Tag: Boston Bruins

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Brad Marchand calls out the NHL after Game 4 on Sunday.

Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Bruins earned a huge win on Sunday when they took Game 4 over the Florida Panthers, securing a commanding 3-1 lead in the opening round series between the two Stanley Cup hopefulls.

While you might think that would have put the Bruins in a good mood, Bruins forward Brad Marchand clearly had a bone to pick after the game. Some of the antics that occurred during the game, including all hell breaking loose late in the third period, might lead you to believe that Marchand had a bone to pick with the Panthers, but instead the Bruins agitator’s issues were with the National Hockey League itself.

Following the conclusion of Game 4, Marchand was asked about controversial comments made by Matthew Tkachuk earlier in the series.

Again you might have expected Marchand to use the opportunity to roast Tkachuk for some pretty ugly comments that were caught on a hot mic, but this is where Marchand chose to call out the NHL instead. The Bruins agitator chastised the league, and their media partners, for allowing the comments from Tkachuk to be caught on a mic in the first place.

“I think the NHL and the media outlets have crossed the line to allow those mics …” said an infuriated Marchand.

According to Matt Porter of the Boston Globe, Marchand would go even one step further and called the entire situation “very disrespectful” to the agreement between the NHL and NHLPA.

It certainly sounds like there may be some fallout here, although much of that is likely to occur behind closed doors and away from the prying eyes of fans.

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Tkachuk goes after Ullmark and all hell breaks loose in Game 4!

The Boston Bruins and the Florida Panthers are not done with their first round Stanley Cup playoff series just yet, and facing elimination the Florida Panthers attempted to send a message late in the third period of Game 4.

All hell broke loose when Panthers agitator Matthew Tkachuk invaded the Bruins crease and drew the ire of Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark, eventually leading to a dogpile on Tkachuk and then a larger brawl between the Panthers and the Bruins on the ice as neither team was willing to give ground.

Tkachuk would attempt to get at Ullmark during all of the chaos and the Bruins goaltender appeared eager to throw fists with the Panthers forward, but the National Hockey League officials on the ice were having none of it.

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Sam Bennett hits a downed Garnet Hathaway in the nether region.

A controversial incident at the end of the first period of Game 4 between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers on Sunday afternoon may have become even more controversial thanks to a sharp-eyed fan.

During the first period of today’s game, Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk delivered a cross-check to the back of Bruins forward Garnet Hathaway after the first period had just come to an end.

What everyone seems to have missed however was an extra cheap shot courtesy of Panthers forward Sam Bennett, everyone except a fan that identifies themselves simply as ‘Dale’ on social media. Dale noticed that while Hathaway was down on the ice, Bennett skated over and used the opportunity to give Hathaway a little something extra by giving him a cup check with his stick.

If you pay attention closely, there’s absolutely no doubt about the fact that Bennett hits Hathaway in the groin, and does so quite deliberately as well.

It comes as even less of a surprise now that Hathaway needed a few moments to gather himself before eventually rising back to his feat at the end of the first period.

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Garnet Hathaway injured by cross-check from Matthew Tkachuk Game 4.

Boston Bruins forward Garnet Hathaway appears to have been injured in the first period of Game 4 between the Bruins and Florida Panthers, and the Bruins aren’t going to be happy about this one.

Hathaway went down, and stayed down, after a cross-check from Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk struck him in the back where he has very little protection. A scrum ensued around Hathaway and players pushed and shoved, but as all of this went down, Hathaway remained flat on the ice.

Tkachuk was awarded a 2 minute penalty on the play, but that will be little consolation for the Bruins if Hathaway is unable to continue in this contest.

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NHL Player Safety comes down on Matthew Tkachuk after Game 4.

The National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety(DOPS) has come down on Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, and I suspect he’s not going to be too happy about it.

On Monday, the DOPS announced that Tkachuk would be fined $5,0000, the maximum allowable amount under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, for a cross-check he delivered to Boston Bruins forward Garnet Hathaway.

The cross-check was fairly egregious with Tkachuk striking Hathaway from behind, striking him in an unprotected area of his lower back, and doing so after the final horn had sounded for the end of the first period. I suspect that a combination of all of these factors are why the league felt additional discipline was warranted in this instance.

Tkachuk was awarded a 2 minute minor penalty at the time of the incident and he wasn’t happy about that to begin with, indicating during an interview that he felt Hathaway had taken a dive on the play.

“It’s kinda one of those pretty chippy games.” said Tkachuk. “If you get cross-checked go down, try to draw a penalty. It seems that’s the way this game is kinda going.”

He likely will be even less happy now that he has been fined for the same incident.

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Key updates on Bergeron, Ullmark, and Krejci ahead of Game 4.

The Boston Bruins have taken a 2-1 series lead over the Florida Panthers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and it sounds like that lead may have granted Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery some luxuries when it comes to his lineup.

On Saturday, Montgomery hinted at 2 possible changes to the Bruins lineup ahead of Game 4 when he provided updates on both goaltender Linus Ullmark and veteran forward David Krejci.

In the case of Ullmark, Montgomery admitted that he had given some thought to the idea of swapping in goaltender Jeremy Swayman for Game 4 in order to give Ullmark, who is dealing with a minor injury, some additional time to rest in the middle of the series.

“Yeah there is thoughts of going with Jeremy,” admitted Montgomery on Saturday. “Just because, one, Jeremy’s excellent, and two after tomorrow’s game there’s three days between the next one… game’s 4 and 5.”

