Charlie McAvoy and the Boston Bruins’ messy exit from the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday night reminds Rink Rap of the Bruins’ 1982, Game 7 loss to the Quebec Nordiques on home ice, where an injured Raymond Bourque was not available and when, with two ticks left in a 2-1 game Quebec was about toContinue reading “Bruins still forming identity”
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Game 6: Sabres at Bruins
The Boston Bruins are out to rewrite the history books that say they have never come back from a 3-1 series deficit to advance in the playoffs. They have taken 3-1 series deficits to seven games, so a victory tonight against the Buffalo Sabres is not making history in an of itself. The 2007-08 BruinsContinue reading “Game 6: Sabres at Bruins”
Bruins will go down swinging
Rink Rap is not of the opinion that Sunday was a no-show by the Bruins at TD Garden. Rather, it was something we’ve seen before in the Stanley Cup playoffs, like late in the second period of Game 5 of the 1991 Eastern Conference Final in Boston Garden where future former Bruin Paul Stanton wasContinue reading “Bruins will go down swinging”
Game 4: Bruins bring changes
The outcome is rarely if ever good for the team that decides it must make drastic personnel or strategic changes in a playoff series. Bruins coach Marco Sturm did that, making the expected change of substituting for rookie James Hagens, whose game has faded as this series with the Buffalo Sabres has ramped up. InContinue reading “Game 4: Bruins bring changes”
Game 3: Lyon gets start for Buffalo
The parameters for the Bruins-Sabres, opening-round playoff series have been basically explored, and we now enter the execution vs. execution phase of the series in Boston. Experiments tend to flesh themselves out by the end of Game 3, especially if such an experiment is an alarm-fueled change in fundamental strategy. The Sabres are apparently goingContinue reading “Game 3: Lyon gets start for Buffalo”
No tank in Bruins’ thinktank
For two decades, the Boston Bruins have been the envy of the National Hockey League. They have yet to win the Stanley Cup during General Manager Don Sweeney’s 11 years in his role as the final say, but from February 2017 when Sweeney promoted his own coach until the wheels fell off last winter, theContinue reading “No tank in Bruins’ thinktank”
Bruins, Pastrnak race to 100
The Boston Bruins and David Pastrnak reached 100 on the same night, the final night of the 2025-26 regular season, with their 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Boston also secured the first wild-card position in the Eastern Conference and an opening-round playoff series against Atlantic Division champion Buffalo. For the Bruins, a 100-pointContinue reading “Bruins, Pastrnak race to 100”
Bolts at Bruins: Clinch or Back in
There is no reasonable doubt that the Boston Bruins are headed for the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs, which is quite a comeback story and a lesson for teams that think full-out tank is the way to go. A trade-deadline tank is one thing, shutting down aching players – season-ticket holders be damned – but theContinue reading “Bolts at Bruins: Clinch or Back in”
Stars at Bruins
The Boston Bruins don’t want to try to be a team that finds itself chasing the game, and through 20 minutes of tonight’s follow-up to a gutsy, two-win weekend against the Dallas Stars they haven’t looked like that easily satisfied team from earlier in the season. The Stars are a Stanley Cup contender, albeit aContinue reading “Stars at Bruins”
Wild at Bruins
The weekend’s two-in-two – home today against Minnesota and tomorrow at Columbus – brings an AHL flavor to the NHL’s stretch run toward the playoffs. The Wild (41-20-12=94) are tuning up while constantly being reminded of the unfair Stanley Cup tournament format that will pit their top-five-in-the-league record against Dallas in the Central Division’s 2-3Continue reading “Wild at Bruins”
Rink Rap with Mick Colageo 