Skip to search.

Breaking News Visit Yahoo! News for the latest.

×Close this window

Bruins Blogs

Puck Daddy on the Bruins

  • NHL Three Stars: James Neal’s hat trick leads Penguins to victory

    No. 1 Star: James Neal, Pittsburgh Penguins

    It was epic Neal time in Pittsburgh as the winger scored thrice in the Penguins' 6-2 rout of the Senators, leading his club into the third round of the 2013 postseason. Enjoy this clip of all three goals, unless you're a Senators fan, in which case, maybe just skip ahead:

    No. 2 Star: Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins

    Letang was all over the ice, setting up the Penguins' second goal from behind the net, scoring the eventual game-winner, and adding another assist on Neal's hat trick goal. With three points on the night, Letang finished the series with 10 points. He's a defenceman.

    No. 3 Star: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins

    Malkin was his usual, ho-hum, game-breaking self, with a quiet two points in the win.

    Honourable mention: In the end, it didn't mean much, but Jason Spezza's pass to Milan Michalek for this goal was pretty nifty:

    ... Sidney Crosby won 21 of 31 faceoffs in this game... and finally, here's your handshake line:

    Conn Smythe Watch: 1. David Krejci, Boston Bruins; 2. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings; 4. Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks; 5. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins; 6. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins; 7. Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings; 8. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins; 9. Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks; 10. Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings.

    Dishonourable mention: After allowing six goals in an elimination loss, the entire Senators roster goes here.

  • Penguins blow out Senators again, advance to Eastern Conference finals

    Canada, you may want to sit down.

    The Pittsburgh Penguins advanced to the Eastern Conference finals Friday, eliminating the Ottawa Senators -- the last remaining Canadian team -- with a decisive 6-2 victory in Game 5.

    With that, an American club will win the Stanley Cup for the 19th straight season. Now comes the annual Canadian tradition where the country shifts from counting Canadian teams in contention to Canadian players on American teams.

    The Senators made a slight improvement in Game 5, holding the Penguins to fewer goals than in their previous game. Unfortunately, it was just one fewer, and that's not nearly enough when they allowed 7 the last time around.

    This game was a lot like Game 4, come to think of it: All Pittsburgh, and not all that close.

    The Penguins got on the board early, opening the scoring when Brenden Morrow redirected a Mark Eaton pass into the goal with his skate.

    It was reviewed, but the officials ruled that there had been no distinct kicking motion (or at least not as much of one as when Mika Zibanejad scored a goal similarly in Round 1).

    Pittsburgh doubled the lead on a second period powerplay, when Kris Letang threw a puck into the goal mouth, Craig Anderson lost it in his equipment, and James Neal was the first to find it.

    Ottawa would never get any closer. Letang scored what would turn out to be the game-winner five minutes later, and after a Milan Michalek goal brought them back within two, Neal and Evgeni Malkin would force a turnover and connect on a late, second-period dagger:

    In the third, Neal went off, adding two more of his own for a hat trick as the Penguins closed out the series.

    The Penguins were so explosive in this game, they added another goal in the handshake line.

    Said Paul MacLean after the rout: "I hope they don't bill us for the clinic." That guy is the best and now we won't get another press conference from him until next year. In a way, we all lost tonight.

    The Penguins outscored the Senators 26-11 in this series, and if you're looking for the reason the Senators are heading home and the Penguins are heading to the Eastern Conference finals, I'd start there. Ottawa simply couldn't handle the Penguins' attack. Like, at all.

    Can Pittsburgh's next opponent? The Penguins had a much easier time with the Senators than the Islanders, and one wonders if Ottawa was simply an inferior opponent, or if Pittsburgh has found their legs. The latter idea is a scary thought. Sidney Crosby scored just once in the final two games of this series. Pittsburgh still scored 13 times. The Boston Bruins (or New York Rangers, I guess) have to be hoping that was Ottawa's fault.

    But it wasn't all sunshine and roses for the Penguins. With the win, the conditional draft pick they traded for Douglas Murray officially became a second 2nd-rounder. Ray Shero is probably okay with that, though.

    As for the Senators, it wasn't a great way to go out, but they still have to be proud of what they accomplished this season. Many hockey fans wrote them off months ago, but they're only finished now. Plus, they look to have a promising future.

    Whether captain Daniel Alfredsson is a part of it remains to be seen. Does he have one more year left in him?

More Puck Daddy »

Stanley Cup of Chowder Stanley Cup of Chowder

from
More Stanley Cup of Chowder »

Bruins Fans on

  • Bruins Fans on Flickr
  • Bruins Fans on Flickr
  • Bruins Fans on Flickr
Go to Bruins Flickr Group »

Bruins Blog Roll

Are we missing a great Bruins blog?

Let us know by submitting a url: