Tag: Boston Bruins

Sam Bennett had a weak excuse for his sucker punch of Brad Marchand

C’mon, man. This was a sucker punch!

Everyone’s buzzing about the play from Game 4 of the Florida Panthers’ playoff series against the Boston Bruins in which Sam Bennett pushed Charlie Coyle into Jeremy Swayman and somehow wasn’t called for goalie interference on a goal.

But it’s a play from Game 3 that has NHL fans buzzing about another dirty play from Bennett — it was the hit on Brad Marchand that led to the Bruins star missing Game 4. But a new angle showed that Bennett might have sucker punched him while colliding with Marchand, and Bennett had to address it after Sunday’s game.

And the excuse? I’d say it’s weak. C’mon:

I see a punch in the head there. Yes, it’s “playoff hockey,” but it’s not “a hockey play.” I’m shocked the NHL’s department of player safety hasn’t gotten involved … but given what we’ve seen in this series, maybe they’ll put a magnifying glass on him going forward.

Video shows David Pastrnak appearing to get permission from Bruins coach before a brutal Matthew Tkachuk fight

This was unexpected, but what a fight!

This is a perfect playoff hockey moment.

David Pastrnak isn’t known as one to drop the gloves as the biggest star and goal-scorer on the Boston Bruins. But in the Game 2 loss to the Florida Panthers, he decided it was time to go after the physical forward. And in a video from the game, it looks like Pastrnak asked Bruins coach Jim Montgomery for permission to do it, and he appeared to get the nod.

At that point, the game was over, so it was largely symbolic. But still, that’s a noteworthy moment and maybe it turns things around after a 6-1 loss. Pastrnak later said he wasn’t afraid of Tkachuk.

Two Wisconsin hockey alumni compete in electric NHL Playoffs Game 7

Two Wisconsin hockey alumni compete in electric NHL Playoffs Game 7

Wisconsin hockey alumni Trent Frederic and Jake McCabe squared off in Game 7 of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins’ first-round series on Saturday.

The Bruins triumphed in overtime 2-1 on a game-winning goal from David Pastrnak. McCabe played over 24 minutes for the Leafs as a defenseman while the Bruins’ Frederic registered two shots in over 15 minutes of skating. 

Frederic, who last played in Madison in 2018, was an alternate captain during his sophomore season. He appeared in 36 games for UW, captained the Badgers with 17 goals and finished second on the team with 32 points.

The Boston Bruins drafted the St. Louis, Missouri native with the No. 29 overall pick of the 2016 NHL entry draft. He’s played for the Bruins for six seasons, with 47 goals and 94 points in 280 career games. 

McCabe, a seasoned NHL veteran, has played for three teams during his 11-year NHL career. The Eau Claire, Wisconsin departed Madison as a first-team All-Big Ten member and assistant captain and was named a CCM American Hockey Coaches Association First-Team West All-American.

McCabe was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres with the No. 44 overall pick of the 2012 NHL entry draft. In 11 combined campaigns with the Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks and Maple Leafs, McCabe has totaled 152 points and 119 assists in 577 games played.

NHL fans ripped Mitch Marner for his awful back-checking effort on the Bruins’ Game 7 winning goal

Mitch Marner has some explaining to do.

The Toronto Maple Leafs had an incredible 3-1 series comeback over the Boston Bruins in hand. Then they went, and Leafs’d it all up (yes, we’re making that a verb now). And well, of course, they did!

With their season on the line, with one unlucky and bad bounce capable of sending them home, the Maple Leafs got caught sleeping at the worst possible time in the early stages of overtime in Saturday night’s Game 7. Specifically, while various Toronto players froze while back-checking, it’s Mitch Marner’s that is the hardest to overlook.

That’s because he got caught puck-watching while his man, Boston’s David Pastrnak, skated right behind him to get in position for the game-winning goal. The sequence remains so brutal on every rewatch if you’re a Toronto fan:

While Pastrnak deserves credit for the skillful finish — and yes, it was an unlucky bounce for Toronto — it’s hard not to wonder what happens if Marner doesn’t fall asleep at the wheel. These are the kinds of “little” plays that hockey players have no choice but to make if they want their team’s season to continue. Instead, in the biggest moment of the Maple Leafs’ season, Marner froze, and that was just enough to let the Bruins and Pastrnak sneak by.

(Note: Marner also had just three points in the seven-game series. He is a first-line player for Toronto. Yikes.)

Despite an incredibly talented core of players on paper, the Maple Leafs now have seven first-round losses in the postseason since 2017. The franchise has not advanced past the second round since 2002. With players like Marner making basic mistakes like this, it’s not too hard to see why this time of year remains a veritable torture chamber for Toronto fans.

NHL fans were naturally aghast over Marner’s effort on the Bruins’ game-winning goal:

See Jack Edwards’ emotional goodbye to Bruins broadcasts as announcer retires

The play-by-play announcer who has had some controversial moments on the air is retiring.

Jack Edwards has been calling Boston Bruins games for nearly 20 years, and now, he’s hanging up the headset.

The former ESPN SporsCenter anchor who joined NESN in 2005 announced last month that he’d retire after the network’s final game of the playoffs, which was Thursday night.

