) and Torey Krug (8)

     

    End of 1st – CAR – 0       BOS – 2

    Shots              06                11

    Faceoffs         08                13

    Hits               14                  20

    PP                 0/1                 1/1

     

    Second Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 1:09 – Patric Bergeron 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins Goal – 3:46 – Connor Clifton (1) from Marcus Johansson (6) and Danton Heinen (5)

    Bruins Penalty – 13:36 – Chris Wagner 2 minutes for Holding

    Hurricanes Penalty – 16:07 – Justin Williams 2 minutes for Holding

    Bruins PPG – 17:56 – Matt Grzelcyk (3) from Charlie Coyle (5) and Torey Krug (9)

     

    End of 2nd – CAR – 0        BOS – 4

    Shots               17                 21

    Faceoffs          18                 21

    Hits                 26                  27

    PP                   0/3                  2/2

     

    Third Period:

    Bruins Goal – 1:10 – David Backes (2) from David Krejci (8) and Torey Krug (10)

    Bruins Penalty – 2:22 – Patrice Bergeron 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins Goal – 4:32 – Danton Heinen (2) from Patrice Bergeron (4) and Charlie Coyle (6)

    Hurricanes Goal – 11:17 – Justin Williams (4) from Justin Faulk (6) and Sebastian Aho (6)

    Hurricanes Goal – 17:32 – Teuvo Teravainen (7) from unassisted

     

    End of 3rd – CAR – 2         BOS – 6

    Shots              23                   25

    Faceoffs        22                    31

    Hits               27                     35

    PP                 0/4                    2/2

     

    Next Up:

    Game 3  – Boston Leads 2-0

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • ECF Game 1 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    ECF Game 1 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Game 1

     

    Game Recap:

    Shipping off to Boston for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals the Bruins play host to the Carolina Hurricanes for the first time since the 2009 Semi Finals, and they would also be doing it without the services of star defenseman Charlie McAvoy as he is serving a one game suspension stemming from his illegal hit to the head of Josh Anderson in Game 7 against the Columbus Blue Jackets a few nights ago. However, no McAvoy, no problem as his replacement in the lineup Steven Kampfer would step up early as he would bury his first career playoff goal off of a Marcus Johansson pass after a spectacular defensive play to create the offensive rush leading to the Kampfer goal. Then on the next shift Sean Kuraly would throw a retaliatory punch at Brock McGinn to get a two minute roughing penalty, but the Hurricanes would only need three seconds as Andrei Svechnikov would get the puck right off the faceoff and throw it on net for a Sebastian Aho redirect past Tuukka Rask to tie the game at one a piece.

     

    Going into the second period both teams would remain tied at one, but halfway through the period after the Hurricanes would get their third powerplay opportunity of the game, and fail to convert on it, it would be Greg McKegg who would drive down the wing and wrist the puck past Tuukka Rask to give the Hurricanes the 2-1 lead. However, the goal was not called a goal right away on the ice as the referee did not signal that is was a goal initially as there was also a collision that happened in the crease as well due to Steven Kampfer also cross checking McKegg into Rask after being burned by McKegg when going down the wing towards the net, but the war room in Toronto called in the goal as the replays showed the puck going into the net prior to the collision taking place.

     

    In the third period the Hurricanes would unravel a little bit in the first three minutes of the period as they would take two really bad penalties that would come to cost them as on the first powerplay opportunity of the period for the Bruins it would be Marcus Johansson knocking in a loose puck in the slot to tie the game at two a piece, then 28 seconds later on another powerplay the Bruins would score again as Patrice Bergeron would score his 6th of the playoffs to give the Bruins the 3-2 lead before the three minute mark of the third period. Then in the final three minutes of the game the Bruins would score two goals in a span of 11 seconds starting off with an empty net goal, and then a goal on a breakaway by Chris Wagner as the Bruins would put this game out of reach to win Game 1 5-2.

     

    Lineups:

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Teuvo Teravainen

    Nino Niederreiter — Jordan Staal — Justin Williams

    Warren Foegele – Lucas Wallmark — Brock McGinn

    Jordan Martinook — Greg McKegg — Micheal Ferland

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Haydn Fleury — Calvin de Haan

    Petr Mrazek

    Curtis McElhinney

    Injured: Saku Maenalanen (upper body), Trevor van Riemsdyk (left shoulder)

    Scratched: Jake Bean, Patrick Brown

     

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — David Backes

    Marcus Johansson — Charlie Coyle — Danton Heinen

    Joakim Nordstrom — Sean Kuraly — Chris Wagner

    Zdeno Chara — Connor Clifton

    Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo

    Matt Grzelcyk — Steven Kampfer

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Zane McIntyre, Karson Kuhlman, John Moore

