Rask up to Task, Shuts Out Rangers 1-0

The Boston Bruins and New York Rangers squared off at the Garden on Saturday afternoon. This was an afternoon that starred 21-year-old Tuukka Rask who was making his first start with Boston this season. It couldn't have gone any better for Rask as he shut down the Rangers, blanking New York for his first NHL shutout.

The Bruins opened the game with the better of the chances and just five minutes in King Lunqvist was tested by Phil Kessel who was sent on a break away. Lunqvist made the blocker stop on Kessel but the Bruins ended up on their first power play.

The Bruins and Rangers played a defensive game in the first with each team having a few opportunities for lamp lighting. The goaltenders were solid and the teams hit the locker room with goose eggs on the board.

The Bruins came out in the second flying and just a minute into the period the Bruins were really making Lunqvist work. Zdeno Chara had the best opportunity when he rung one off the post.
The Rangers took control of the period after a few minutes and Rask was up to the task of keeping New York off the board. At the end of the period a good Bruins for check led to the only goal of the game.

Milan Lucic played the body against the side wall and the puck continued back to Dennis Wideman. Wideman took a slap shot that was tipped by Marc Savard and past Lunqvist, 1-0 Bruins. The goal went under review but Toronto said that Savard's stick was below the cross bar and the goal stood. The goal was Savard's 19th of the season.

The final 22 seconds of the second period played out and the Bruins were 20 minutes away from two points.

The Bruins started the third period the same way as they had the first two, fast. Lunqvist was tested, but continued playing well and kept the Rangers in the game.

Rask was then the goalie that needed to step up down the stretch as the Rangers pressed to tie the game. The Rangers hit the post a couple of times and the Bruins faithful started getting a little restless.

New York continued to make Rask work in the final few minutes but Tuukka was up to the challenge and as time ran out Rask hopped up in the air. The youngster was clearly excited on earning his first career NHL shutout.

With the win the Bruins continued to pad their lead atop the Eastern Conference standings. Boston next plays tomorrow afternoon against the Canadiens in Montreal.

Devils Steal Bruins Soul With OT Win

The Bruins came into tonight's game against the Devils taking place in three straight overtime affairs. Well, better make it four.

The Bruins and Devils decided to face-off literally just three minutes in when Shawn Thornton got manhandled in one of the most lop sided fights of the year.

The Bruins and Devils were trying to establish the play after the fight and the Bruins had their chances. Blaker Wheeler had the best chance for the Bruins, having his shot slide off of the post.

With the Bruins on the power play they looked to take the momentum, however, Jamie Langenbrunner had other plans. Langenbrunner came in on Tim Thomas on a partial break away and was able to net the first goal of the game (short handed) for the 1-0 lead.

The Bruins fought for the rest of the period but were not able to put any rubber behind Scott Clemmensen.

New Jersey came out in the second and was skating all over the Bruins. The Bruins had their chances on a couple of New Jersey penalties but for the most part the Devils controlled the play.

The Devils found themselves on the power play with under seven minutes to go in the second period already up a goal. New Jersey was able to capitalize just a few seconds later as Zach Parise knocked a shot off of Thomas and past the goal line.

At the end of the second period the Bruins were down a pair and it looked like it was going to be easy for the Devils to skate to seven straight.

The Devils came out hard but it was the Bruins who got on the board first on quite the ugly goal. Chuck Kobasew took the puck away from Clemmensen behind the goal and stuffed a wrap around attempt off the post. Kobasew got taken to the ground by a New Jersey defender and the Jersey D-man actually pushed the puck past the goal line.

Just like that the Devils lead was cut in half and with over 17 minutes left, we had a game. A game that became knotted up just a few minutes later. This time it was Marc Savard putting home a nice feed from Phil Kessel and the score was 2-2.

The unthinkable then occurred just a few minutes later. The Bruins had stormed back from a two goal deficit to take the lead with just six and a half to go when Dennis Wideman found the twine. Clemmensen looked like he never saw it and the sell out crowd was jumping.

In the final two minutes the Devils broke Boston's spirit when Patrick Elias deflected a Brian Gionta pass past Thomas. The teams were headed to overtime tied at three and the Bruins were headed to overtime for the fourth straight game.

This one didn't turn out as good as it did the last two times however. Langenbrunner picked up a loose puck in front of the net and swiped one under Thomas for a 4-3 win. With the win the Devils extended their winning streak to seven and moved into second place in the Eastern Conference.

The Good News Keeps on Coming: Kessel Cleared for Action

The All-Star break has come and gone and everyone is talking about the trade deadline and what the Bruins need to add. Well, how about Patrice Bergeron, Milan Lucic and Andrew Ference. Check. And what about Phil Kessel? With the first three guys coming back Tuesday night against the Capitals all the Bruins need is to get back their first line right wing. After today's practice it looks like that might come tomorrow.

Yes, PK is probable for tomorrow's game against the Devils. This is great news to the Bruins, like they needed it sitting 11 points atop Washington for Eastern Conference supremacy. Kessel went through a full practice today and was cleared for action. Now what does this mean for the Bruins roster? How about we take a look at a potential Thursday night line-up.

Lucic - Savard - Kessel

Wheeler - Krejci - Ryder

Axelsson - Bergeron - Kobasew

Thornton - Yelle - Bitz

Chara - Ward

Ference - Wideman

Stuart - Hnidy/Hunwick

Chiarelli: Lucic, Ference and BERGERON to return to line-up tomorrow

*All of the Bruins who have been out of the line-up hit the ice today. In some breaking news from the AHL All-Star game, Peter Chiarelli said Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron and Andrew Ference should play tomorrow.