Edwards has made headlines for all kinds of calls — comparing a Bruins playoff loss to the Hindenberg, on-air meltdowns on refs, and the infamous body-shaming remarks on Pat Maroon.

And after his final call, he kept it simple, thanking the NESN crew and his broadcast partner Andy Brickley. Clearly, it was an emotional moment for him.

Check out his speech below that ended with “Long live the Boston Bruins.”

Former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara raises $25K for charity during Boston Marathon

Here’s how he did it.

At the 2024 Boston Marathon, Zdeno Chara, former captain for the NHL’s Boston Bruins, beat his personal record while raising money for charity.

Chara, now 47 years old, spent 24 seasons in the NHL. Since retiring on September 20, 2022, Chara has stayed active by running in events like the Watuppa Trail Races, the Baystate Marathon, and the 128th Boston Marathon. This year, Chara finished the Boston Marathon with a final time of 03:30:52, shaving nearly eight minutes off his 2023 finish time of 3:38:23.

Both years, Chara ran in support of the The Hoyt Foundation, a non-profit group that “aspires to build the individual character, self-confidence and self-esteem of America’s disabled young people through inclusion in all facets of daily life.” During Chara’s 2024 Boston Marathon run, he raised over $25,000 for the organization.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5zKq-uvjJk/

“They were such iconic figures,” Chara said of the late Rick and Dick Hoyt while speaking to The Boston Globe, “living legends that have done so much for the community.”

On Instagram, the Boston Bruins celebrated Chara’s performance. As current Bruins captain Brad Marchand commented in an NHL.com article, he was “not really surprised” about Chara’s active post-NHL schedule. “You knew [Chara] was going to find something really competitive, very hard,” Marchand said. “Something that takes a lot of training, something he can improve upon. He’s just a beast. He likes the challenge.”

So, what’s next for Chara? Boston.com writer Conor Ryan reports that Chara will soon be off to England for the London Marathon on April 21.

“It’s great for him,” Marchand said. “I’m happy to see him happy and enjoying something after hockey. He dedicated so much time and effort to the game, it’s great that he has another passion that he’s enjoying.”

Read more about the athletes and celebrities who showed up to the 2024 Boston Marathon here.

Celine Dion played air guitar and delivered the Bruins lineup in amazing videos

Celine Dion remains the best.

Celine Dion has dealt with some serious health problems as of late, but her appearance at the Grammys was a heartening thing to see.

Now, we’ve got her amazing appearance at the Boston Bruins’ game on Thursday against the New York Rangers. Not only did she appear with her kids on the scoreboard as the fan of the game, but she also did a little air guitar with the cameras on her.

And then, we need to talk about her starting lineup read in the Bruins locker room. She took the job seriously even if she got some laughs and sang a little bit.

This is gold:

Boston Celtics tied with Red Sox in new fan popularity survey for New England

It has been a long time since the New England Patriots were not the most popular pro sports team in the northeastern United States.

It has been a long time since the New England Patriots were not the most popular pro sports team in the northeastern United States, but for the first time in many years, they have been supplanted by the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics, who also have the Connecticut Sun, Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins competing for eyeballs over stretches of the NBA calendar, were recently voted the region’s most popular sports franchise in a recent survey by Channel Media and Market Research — with a catch. They tied the Red Sox with 19% of the vote, according to a recent article by MassLive’s Nick O’Malley.

Aptly called the “New England Sports Survey,” Channel Media and Market Research has been conducting this research since 2012, right about the time of the ending of the last era of Celtics title contention.

During that period, the Patriots have been dominant among fans, but their recent struggles and rebuild have taken the shine off some of that particular apple, opening the door for the Celtics and Sox to step through.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=590969556]

Cultivating championships in the city of Boston

When it comes to calling a city “title town,” there may be no better metropole than the city of Boston, Massachusetts to lay such a claim.

When it comes to calling a city “title town,” there may be no better metropole than the city of Boston, Massachusetts to lay such a claim. For decades, the city saw the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, Boston Bruins, and Boston Celtics hang banners in their respective leagues.

And while there have been plenty of long pauses for respective clubs in their pertinent sports, Boston as a whole has been among the winningest metropolises in North American sports history. In order to honor that tradition in a moment of transition for New England sports with no head coach having more than three seasons’ experience, the hosts of the WEEI “Gresh and Fauria” show looked to Boston’s past for clues about its future.

To hear what they had to say about the future of championships in the city in their estimation, check out the video embedded below!

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=590969556]

What are you getting the Boston Celtics for Christmas this year?

What do you get for the relative who has everything (in this clumsy metaphor, the contending Celtics)?

What are you getting the Boston Celtics for Christmas this year? As one of the biggest days of the 2023 holiday season approaches, the folks behind the NBC Sports Boston “Arbella Early Edition” show crew took some time to discuss what gifts they think they would give to Boston’s major sports teams, the Celtics, the Boston Bruins, the New England Patriots, and the Boston Red Sox.

The Sox, Patriots, and Bruins are like those relatives who are pretty easy to shop for because the things they need are both obvious and attainable. But what do you get for the relative who has everything (in this clumsy metaphor, the contending Celtics)?

From humorous suggestions to serious analyses, the gifting conversation revolves around the teams’ current needs and challenges they are facing respectively.

To hear what they had in mind for the Celtics in particular, check out the clip embedded above.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=590969556]