    Injured: Kevan Miller (lower body), Noel Acciari (upper body)

    Suspended: Charlie McAvoy

     

    First Period:

    Bruins Goal – 2:55 – Steven Kampfer (1) from Marcus Johansson (4)

    Bruins Penalty – 3:39 – Sean Kuraly 2 minutes for Roughing

    Hurricanes PPG – 3:42 – Sebastian Aho (5) from Andrei Svechnikov (2) and Jordan Staal (6)

    Bruins Penalty – 14:37 – Charlie Coyle 2 minutes for Hooking

    Hurricanes Penalty – 16:55 – Nino Niederreiter 2 minutes for Slashing

     

    End of 1st – CAR – 1       BOS – 1

    Shots              10                08

    Faceoffs         13                09

    Hits               09                  07

    PP                 1/2                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 4:08 – Sean Kuraly 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Hurricanes Goal – 9:18 – Greg McKegg (2) from Jordan Martinook (4) and Micheal Ferland (1)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 16:56 – Micheal Ferland 2 minutes for Interference

     

    End of 2nd – CAR – 2        BOS – 1

    Shots               25                 18

    Faceoffs          24                 18

    Hits                 19                  17

    PP                   1/3                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – :49 – Jordan Staal 2 minutes for Boarding

    Bruins PPG – 2:26 – Marcus Johansson (3) from Brad Marchand (9) and David Krejci (7)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 2:41 – Dougie Hamilton 2 minutes for Roughing

    Bruins PPG – 2:54 – Patrice Bergeron (6) from Brad Marchand (10) and Jake DeBrusk (4)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 5:29 – Dougie Hamilton 2 minutes for Interference

    Bruins ENG – 17:47 – Charlie Coyle (6) from Brandon Carlo (2) and Sean Kuraly (2)

    Bruins Goal – 17:58 – Chris Wagner (1) from unassisted

     

    End of 3rd – CAR – 2         BOS – 5

    Shots              30                   28

    Faceoffs        31                    28

    Hits               27                     25

    PP                 1/3                    2/5

     

    Next Up:

    Game 2 – Sunday at 3p EST – BOS Leads Series 1-0

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • Eastern Conference Finals Preview – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Eastern Conference Finals Preview – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Eastern Conference Finals

    Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

     

    Regular Season Series:

    CAR 1-0-1 (Playoffs 8-3)

    BOS 2-1-0 (Playoffs 8-5)

     

    How they got here:

    Carolina defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 in the first round, and then swept the New York Islanders 4-0 in the second round.

     

    Boston defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in the first round, and then defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 in the second round.

     

    A Deeper Look at the Series:

    Offense:

    For the Carolina Hurricanes this postseason they had a lot of players playing in the playoffs for the first time in their careers, and outside of the veteran leadership of Jordan Staal and Justin Williams they have also received contributions from their young stars of Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho. The biggest surprise this season has been the rise of rookie forward Warren Foegele who has recorded 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points in the postseason so far.

     

    For the veteran Boston Bruins they have received contributions from all of their top players including Brad Marchand who leads the way with 5 goals and 8 assists for 13 points this postseason. However, despite their contributions this postseason, the Columbus Blue Jackets last round showed how you can keep the top players of the Bruins quite for an extended amout of time throughout the series. Unfortunately for the Blue Jackets they faltered near the end and the likes of Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak would take over and lead the Bruins back to the Eastern Conference Finals.

     

    Defense:

    On defense for the Hurricanes they have been lead quietly by Jaccob Slavin who leads the team in points with 11 this postseason, but all 11 points have been assists for Slavin and it has shown as he has been a jolt for kick startig the Hurricanes offense. The Hurricanes have also gained contributions from Dougie Hamilton, Justin Faulk and Brett Pesce who combined have 19 points (4 goals and 15 assists) this postseason. With these four players firing on all cylinders, it makes the Hurricanes defense a dangerous one to contain in regards to moving the play up the ice and into the offensive zone.

     

    The Bruins major contributions offensively have come from Torey Krug (1 goal and 8 points) and Charlie McAvoy (1 goal and 6 points) from the blueline, but their overall core which is lead by captain Zdeno Chara has been solid throughout the majority of these playoffs. However, going into Game 1 the Bruins will be without McAvoy who will be serving a ome game suspension for his hit to the head of Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson in Game 7 last round, so the Bruins are going to need to step up in his absence for Game 1.

