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Bruins to Retire O’Ree’s No. 22

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BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The Boston Bruins announced today, December 31, a celebration to honor Willie O’Ree by retiring his number 22 jersey prior to the team’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, January 18.

O’Ree is the 12th player to have his sweater honored by the Boston Bruins in franchise history, joining Lionel Hitchman (#3, 1934), Aubrey V. Clapper (#5, 1947), Edward W. Shore (#2, 1949), Milton C. Schmidt (#15, 1957), Robert G. Orr (#4, 1979), John P. Bucyk (#9, 1980), Philip A. Esposito (#7, 1987), Raymond J. Bourque (#77, 2001), Terence J. O’Reilly (#24, 2002), Cameron M. Neely (#8, 2004) and Richard D. Middleton (#16, 2018).

O’Ree became the first Black player to compete in an NHL game when he dressed with the Bruins 64 years prior to the date of his jersey retirement on January 18, 1958, against the Montreal Canadiens. Despite being legally blind in one eye, O’Ree went on to play one more game that season and 43 during the 1960-61 season before being traded to the Canadiens. O’Ree ended his NHL career with four goals and 10 assists.

Even after his retirement in 1997, O’Ree continued to transform the game of hockey. In 1998, O’Ree was named the NHL’s Diversity Ambassador, where he traveled the country to help grow the game of hockey and support Hockey is for Everyone initiatives. Thirty years later, in response to those efforts, O’Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2018 as a part of the “Builder” category, which is defined by “coaching, managerial or executive ability, or ability in another significant off-ice role, sportsmanship, character and contributions to his or her organization or organizations and to the game of hockey in general.”

The jersey retirement on January 18 will feature a pre-game ceremony beginning at 6:30 p.m., with doors opening to game ticket holders at 5 p.m.

 

Bruins Defeat Caps, 6-3

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BOSTON – Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci each scored a pair of goals and goaltender Tuukka Rask made 30 saves to lead Boston to a 6-3 victory over the visiting Washington Capitals on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden.

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For the Caps, T.J. Oshie scored twice, and G Vitek Vanecek made 22 saves for Washington (29-13-4), which ended its three-game road winning streak.

Bergeron scored a shorthanded goal at 12:02 of the first period to give Boston a 1-0 lead, then Krejci made it 2-0 at the 13:56 mark.

Oshie scored with 10 seconds left to cut the lead to 2-1 after the first.

The game’s momentum swayed towards Washington when Bruins defenseman Connor Clifton was served with a double minor for high sticking, and Oshie scored his second goal at 3:48 of the second period to tie it 2-2, and Anthony Mantha scored at 4:54 to give Washington a 3-2 lead. Mantha has scored in each of his four game for Washington since he was acquired in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings.

Marchand, Krejci and Bergeron all tallied to provide Boston with a 5-3 lead until Marchand scored his second goal of the game into an empty net at 18:16 of the third period which closed out the scoring at 6-3, Bruins.

 

 

Bruins Snap Losing Way in Shoot-Out

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BOSTON – Boston’s Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk scored in a shootout to push the new-look Boston Bruins. Craig Smith had a goal and an assist, and David Krejci also scored as the Bruins snapped a two-game losing streak. Jeremy Swayman had 21 saves and turned away both Buffalo chances in the shootout.

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Rasmus Dahlin and Colin Miller scored for the Sabres, who have dropped three of four (1-2-1). Dustin Tokarski stopped 29 shots in relief of Linus Ullmark, who exited early in the first period with an undisclosed injury.

Coyle went five-hole on his shoot-out turn, and DeBrusk followed to complete the shootout, which was necessitated after Dahlin tied the game at 2 on a one-timer through traffic with 8:07 remaining in the third period.

Boston’s newly acquired Taylor Hall and Buffalo’s Anders Bjork, traded for each other as part of this week’s trade, each had strong chances to score in overtime.

NHL: Bruins Acquire Hall, Lazar

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BOSTON – (Source: Official club news release) – Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced the acquisition of forwards Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for forward Anders Bjork and a 2021 second-round draft pick.

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Hall, 29, has tallied two goals and 17 assists for 19 points in 37 games with Buffalo this season. The 6-foot-1, 206-pound forward has appeared in 664 career NHL games with Buffalo, Arizona, New Jersey and Edmonton, totaling 220 goals and 362 assists for 582 points. The Calgary, Alberta native was originally selected by Edmonton in the first round (1st overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Lazar, 26, has recorded five goals and four assists for nine points in 33 games this season with Buffalo. The 6-foot, 193-pound forward has appeared in 317 career NHL games with Buffalo, Calgary and Ottawa, totaling 25 goals and 45 assists for 70 points. The Salmon Arm, British Columbia native was originally selected by Ottawa in the first round (17th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Bjork, 24, has posted two goals and three assists for five points in 30 games this season with Boston. The 6-foot, 197-pound forward has appeared in 138 career NHL games – all with Boston – totaling 16 goals and 23 assists for 39 points. The Mequon, Wisconsin native was originally selected by Boston in the fifth round (146th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

