Boston Bruins

The Bruins have received plenty of good contributions from a trio of rookie defensemen in Games 1 and 2, but some veteran blue liners are starting to get healthy. Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden both returned to practice Monday morning for the Bruins, and both players will travel with the team to New York for Game 3 against the Rangers on Tuesday. However, it’s uncertain whether or not either or both will be in the lineup for Game 3. “ [Seidenberg]‘s getting closer,” Bruins coach Claude Julien told reporters after practice. “Whether it’s next game or not, we’ll see how he feels [Tuesday]. “As far as players in and out, it’s cut and dry with us. I need the OK from the medical staff, which is the doctors and the trainers. And after they’ve given me the okay, then it becomes my decision. There’s no gray area when it comes to that stuff.” Where the grey area is, however, is what Julien would do if Seidenberg and/or Redden are healthy enough to return in Game 3. The B’s have gotten great contributions from Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski in Games 1 and 2, two wins for Boston. Those three combined for two goals and four assists and were a combined plus-3 in the first two games of the series. Unsurprisingly, Julien wasn’t willing to discuss any possible changes until he knows more about the health of Seidenberg and Redden. “Well, the best thing to do is to cross that bridge when you get to it,” Julien said. “To procrastinate about it right now is a lot of wasted time where it could be putting it on different areas of our game. When that time comes, whether it’s [Tuesday] morning or whatever, I’ll be ready to make the decision. That’s what they want me to do as a coach, and that’s what I keep doing whether it’s right or wrong.” Seidenberg, who had logged at least 21:32 of ice time in Games 1-6 of the first-round series against Toronto, played just 37 seconds in Game 7 before suffering an injury. He hasn’t played since then. Redden, meanwhile, hasn’t seen action since Game 5 of the Toronto series.

Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden will travel with the Bruins to New York after practicing with the team today. Their status for tomorrow’s Game 2 against the New York Rangers, however, is still unknown.Redden (upper body injury) practiced with the Bruins for the second time this week, but hasn’t played in a game since the Bruins’ Game 6 loss to Toronto in their opening round playoff series. Seidenberg had a limited practice with the Bruins today. It was the defenseman’s first practice since suffering a lower-body injury against Toronto in Game 7.

Heading into this series against the New York Rangers, all the chatter was about how good a goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was and how the Bruins would have difficulty in scoring off him. Well, the B’s have lit the lamp eight times in two games against the “King” while Tuukka Rask has outplayed him in the first two games of this series. Head Coach Claude Julien talked about Rask’s performance and the confidence he and the team has in him. “Well we’ve got a lot of confidence in Tuukka,” Julien said. “And if you compare both goalies, there’s no doubt that Henrik Lundqvist has more experience than Tuukka does, but that doesn’t change anything. Our guys have done a great job in front of him and what he showed in the second period-like I said it could have been a totally different game had he not stood tall for us in the second period. So, he allowed us to recover and play a much better period in the third. He’s been good for us all year and our guys have lots of confidence in him so it’s about having confidence in your goaltender and finding ways to get through the other one.” Rask is 2-0 against the Rangers in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs compiling 68 saves while allowing only four goals. He looks steady and locked in as the B’s head to New York for Game 3. “My confidence is always high,” Rask said. “That’s just how I try to be. No matter what happens, I try to stay calm and even keeled. Confidence can’t go any lower or higher, I think.” Rask deflected the question about this series being about the goalie matchup, but focused on the team aspect of this series. “Yeah, I mean it’s a good challenge obviously,” Rask said. “I know I can’t let in any lead goals most nights because he is who he is. But, then again it’s a team game and we’re more focused on the Rangers than any individual.” Not only has he been rock solid against the Rangers, but he has been phenomenal during the entire playoffs for the Black and Gold. Rask is 6-3 with a .928 save percentage. His goals against average sits at 2.32 while he has played in 569 minutes (ranked 2nd in playoffs). Even Brad Marchand chimed in (shocking) on Tuukka Rask’s performance thus far in the playoffs. “He’s incredible,” Marchand said. “You got to give him a lot of credit. He made a few really, really big saves in the second period that gave us an opportunity to come back and take the lead again. We definitely wouldn’t be where we are right now if it wasn’t for him.” New York defenseman Dan Girardi was even talking about the play of Rask in their locker room after the game on Sunday afternoon. “He was really big for them,” Girardi said. “He made some big saves when pucks got turned over. I think Steps (Derek Stepan) hit a post there. We had a really good second and we just couldn’t get that extra one by him there. I thought it was a pretty good game.” Rask continues to silence the critics who doubted he could be a number one goalie or a big time goalie in the playoffs. Right now, he is one of the hottest goaltenders in the league while his play is making B’s fans forget about Tim Thomas. It looks like “King Lundqvist” has misplaced his crown and Rask is wearing it through the first two games of the series. It may be a different story when Rask heads to Madison Square Garden Tuesday night, but nothing is fazing him right now as he is outplaying one of the best goaltenders on the planet. The post Tuukka Rask shining bright in Round 2 vs. Rangers appeared first on Bruins Daily.