     

    Goaltending:

    For the Hurricanes they have relied on both of their horses from the regular season in Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney. Mrazek, who is the team’s number one goaltender has a 5-3 record with a 2.22 GAA and a .913 save percentage, while McElhinney has a 3-0 record with a 1.56 GAA and a .947 save percentage since coming in when Mrazek went down with a lower body injury. The Hurricanes hope to have Mrazek between the pipes for Game 1, but McElhinney is ready to answer the call when needed.

     

    For the Bruins they have their stalwart Tuukka Rask who in these playoffs have an 8-5 record with a 2.02 GAA and a .938 save percentage as he has been the backbone for the Bruins this postseason.

     

    Goaltending will be one of the biggest keys this series, and could also be the determining factor.

     

    Special Teams:

    CAR – PP 17.8%     PK 81.6%

    BOS – PP 25.9%     PK 79.9%

     

    For special teams this could be considered a wash as both teams are on the opposite end of the spectrum in regards to powerplay and penalty kill. During the regular season the Bruins had a better powerplay, but on the penalty kill the Hurricanes were the better team. One edge I would give to the Hurricanes would be their penalty kill as seeing it in person, against the Bruins for Hartford Whalers Night, they utilize their young, fast players along with their grizzled defenders to kill penalties, and with players like Teravainen and Aho on the kill that can score shorthanded, that can give the Hurricanes a slight edge.

     

    Prediction: CAR in 6

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Boston Bruins – Game 4 Recap

    Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Boston Bruins – Game 4 Recap

    With a commanding 3-1 lead within their grasp, the Columbus Blue Jackets could smell blood in the water. Nationwide arena was ready for a huge jackets victory to put them within a win of the Eastern Conference final. The time was now… until it wasn’t
    The Boston Bruins had other ideas.

    The Blue Jackets held the powerful line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak in check the past few games but Pastrnak would strike just 3:33 into the game. A beautiful cross ice feed from Charlie McAvoy would lead to a Pastrnak blast from the circle to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. The Jackets needed to play harder against that line but the Bruins would make them pay in just a few short minutes once again.

    The power trio of Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak would make their prescense felt again at 7:18 of the 1st period. Marchand would streak down the wing and wire a perfect pass to a pinching Bergeron who would rip a wrister past Bobrovsky for the Bruins’ second goal of the game and second of the first period. The Blue Jackets were in dire straits early and the Bruins we’re jumping on them. The Jackets needed a spark and it came in the form of Artemi Panarin.

    At 8:46 of the 1st period, Panarin wristed a shot up and over Tuukka Rask to cut the Blue Jackets deficit in half. After going to the front of the net, a rebound would zone right in on Panarin’s stick and he would hammer the shot over Rask. The Jackets had the spark they needed and it was time to get this game under control. The Bruins would keep the Jackets in check and then drive the dagger into their hearts in the 3rd period.

    After a hard fought second period with some great action from both teams, the Bruins would strike again at 8:40 of the 3rd period. A rebound after a big shot from the point would find Sean Kuraly in front of net. Kuraly would wrist the puck past Bobrovsky and give the Bruins a huge 3-1 lead. Time was running out for the Blue Jackets? Could they dig down and find two goals to send it to overtime? Bergeron would strike again to stop any hope of a comeback.

    At 17:30 of the 3rd period, Bergeron would seal the Bruins victory with their fourth goal of the game and his second of the night. After a rocket of a shot from David Pastrnak, Bergeron would tap home the rebound of the shot for a power play goal and a 4-1 Bruins lead. The Bruins’ game four victory has tied the series at two games a piece with the series now becoming a best of three the rest of the way.

    Game Five is Saturday night in Boston. Keep it right here on Txhthockey.com for all the hockey news

  • Winter Classic Recap – 1/1/2019 – Boston Bruins v. Chicago Blackhawks

    Winter Classic Recap – 1/1/2019 – Boston Bruins v. Chicago Blackhawks

    Boston Bruins (21-14-4 46pts) v. Chicago Blackhawks (15-20-6 36pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    For the 11th Annual Winter Classic, the host Chicago Blackhawks would fall to the Boston Bruins 4-2 at the historic Notre Dame Stadium. This was a tightly contested game that showed great play in the net for both Tuukka Rask and Cam Ward, but it would be Sean Kuraly would bat in the loose puck to score the game winner for the Bruins.

     

    Lineups:

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson

    Danton Heinen — Sean Kuraly — Chris Wagner

    Joakim Nordstrom — Colby Cave — Noel Acciari

    Zdeno Chara — Brandon Carlo

    Torey Krug — John Moore

    Matt Grzelcyk — Kevan Miller

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steven Kampfer, Ryan Donato

    Injured: Charlie McAvoy (lower body)

    Suspended: David Backes

     

    Chicago Blackhawks:

    Brandon Saad — Jonathan Toews — Dominik Kahun

    Artem Anisimov — Dylan Strome — Patrick Kane

    Alex DeBrincat — David Kampf — Dylan Sikura

    Brendan Perlini — Marcus Kruger — John Hayden

    Duncan Keith — Erik Gustafsson

    Gustav Forsling — Brent Seabrook

    Carl Dahlstrom — Connor Murphy

    Cam Ward

    Collin Delia

    Scratched: Chris Kunitz, Andreas Martinsen

    Injured: Corey Crawford (concussion)

     

    Officials:

     

    First Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 5:52 – Brandon Carlo 2 minutes for Holding

    Blackhawks Goal – 8:30 – Brendan Perlini (5) from David Kampf (10) and Dylan Sikura (3)

    Blackhawks Penalty – 12:05 – Artem Anisimov 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins PPG – 12:38 – David Pastrnak (24) from Patrice Bergeron (20)

    Bruins Penalty – 17:03 – Matt Grzelcyk 2 minutes for High Sticking

     

    End of 1st – BOS – 1       CHI – 1

    Shots              14                12

    Faceoffs         08                09

    Hits               10                  10

    PP                 1/1                 0/2

     

    Analysis:

    Bruins – The Bruins had a good start to the game by generating good zone time that lead to two really good scoring chances. However, after their first penalty kill, they would still give up the first goal of the game, but they would respond by capitalizing on their lone powerplay of the period.

     

    Blackhawks – The Blackhawks played a good solid period that saw them generate chances with their powerplay opportunities, and also score the first goal of the game.

     

    Need to Do:

    Bruins – The Bruins need to continue pressing the play in the Blackhawks zone, and continue to capitalize on their powerplay opportunities.

     

    Blackhawks – The Blackhawks need to do a better job on special teams. They need to generate more traffic in front of Tuukka Rask while on the powerplay, and to lockdown their zone better and force the Bruins to shoot from outside of the slot area while on the penalty kill.

     

    Second Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 2:23 – Sean Kuraly 2 minutes for Hooking

    Blackhawks Goal – 11:24 – Dominik Kahun (5) from Erik Gustafsson (14) and Jonathan Toews (20)

    Blackhawks Penalty – 17:57 – Erik Gustafsson 2 minutes for Roughing

    Bruins PPG – 18:48 – Patrice Bergeron (13) from David Pastrnak (26) and Torey Krug (20)

    Bruins Penalty – 19:50 – Matt Grzelcyk 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 2nd – BOS – 2        CHI – 2

    Shots               24                 28

    Faceoffs          18                 23

    Hits                 20                  21

    PP                   2/2                  0/3

     

    Analysis:

    Bruins – Not a good first half to the second period for the Bruins, but their special teams was a key factor in this period as they killed off another penalty, and scored on their lone powerplay opportunity to tie the game at 2 a piece.

     

    Blackhawks – The Blackhawks dominated the first half of this period generating 12 of the first 16 shots. However, they were unable to capitalize on their lone powerplay of the period, and were scored against on their lone penalty kill of the period as well, going 0 for 2 when down a man.

     

    Need to Do:

    Bruins – The Bruins need to continue with their strong penalty killing, but they need to also play much better at 5 on 5 as they are being dominated by the Blackhawks at even strength.

     

    Blackhawks – The Blackhawks need to start this period strong and make the most of this powerplay that they get to start the period with. Also the Blackhawks need to do a better job of penalty killing if they hope to win this game. Discipline is key.

     

    Third Period:

    Blackhawks Penalty – 1:03 – Patrick Kane 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Blackhawks Penalty – 1:42 – Artem Anisimov 2 minutes for Tripping

    Blackhawks Penalty – 4:56 – Gustav Forsling 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins Goal – 10:20 – Sean Kuraly (4) from Chris Wagner (3) and Matt Grzelcyk (10)

    Bruins ENG – 19:27 – Brad Marchand (13) from David Krejci (24)

     

    End of 3rd – BOS – 4         CHI – 2

    Shots              36                   38

    Faceoffs        29                    37

    Hits               30                     25

    PP                 2/5                    0/4

     

    Analysis:

    This  was a closer game than it should have been due to Chicago’s lack of discipline this period, but both goaltenders were spectacular. However, it would be the Bruins play overwhelming the Blackhawks to secure the victory.

     

    Next Up:

    Boston (22-14-4 48pts) v. Calgary (24-12-4 52pts)

    Chicago (15-21-6 36pts) @ NY Islanders (21-13-4 46pts)