Krejci/By S. Bradley
It looked like it was 2011 again the way Bruins center David Krejci played Wednesday night.
And it looked like 2007 again the way Wade Redden played in the Bruins’ 4-1 win against Toronto in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at TD Garden.
Phil Kessel/By S. Bradley
As soft-spoken and aloof as he is, it’s hard to believe Phil Kessel hates anything.
So it’s no surprise that although the TD Garden crowd has often broken out chants of “Thank You Kessel” to mock the Toronto Maple Leafs sniper in the years since Kessel’s trade out of Boston, he says he holds no ill will toward the Hub.
Center David Krejci famously led the entire NHL in playoff scoring during the 2011 run to the Stanley Cup championship.
But the way things started that postseason, Krejci was nearly a goat instead of a hero in those playoffs.
It’s probably impossible to pair two teams playing worse entering a first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series than the Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs right now. Those two slumping teams will start their series Wednesday night at TD Garden.
We all know that on paper the Pittsburgh Penguins are the class of the Eastern Conference.
Even with Sidney Crosby sidelined, the Penguins’ lineup is loaded with firepower led by Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Chris Kunitz and Jarome Iginla. And the Pens could get Crosby back during their first-round playoff series against the New York Islanders.
Jagr
The Bruins had a full squad on the ice for practice Tuesday at TD Garden.
The group included Jaromir Jagr and Nathan Horton, who both had been away from the team for a little while.
Undoubtedly, I’ll be wrong.
But looking at this year’s Western Conference quarterfinal matchups and considering the shortened season that really did little to slow down the top teams, I just don’t see the potential for any upsets.
Horton/By S. Bradley
When Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli comes out and sounds like a pundit vilifying his team’s offense, then you know the Bruins are in dire straits when it comes to scoring goals.
“You’re not going to win a heck of a lot of games scoring two goals a game,” Chiarelli conceded during a conference call Monday to discuss his team’s upcoming playoff series with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
While the Bruins are awaiting the return of Nathan Horton from his undisclosed injury after missing five games to conclude the regular season, the Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping to have center Tyler Bozak back after he missed the last two games of the season with an undisclosed injury.
If the Leafs have to play any part of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Bruins without Bozak, they will really miss him.
Phil Kessel is coming/By S. Bradley
By losing to the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden Sunday night, the Bruins fell from second to fourth in the Eastern Conference and failed to win the Northeast Division.
We’ve all been there.
A fit of anger or weariness at the end of a long day leads to a tweet or a Facebook posting that you immediately want to not just delete but pull back so no one else can see it.
Dan Paille was robbed/By S. Bradley
That the Bruins beat Tampa Bay, 2-0, Thursday night was important for the club’s attempt to win the Northeast Division and finish second in the Eastern Conference.
The Bruins continue to hold their own fate in their hands with two games remaining in the season. If the Bruins get three of four points, they win the division regardless of what Montreal does in its last game against Toronto Saturday.
Mired in a 1-4-1 slump over their last six, there’s no doubt the Bruins would like nothing more than to play a quality game Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden.
After all, the playoffs are less than a week away. The Bruins don’t need the two points in the standings as much as they need a little momentum at the tail end of this regular season.
Lucic & the Bruins need to get ready for playoffs/By S. Bradley
The sprint known as the 2013 NHL shortened season is nearly over.
The Bruins have just four games remaining — two at home, two on the road. And they have two against teams in a playoff fight and two that are skating toward their early offseason tee times.
Jagr
Goals have been in short supply for the Bruins this season, so Tuukka Rask made sure the club’s four-game winless streak came to an end Sunday by not allowing any goals against.
Rask posted his fourth shutout of the season in a 3-0 win against the Florida Panthers.