The Boston Bruins appear to have hit their stride, shifting into the higher gear that had been sought all season. On to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, the Bruins now lead the series 2-0: The Boston Bruins 5-2 matinee win over the New York Rangers yesterday made a decisive statement. [BostonHerald] Here's the game in a nutshell. [NewEnglandHockeyJournal] In praise of Johnny Boychuk, who has taken a beating this series, he tops the NHL is blocked shots... [MassLive] ...and Boychuk netted the game winning goal on a Patrice Bergeron screen, not that he wants to get cocky or "go into New York and lay an egg." [BostonHerald] Jaromir Jagr was working out alone after the win, putting in extra ice time. [NESN] Gregory Campbell was wearing the Army Rangers jacket after his goal on a nifty skill pass from Torey Krug and after having dropped the gloves with Derek Dorsett. [Bruins.NHL] Barry Pederson thinks the vaunted shot blocking of the Rangers may not actually be helping Henrik Lundqvist, Adam McQuaid had a solid game, and what may happen with the rookies as Wade Redden, Dennis Seidenberg, and Andrew Ference return. [WEEI] Lundqvist has appeared surprisingly human, and Rask has been "quietly solid" in the series so far. [WEEI] Peter Chiarelli spoke with Jack Edwards about the rookie defensemen, Tuukka Rask, and said Zdeno Chara was "a monster" and he could "not say enough" about him. [NESN] So Zdeno Chara is not a good captain? We at Stanley Cup of Chowder beg to differ. [StanleyCupofChowder] Jimmy Murphy has courteously acknowledged our dissenting opinion. [@MurphysLaw74] Torey Krug had a goal and assist, and showed fancy footwork. David Krejci is in the Conn Smyth Watch. [PuckDaddy] And Krug is an NHL Star. [NHL] C'mon, do we NEED 40 reasons to love Tuukka Rask? [JurassicWars] Jack Edwards will participate in a live chat at noon today! [Boston.com] Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden were on ice for team practice this morning, only Andrew Ference was absent. [@NHLBruins^CS] Say goodbye to the Leafs, and hello Rangers. And bye for now, "agreeably hysterical" Jack Edwards. [PuckBuddys] C'Mon, Ref! tackles the "puck over the glass' rule. [TSN] Plucky Mikhail Grabovski spoke about the Leafs postseason (and biting Max Pacioretty.) Sore losers never win against officials. Why the Rangers may wish to learn to defend the Bergeron/Marchand play that has resulted in two goals so far. [PuckDaddy]

Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden were on the ice for practice Monday.