This was an announcement that shocked Bruins circles, atleast as far as Bergeron goes. Bergeron back against the Caps? The GM says so, but we shall see.

*Tuukka Rask was recalled from Providence on an emergency basis.
The reason for this? Well it is because Manny Fernandez's back is acting up again. Coach Claude Julien said that goalie Manny Fernandez is experiencing some ''general soreness'' and is likely to miss a few games.

*Michael Ryder missed practice today due to flu-like-symptoms, however, he is expected to play tomorrow.

BruinSpace Injury Report

PROBABLE

Milan Lucic

Patrice Bergeron

Andrew Ference

OUT

Phil Kessel

Chara and Wheeler Shine at All-Star Skills

Zdeno Chara was at it again Saturday night when he not only took home his third straight Hardest Shot title, but did so in record setting fashion. Chara made sure he dusted off his bazooka before this one and rifled a 105.4 MPH slap shot to break Al Iafrate's then record of 105.2 MPH. The record stood for 16 seasons and man will I miss the flash backs to see Iafrate's breathtaking mullet.

With the record setting performance Zdeno Chara was the winner of, Chara's Charity Challenge. Chara will be donating $24,000 to his favorite charity foundation, Right to Play. Great work by Chara, the rest of the partricipants, the NHL and NHLPA for putting up a hefty sum for charity.

Chara wasn't the only Bruin recognized last night as Blake Wheeler scored a hat trick in the 18 minute edition of the Young Star's game. Wheeler took home the MVP trophy for the game and surely showed his great skill-set to those watching.

Bruins assign three to Providence

Matt Lashoff, Vladimir Sobotka, and Martin St. Pierre have been assigned to Providence.Is this just to get the guys some ice time during the All-Star break or are these players down for good? With Andrew Ference probably ready when the Bruins return from the break, Lashoff could have seen his last stretch with the Bruins. With Ference back the Bruins will have seven defensemen with Chara, Ward, Hunwick, Wideman, Stuart, Hnidy and Ference, so already someone will have to sit.

With Milan Lucic apparently ready to go the Bruins will only need one forward, although they may bring up both St. Pierre and Sobotka for insurance.

Boston heads into the All-Star break by returning to their winning ways

The Bruins and the Maple Leafs faced off in an original six tilt tonight and it certainly lived up to original six standards.

The Bruins had Aaron Ward back in the lineup tonight, in the first of what will hopefully be many Bruins player returns. The Bruins had the same players dress up front but there were some different line combinations tonight with Vladimir Sobotka joining the first line.

The Bruins and Leafs felt each other out for the first half of the first period until the Bruins had a sudden lapse on the defensive end. With about six minutes to go in the period the Leafs got on the board when Jason Blake fired one past Tim Thomas for the early Toronto lead.

Just a little over a minute later the Bruins got on the board when Blake Wheeler tipped in a Ward shot from the point. The Bruins skated off the ice tied with the Maple Leafs after 20 minutes.

With Wheeler in the box for a high stick, Toronto took quick advantage and regained the lead. Kubina Stempniak was trying to camp out in front but was knocked down. However it wasn't in time and Stempniak was able to put a rebound attempt past Thomas.

With the lead, the Maple Leafs took over the play and were able to pad a two goal lead. The Bruins had yet another defensive breakdown in the period and this time Thomas wasn't able to make the stop. Brad May finished off a nice Toronto rush and the Leafs hit the locker room with a 3-1 lead.

The Bruins found themselves in a place in which they have not come back from this season, and that was down after 40 minutes. The Bruins, however, got a nice opportunity to turn things around as in the opening minute they found themselves on the Power Play.

At the tail end of the Power Play, Dennis Wideman threw a shot on goal just to try and create a flurry but ended up finding twine and the Bruins had cut the Toronto lead to one.

The Bruins were frantically trying to tie the game when the captain took it into his own hands. Chara pounded one into the back of the goal and the Bruins evened it up. With just under six minutes to go, we had a brand new hockey game on our hands.

The Bruins and Maple Leafs finished regulation tied at three and for the second straight game Boston was headed for overtime. And after five minutes of scoreless overtime the Bruins found themselves headed to their second straight shootout where they hoped to fair a little bit better this time around.

The Maple Leafs scored on two of their three opportunities and with Boston netting one of their first two it was up to Martin St. Pierre to continue the shootout. St. Pierre beat Toskala and with a Tim Thomas stop and a Michael Ryder goal, the Bruins left Toronto victorious.

It's All-Star time and everyone in the Eastern Conference is envious of Boston's positioning. The Bruins have climbed the first half of the mountain that is the NHL season and right now are far ahead of the other hikers on the trail.

Heading to Toronto

The Bruins and Maple Leafs will face off Wednesday night in Toronto. Here are some of the things happening today...

*Patrice Bergeron will not travel to Toronto today. He will remain back home for conditioning work.

*Because of his injured shoulder, Milan Lucic will not participate in the YoungStars Game this weekend. Blake Wheeler will still play on the rookie squad.

The Injury Report for Wednesday night.

OUT

Andrew Ference

Doubtful

Milan Lucic

Questionable

Aaron Ward

All three will make the trip North.