Poll: Has the Bruins’ Stanley Cup window closed?

By Jason BroughAug 13, 2015, 11:59 AM EDT
20 Comments

Back in 2013, the last time the Bruins made the Stanley Cup Final, their leading playoff scorers were, in order, David Krejci, Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Brad Marchard, Jaromir Jagr, Daniel Paille, Tyler Seguin, and Johnny Boychuk.

Of those 10 players, only four — Krejci, Bergeron, Chara and Marchand — remain on the roster. And Chara is 38 years old now.

Add to the fact Dougie Hamilton is gone too, plus the fact the Bruins missed the playoffs last year, and it’s no surprise that many feel their Cup window has closed.

But you won’t hear new GM Don Sweeney say that. Not with youngsters like Jimmy Hayes, Brett Connolly, Ryan Spooner, David Pastrnak, and Alex Khokhlachev up front. And not after picking up 27-year-old Matt Beleskey in free agency.

Remember that the NHL is a young man’s league. Teams that aren’t constantly refreshing their lineups are teams that get into trouble.

“I don’t think it’s a rebuild. We didn’t strip this down,” Sweeney said in June, per NHL.com. “We have a tremendous core group of guys that are going to obviously carry an even heavier load here in the short term while these other kids can come in and start to take footing.”

OK, time to vote:

Related: Zach Trotman is looking to make the leap

NHL on NBCSN: Fighting for playoffs spot, Bruins hope third time’s the charm vs. Caps

By Ryan DadounApr 8, 2015, 8:33 AM EDT
28 Comments

NBCSN will continue its coverage of the 2014-15 campaign tonight with a doubleheader. The first of the two contests will feature the Washington Capitals hosting the Boston Bruins, with the puck scheduled to drop at 8:00 p.m. ET. In addition to NBCSN, you can also watch the game and pre-show online.

Boston has won five straight games to keep itself in the playoff race, but with the Ottawa Senators’ surge continuing, it hasn’t been enough to secure a postseason berth for the Bruins.

A loss against the Washington Capitals tonight won’t push the Bruins out of the playoff picture, but it would make the margin of error for Boston significantly smaller in its final two contests against Florida and Tampa Bay. Maintaining the winning streak will be tough for the Bruins against the similarly hot Capitals, but Boston at least caught a bit of a break during Tuesday’s practice.

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Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was back on the ice after being held off on Monday. He had been labeled as day-to-day, but Bruins coach Claude Julien now seems optimistic about Chara’s chances of being available for tonight’s game.

That would certainly be a boost, although it might not be enough. Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby has already earned two shutouts against Boston this season. Washington forward Nicklas Backstrom has also been a thorn in the Bruins’ side with four points over those two games.

“We’re not here certainly feeling overconfident,” said Julien, per the team’s website. “Because we still haven’t scored on them yet in two games, so we need to be better there tomorrow and find a way to get past their goaltender.”

Perhaps Ryan Spooner will ultimately be the one to solve Washington. Since being called up on Feb. 21, Spooner has been a key forward for Boston with eight goals and 18 points in 21 games. If not for his efforts, Boston might not be in a playoff position going into today’s action.

“We talk about bringing some young legs in, we talk about speed, we talk about skill — (Spooner’s) been able to bring that,” Julien said. “When he was here the first few times, he just brought portions of that. Now, he’s brought it all, and it’s made a big difference in his game. It’s made a big difference in our game.”

Washington has already secured a postseason berth, but the Capitals still need these two points. As things currently stand, it looks like they’ll be in for a tough battle against the New York Islanders in the first round. What remains to be seen is which team will have the home-ice advantage in that series and a win tonight would certainly help Washington as it tries to clinch the second seed in the Metropolitan Division.

Johnny Hockey named NHL’s rookie of the month for March

By Mike HalfordApr 1, 2015, 2:13 PM EDT
9 Comments

The NHL’s rookie scoring leader is also its rookie of the month.

On Wednesday, the league announced that Calgary freshman Johnny Gaudreau took home the honors for March after putting up 16 points in 15 games, keeping the Flames afloat in the Western Conference playoff chase.

More:

Gaudreau edged Ottawa Senators right wing Mark Stone (4-11—15 in 16 GP), Boston Bruins teammates Ryan Spooner (7-7—14 in 15 GP) and David Pastrnak (3-10—13 in 15 GP), Carolina Hurricanes center Victor Rask (3-8—11 in 15 GP), and Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson (6-2-0, 2.50 GAA, .918 SV%) for the honor.

Gaudreau, a fourth-round selection (104th overall) by the Flames in the 2011 NHL Draft, recorded at least one point in 10 of his 15 March appearances, highlighted by four multi-point efforts. Those included his fourth career multi-goal game in a 6-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks March 11 (2-0—2) and his fourth career game-winning goal in a 5-3 triumph over the Dallas Stars March 30 (1-1—2).

Gaudreau joins Tanner Pearson (October), Filip Forsberg (November), John Klingberg (January) and Anders Lee (February) as this season’s rookie of the month winners. He also looks to be a lock as one of this year’s three Calder Trophy finalists, along with Forbsberg and Aaron Ekblad.

Bruins add breathing room in wild card race

By Dhiren MahibanMar 29, 2015, 9:16 PM EDT
9 Comments

Bruins’ rookie David Pastrnak scored with 37 seconds remaining in overtime as Boston doubled up the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1.

Pastrnak finished with a goal and an assist.

The Bruins win gives them a three-point cushion on the Ottawa Senators in the wild card race. Boston is also just three points back of the Washington Capitals for the first wild card spot.

Boston has now won two straight after going six in a row without a win.

Ryan Spooner opened the scoring with his seventh of the season at 2:21 of the first period. Nathan Gerbe tied the game 1-1 with less than a minute remaining in the second.

Boston improved to 5-8-2 in the second half of back-to-backs after a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers on Saturday.

Tuukka Rask, who left Saturday’s game due to a migrane, made 30 saves to improve to 31-19-12 with the win.

Anton Khudobin stopped 28 shots in the loss.

The Bruins’ win officially eliminated both the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers from postseason contention.

Spooner will remain in Bruins lineup when Krejci returns, says Julien

By Cam TuckerMar 20, 2015, 6:30 PM EDT
9 Comments

David Krejci continues to get closer to a return to the Boston Bruins lineup, although according to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe, that’s not guaranteed to happen Saturday.

When he does come back, don’t bet on Ryan Spooner, Boston’s 2010 second-round pick, being taken out of the lineup to make room for Krejci.

On Thursday, in a loss to the Ottawa Senators, the 23-year-old Spooner scored twice and had seven shots on net. Earlier this month, he had a point streak that reached seven games, and it looks like his recent play has left a favorable impression on head coach Claude Julien.

“I think everybody here knows that Ryan Spooner is playing well. I’m going to be honest with you: he’s not coming out of our lineup playing the way that he is,” said Julien, as per CSN New England.

“That’s just doing the right thing and he deserves it right now. We’ll just have to figure out what we’re going to do from there [when Krejci does return].”

The Bruins are in Florida to take on the Panthers on Saturday.

It’s another important game. The Bruins are only two points up on the Senators for the final Wild Card spot in the East. The Panthers are still hanging around in the playoff race, sitting just five points back of Boston.