NHL: Boston Bruins Shore-Up Defense with Trade for Ottawa’s Mike Reilly

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BOSTON – (Source: Official team news release) – Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced the acquisition of defenseman Mike Reilly from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

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Reilly, 27, has 19 assists in 40 games this season with Ottawa. The 6-foot-1, 199-pound defenseman has appeared in 244 career NHL games with Ottawa, Montreal and Minnesota, totaling eight goals and 64 assists for 72 points. The Chicago, Illinois native was originally selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the fourth round (98th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

NHL: Bruins Drop Key Game to Philly

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PHILADELPHIA – Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk each scored goals but the Boston Bruins lost a key road game to the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2, on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.

Boston back-up goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman made his third straight start and stopped 20 shots in the loss. No. 1 goaltender, Tuukka Rask could return today (April 11).

Not only did the Bruins lose the game but they also saw one of their top defenseman go down with an injury in the first period of play.

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Cassidy said the loss of defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to what the team simply listed as an upper-body injury in the first period likely contributed to the Bruins’ limitations. The 27-year- old was playing on the top pairing for the Bruins battered defensive corp, already depleted by injuries to Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo. Grzelcyk is listed as day-to-day.

“We lost another defenseman early; it’s happened to us a lot this year,” said Cassidy. “You’re leaning on other guys, a guy we rely on in Grizz – power play situations, we saw the effect of that.”

Boston went 0 for 4 on the power play, including two missed opportunities in the third period as the Bruins attempted to tie the game.

Philadelphia’s Sean Couturier scored near the midway point of the third period to break a tie and the Flyers picked up a critical 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

Flyers goalkeeper Brian Elliott stopped 30 shots for Philadelphia, which moved within four points of Boston for the fourth and final playoff spot in the NHL’s East Division. The Bruins have two games in hand on the Flyers with Philadelphia having 16 games remaining. The two teams have completed their regular-season series.

Boston plays divisional rival Washington today.

 

Bruins Win Three-of-Four to Tighten NHL East Playoff Race

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Bruins to Face Buffalo Sabres Six Times in Playoff Stretch

BOSTON – Since a two-game COVID+ protocol postponement stretch (March 20-23), the Boston Bruins have won five of their last nine games, including three of the last four, and have tightened the race for the NHL’s East division.

The Bruins will have an upcoming three-game stretch to refine their newly regained form before they meet the division-leading New York Islanders for back-to-back games on April 15-16. Those two games are part of a key five-game home stand for the Bruins when the face their division rival Washington Capitals and the upstart Islanders.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are also ahead of Boston in the standings and the clubs have split each of the last two back-to-backs, most recently played April 1 and 3 in Boston.

The Bruins have 18 more scheduled games left in the regular season, and because of a scheduling quirk, six of those games are against the Buffalo Sabres (9-24-6 OTL), the cellar-dwellers of the entire NHL.

The Bruins currently lead the Philadelphia Flyers by six points for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East.

Although he has returned to practice and travel with the club, the Bruins have not started No. 1 goalkeeper Tuukka Rask since 1-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils on March 7. Since then, G Jaroslav Halak has handled the bulk of the goaltending duty, backed by Dan Vlader and, most recently Jeremy Swayman. It was Swayman who anchored the Bruins’ last two victories, both 4-2 wins at Philadelphia and Washington DC.

 

Two Bruins Games Postponed

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BOSTON – (From Official News Release) – The National Hockey League announced, that as a result of four additional Boston Bruins Players entering the NHL’s COVID Protocols, the team’s game Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres and Tuesday versus the New York Islanders will be postponed. Pending test results in the coming days, it is expected that the Bruins will be able to re-open their facilities for practice on Wednesday, March 24. The decision was made by the League’s, NHLPA’s and Club’s medical groups.

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The Bruins’ organization has, and will continue to follow, all recommended guidelines aimed at protecting the health and safety of its Players, staff and community at large as set by the NHL, local, state and national agencies.

Bruins Follow NHL Protocol

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BOSTON – (Official News Release) – Following subsequent testing in Buffalo, the Boston Bruins traveled back to Boston Friday evening, March 19, and are expected to self-quarantine through Tuesday per NHL COVID protocols.

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Players who entered the COVID-19 protocol did not travel with the team. After communication and cooperation with the League and NHLPA, all of those players have safely returned to Boston.

The Boston Bruins will continue to work with the NHL and medical experts to follow all recommended guidelines in place to protect the community, players and staff.

Boston players currently in the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol include: Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci, Sean Kuraly, David Pastrnak and Craig Smith.