Montgomery also indicated that David Krejci, who missed Game 3 of the series, could possibly return for Game 4 but he did not have any more to say regarding the status of the veteran Bruins forward.

“Krejci no,” responded Montgomery when asked if Krejci would skate on Saturday. “There’s no real update, I would just say he’s questionable for tomorrow.”

Montgomery was also able to confirm that Bergeron remained on track to return, not for Sunday’s Game 4, but for Game 5 this coming Wednesday.

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Jim Montgomery names his goalie for Game 4

Brian Fluharty/Getty

The Boston Bruins are set to face off against the Florida Panthers on Sunday afternoon and based on the decision made by Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery it seems safe to suggest that he is hoping to see his team take a stranglehold on this series.

On Saturday, Montgomery hinted at the possibility that we could see backup goaltender Jeremy Swayman make an appearance in Game 4 but that will not be the case after all. Montgomery confirmed on Sunday that it will be Linus Ullmark who once again gets the start for the Bruins.

Here is the rest of your Boston Bruins lineup for Game 4:

Forwards:

Brad Marchand-Charlie Coyle-Jake DeBrusk
Tyler Bertuzzi-Pavel Zacha-David Pastrnak
Nick Foligno-Trent Frederic-Taylor Hall
Jakub Lauko–Tomas Nosek–Garnet Hathaway
Defensemen:

Matt Grzelcyk-Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm-Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort-Dmitry Orlov

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Bruins release projected lineup for critical Game 3

NHL.com

The Boston Bruins were punched in the mouth by the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night, and they had no response. The Panthers, who played the Bruins hard in Game 1 of their Round 1 postseason series despite a 3-1 setback, dominated Game 2 and tied up the series with a convincing 6-3 win. 

The two teams have since shifted locations, as they’re now in Florida for Games 3 and 4 that will be played at FLA Live Arena. The Bruins have already announced that captain Patrice Bergeron will not be suiting up for either contest, though there’s a chance he could be back for Game 5 back at Boston’s TD Garden. Meanwhile, goaltender Linus Ullmark is said to be a game-time decision. 

“Ullmark is a game-time decision and Bergeron did not make the trip,” head coach Jim Montgomery confirmed Friday morning.

Meanwhile, it will be Jakub Lauko replacing Nick Foligno up front, while Matt Grzelcyk replace Connor Clifton on the blue line.

“We couldn’t come to a consensus,” Montgomery explained when discussing lineup changes for Game 3. “So you know how they do the lotto balls, how they come out? We just spit them out and I like how they came out. There’s a method to how we think the lines will help us for tonight.”

Take a look at tonight’s projected line combinations for the critical Game 3 matchup:

Forwards 

Brad Marchand-Charlie Coyle-Trent Frederic

Tyler Bertuzzi-Pavel Zacha-David Pastrnak

Taylor Hall-David Krejci-Jake DeBrusk

Jakub Lauko–Tomas Nosek–Garnet Hathaway

Defensemen

Matt Grzelcyk-Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm-Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort-Dmitry Orlov

Tonight’s game will officially get underway starting at 7:30 PM EST. 

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Bruins will face penalty for breaking the rules

The Boston Globe

One of the key questions pressing the Boston Bruins last summer was whether or not longtime veteran forward Patrice Bergeron would return for another season wearing the black and yellow, the only NHL colors that he’s ever worn. He would eventually make the call to return to the team, but that wasn’t the only valuable veteran presence on the roster electing to come back for one last go of it.

Forward David Krejci, who didn’t play in the NHL last season after opting to instead return home to play in his native Czechia, announced his return to the Bruins with a one year contract. 

But thanks to both players being on Boston’s roster this season, the Bruins will be facing a financial penalty to the tune of $4.5 million.

The reasoning, viaPuck Empire: 

“This is due to the performance bonus overages stemming from their contracts. With Bergeron and Krejci eligible to sign particular types of contracts reserved for players 35 or older, they’re also eligible to receive performance bonuses in their contract that are not incorporated into the cap hit of the deal. It operates in the same way as an entry-level contract, where rookies can earn millions of dollars per season based on their performance despite a six-figure cap hit.

That’s exactly what they did, with Bergeron’s contract entitling him to up to $2.5MM in bonuses, while Krejčí was eligible for up to $2MM. Thanks to Boston’s record-breaking season and subsequent playoff appearance, both players hit every benchmark required to receive all of their bonuses.

Unfortunately, since Boston used long-term injured reserve to stay cap compliant, they weren’t able to accommodate Bergeron and Krejci’s performance bonuses under the cap at the end of the regular season. It means Boston, along with 14 other NHL teams (albeit with much smaller amounts), will have a cap charge next season equivalent to the amount of performance bonuses earned that the team couldn’t fit under the cap at the end of the season.” 

Well, live and learn.

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Bruins announce David Krejci’s status for Game 4

NESN

The bad news for the Boston Bruins, who were already skating in tonight’s game without captain and veteran leader Patrice Bergeron, found out right before tonight’s Game 3 matchup against the Florida Panthers that fellow veteran David Krejci would not be suiting up. He was announced as a last-minute scratch due to an upper-body injury; he was replaced in the lineup by Nick Foligno. 

The good news is that the Bruins took care of business, regaining their series advantage by defeating the Panthers by a 4-2 final score. And for those wondering what Krejci’s status for Sunday’s critical Game 4 is, it’s still not 100% known. According to head coach Jim Montgomery, Krejci is “50-50” to play.