One Down, 15 to go

By Jim Chandley

The B’s beat the rival Canadiens 4-2 at the Garden tonight in their first playoff game of 2009.

Phil Kessel scored twice including an empty net goal with 15 seconds left to salt the game away.  Zdeno Chara scored on the powerplay and David Krejci scored only moments after Kessel’s first goal to set the pace.

The Habs got goals from Christopher Higgins and Alexei Kovalev, but it was not enough to hold of the top seed in the East.

Fisticuffs ensued as the game came to a close.  Steve Montador and Guillaume Latendresse went at it in an obvious carryover from the last regular season game the two teams played, which was full of rough stuff.

Game 2 will be played Saturday night in the midst of one of the best sports days Boston has seen in some time.

The Celtics will open their first round playoff series with the Bulls at the Garden Saturday afternoon.  The facilities crew will then flip the floors so that the B’s can host the Canadiens in game 2.  At 7, the puck will drop at the Garden and the Sox will take the field against the Orioles back in the Fens.

The city will surely be abuzz over all the sports action; just make sure you’re in town early to get a parking space…

Bruins Lose 3-2 in Ottawa

Embattled Bruins Goaltender Manny Fernandez

By Jim Chandley

In their first game since clinching the top spot in the Eastern Conference, the Bruins started Manny Fernandez in goal to give starter Tim Thomas a night off.

Christoph Schubert and Mike Fisher scored in the first to give Ottawa a 2-0 lead.

Zdeno Chara and Phil Kessel scored in the second for the B’s (Kessel’s was his 32nd on the season), but so did Ottawa’s Dany Heatley.

The Senators kept their 3-2 lead throughout a few charges from the Bruins in the third.  The score  would remain at 3-2.

Boston will host the Habs on Thursday night at the Garden.

Bruins Fall to Pens, 6-4

By Jim Chandley

With two teams of young goal scorers in Pittsburgh on Sunday, there was no dearth of goals.  Although the golden sticks of young Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were not heard from, Phil Kessel did net his 31st of the year.

Despite Kessel’s outscoring the dynamic duo of young Penguins, Boston came up short in the high scoring affair.

Boston took a 3-2 lead into the third.  This was when the defensive effort needed to be there in order for the B’s to close things out.  Unfortunately, they did not take care of the puck late in the game, as has become their custom of late.

Pittsburgh outscored Boston 4-1 in the third, including an equalizer only 43 seconds into the period from former Bruin Sergei Gonchar.

The Bruins look to get back on track Thursday when they host the LA Kings at 7PM.

Drop and Give Me 30!

Now a 30-goal scorer, Kessel looks to take his place with the league's elite

By Jim Chandley

Phil Kessel put his 30th goal of the year past Yann Danis three minutes into the 1st as the Bruins beat the Islanders on Saturday.  Moments later, Marc Savard would bury another (his 22nd) to give the B’s a 2-0 lead.

Boston had busted out of the gate with that early intensity that has eluded them for weeks.  At 4:21 in the 1st they were on pace to score 24 goals on the afternoon.

Of course, that did not happen.

The Bruins would hang on to win the game 2-1, but the intensity disappeared.  They stopped taking care of the puck late in the first and survived a few near misses.  The Islanders out skated them for much of the second and got a goal from Mark Streit to make it 2-1.

The entire third was an exercise in bullet dodging.  Tim Thomas was brilliant at times keeping the lead for the B’s.  But once again, the Bruins did not play the full 60 minutes.

So the good news is, two wins in a row.  The bad news is, the Bruins still can not focus.  They will try for a more complete effort tomorrow afternoon in Pittsburgh when they visit Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the rest of the Penguins.

Bruins Filibuster Senators 5-3

The man with two goals

By Jim Chandley

The Bruins came out on fire in a bizarre affair at the Garden tonight against Ottawa.  Seven minutes into the game, the Bruins had committed three penalties and killed all three.

In those same seven minutes they scored a short-handed goal from Aaron Ward and an even strength marker from P.J. Axelsson.  (It should be noted, Axelsson’s goal was both beautiful and effortless.  He came out of the box as Michael Ryder was stealing the puck in the neutral zone, 2 on 1, no chance for the keeper on a sweet one-timer).

So at seven minutes in the 1st, the B’s were up 2-0 despite three Ottawa powerplays…  Needless to say it was a wild one.

Kobasew scored for Boston as did Jason Spezza to finish the period at 3-1 Boston.

Granted, it had to calm down from there, and it did.  The 2nd period was rather uneventful.

Phil Kessel scored two goals in the 3rd, one an empty netter at the very end of the game.  Spezza had scored again along with teammate Christoph Schubert to make it worth pulling the goalie.

But in the end, Ottawa was outclassed by Boston.

The B’s will host the Islanders at 1PM Saturday.

5-3 Bruins, Chicken Little Takes a Step Back

Krejci deflated the Blackhawks' balloon.

By Jim Chandley

The Bruins won for the first time in what felt like ages this afternoon.  They downed the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 at the Garden.  New Bruin Mark Recchi announced his presence with a two-goal game.

The Bruins never trailed in this one, with Recchi scoring in the first to make it 1-0.  When Jonathan Toews scored in the second to tie things up, Krejci answered only 30 seconds later.  Recchi, Kessel and Axelsson would add tallies for the Bruins the rest of the way.

Things had clearly turned in the second, just after the Toews goal.  Any momentum Chicago had from tying the game was instantly killed by the Krejci marker, with Recchi’s only 40 additional seconds away.  From then on, the Blackhawks were rather lifeless.

Tomorrow, the Bruins will play the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.  The Rangers are currently 4th in the East.