BOSTON — The nerve-wracking nature of the Stanley Cup playoffs can be too much for some players. Conversely, there are also those who rise to the occasion when the lights shine brightest. Through the first two postseason games of his career, Torey Krug appears to belong in the latter group. If playing your game — and succeeding at playing your game — are the true barometers for comfort in sports, then it would appear the Bruins rookie defenseman is more than comfortable right now. With injuries taking their toll on the Boston blue line, Krug, along with Matt Bartkowski and Dougie Hamilton, have been called on to play some big minutes in the club’s second-round series with the Rangers. All have been impressive in a variety of ways, but none of them have contributed on the stat sheet through two games against New York like Krug has. The Michigan State product scored his first career goal in Game 1, and he followed that up with a goal and an assist in Game 2. It’s not just the points Krug is putting up but also the way that he’s doing it that has been so impressive. Krug’s undeniable offensive skill was on display Sunday in Game 2 on both of the goals he was involved in. He scored the team’s first goal in the first period, when he sprinted up to join the rush before jumping into the offensive zone to take a pass from Nathan Horton. Krug’s speed put him a little ahead of the puck, but he was able to tip the puck to slow it down before putting it through his legs, steadying it and then firing one through Henrik Lundqvist. Krug did it again in the second period, when he used his right skate to kick a pass from Adam McQuaid to his stick before putting it at the net. The puck deflected off New York defenseman Dan Girardi‘s skate right to Gregory Campbell in the slot, and the Boston center roofed one under the crossbar by Lundqvist. “Yeah, that’s a skill that sometimes you work on it after practice,” Krug stated simply about the nifty footwork. “You don’t have to work on it too much. It’s just a couple extra reps here or there at the end, picking up pucks with your feet. So, it’s just something that I try to do, and I was lucky enough that it bounced my way.” Krug’s contributions weren’t all quantifiable by numbers, though. He also logged some power play and penalty kill time, and he looked incredibly poised and comfortable with the puck on his stick. At one point in the second period, with the Bruins on the power play, Krug skated the puck (backwards, mind you) across the point before setting up a scoring chance on the man-advantage. Paired with Hamilton at the point on the second power play unit, Krug gave the Bruins and their fans a look that they could be seeing quite a lot of in the coming years. “The last thing you want to do is get those guys to play on their heels or play afraid to make a mistake,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “Confidence goes a long way in this game. When coaches are able to give players confidence, it shows, because it makes a big difference.” Despite the impressive performance, Krug only ended up logging 12:56 of ice time, which was the lowest of any Bruins defenseman. That’s all part of the balancing act that Julien must master in order to make sure that Krug’s talent and skill set are fully utilized, but not to the point that he becomes exposed and hurts the club during the most important time of the year. But so far, Julien and the Bruins are pushing the right buttons when it comes to the rookie D-men, especially Krug. His confidence — judging by both his play and his words — is high right now, which is of utmost importance for success at this time of year. “Yeah, well, I’m a player,” Krug said. “I’m [5-foot-9], I’m not very big, I have to play with the puck to be an impact player. So, for me you’ve got to be confident with the puck. If I’m n

Thanks to dafoomie for putting these together, they are great!

BOSTON — The New York Rangers may not be as even with the Boston Bruins after two games as they ultimately were in their seven-game win over the Capitals in the first round.Once again, the Rangers have dropped the first two games on the road after losing, 5-2, Sunday afternoon at TD Garden. Game 3 is Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports The New York Rangers scored with 16:40 left to be played in the second period to make the score 2-2 against the Boston Bruins in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup. They did not score again as Boston Goalie Tuukka Rask turned away shot after shot from the Rangers offense. Rask faced 39 shots on the day and only allowed two of them to get by. Boston, however, had no problem finding the twine behind goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Boston took 37 shots and five of them made their way past the Rangers goalie. Not only did they score five goals, but they were scored by five different Bruin players. Gregory Campbell, Milan Lucic, Torey Krug, Johnny Boychuk and Brad Marchand all scored for the Bruins, who took a 2-0 lead in the series. Game 1 was an overtime thriller that Boston won 3-2. New York does have something to look forward to in Game 3 on Tuesday night–they will be playing at home. The Rangers are 3-0 this postseason at Madison Square Garden and they will hope the magic returns when the puck drops in front of the home crowd. The Rangers had plenty of opportunity in Game 2. They had five power play chances and didn’t convert on any of them, while Boston had only one chance. New York also only had one give away as opposed to 16 by the Bruins. The difference in the game is between the pipes. Rask stopped shot after shot and shut down any break-a-way chance the Rangers had. In order for New York to have a shot in this series, Lundqvist has to be better. He cannot give up five goals and expect to win in the playoffs. Rask was the number one star in Game 2. New York needs that number one star to be transferred to their goalie for Game 3 or this might be a quick series. Greg Higgins is a NHL contributor for rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greghiggins457, “Like” him on Facebook, and add him to your network on Google.

The Bruins dominated the New York Rangers yesterday in a 5-2 beatdown. Two hours after the game ended, most players would be home resting or eating dinner with their families. Not Jaromir Jagr. Jagr was still on the Garden ice as of 8pm, skating with just his stick and a puck. He hasn't been playing that great and the guy is about as snake bitten as anyone not named Tyler Seguin can be, but man, you gotta love his dedication. It also helps that Massachusetts doesn't have any casinos in the area yet. (S/T to Next Impluse Sports) (Click the image for higher res photo)