Locked in a scoreless game late in the third period, the B’s got three late goals to beat the Predators, 3-0, on the strength of Linus Ullmark’s 32-save shutout.

The win allowed the B’s to open a four-point lead over the Florida Panthers for the Atlantic Division race.

Ullmark was excellent, but he didn’t steal the game. The B’s played a strong 200-foot game from start to finish and earned the win. There was little with which to quibble in this one.

“It was a great job,”  Ullmark told NESN. “We battled all 60 minutes. We knew it was going to be a hard game. They came in with a lot of confidence but we really went to work.”

The back-and-forth competition to be the Game 1 starter for the playoffs continued. Last week Jeremy Swayman beat the Panthers and then was huge in overtime to beat the Capitals in a shootout. But since the trade deadline, Ullmark is 4-2 with a .950 save percentage.

“Every game is a new challenge,” said Ullmark. “It doesn’t matter what you did last game or the game prior. It’s all about looking forward and keep performing and focus on the process and not get too carried away with results-based thinking. It’s been working well lately in that department. I’ve got a lot of confidence with the fellas and we feed off each other.”

On Saturday in Washington, the B’s came up with a huge four-minute penalty kill to survive overtime and get it to the shootout. On Tuesday, the PK (4-for-4) actually broke the deadlock.

Charlie Coyle broke the scoreless tie with 6:42 left in regulation with a beauty of a shorthanded goal that started with the B’s most important player in the game. With Mason Lohrei in the box for hooking, Ullmark jumped on a loose puck behind the net and wrapped it up the glass for Brad Marchand to chase down. Marchand held the puck at the left point to draw a Nashville checker to him and then fed Coyle for the clean break-in. Coyle picked his spot over the Juuse Saros’ glove and beat the netminder for his 24th of the year.

Then, after playing some dogged defense in their own zone, the B’s got an insurance goal with 2:42 left. David Pastrnak bulled the puck out of the defensive zone, took it in deep and fed Danton Heine at the side of the net. Heinen in turn hit a wide open Pavel Zacha for an open net goal.

The Preds then pulled Saros, but there was no panic in the Bruins and Pastrnak ended it with an empty netter.

“What a great play by Brad Marchand, our captain. Great goal by Charlie. After that, I thought we played with a lot of poise. I thought we were real clean coming out of our own end. I liked our second and third effort and obviously I liked the way we put the game away,” said coach Jim Montgomery.

The first period was an entertaining, up-and-down 20 minutes of scoreless hockey in which the B’s outshot the Preds, 11-6. Despite he back-and-forth nature of the action, it was also a well-checked contest.

Both teams had one power play apiece and both teams had glittering chances to take the lead in the first. The B’s best one came on an excellent penalty kill when Charlie McAvoy stood up at the blue line and created a breakaway for himself. Juuse Saros made the blocker save on him, but the breakaway would be a harbinger of things to come. Pastrnak also landed four shots on net in the first (seven in the game).

Ullmark also had to make a couple of big saves of his own. The first one was a nice skate on Luke Evangelista, who cut through the slot to get a good shooting angle. An even better stop came later in the period when Gus Nyquist connected with Ryan O’Reilly for a one-touch shot from the low slot that Ullmark kicked out.

The B’s suffered a big loss late in the period when Justin Brazeau had to leave the game when he was caught in an open ice hit by Luke Schenn, for which the Nashville defenseman was called for roughing. Brazeau, who’d been a revelation as a big puck-protecting winger with some scoring touch since being called up from Providence, left the ice holding his right arm close to his body and immediately went to the dressing room. There was no immediate word on his prognosis, but he did not return.

The game remained scoreless through two periods – miraculously so, from a Bruins perspective.

The Preds were given a power play at 14:19 when Jake DeBrusk nudged Kiefer Sherwood on a puck pursuit and was called for interference.

The B’s did a solid job of penalty killing again until late in the man advantage when it looked like Nashville had the sure 1-0 lead. As Ullmark got tangled up with Hampus Lindholm and a Predator at the right side of the net, Evangelista hit Norris Trophy candidate Roman Josi with a pass at the inside of the left circle and, with a wide open net staring at him, the Nashville captain clanged the near post.

Nashville put the B’s back on the power play at 17:22 when Cole Smith high-sticked Kevin Shattenkirk, but the B’s did nothing with the opportunity and the game went to the third deadlocked at 0-0.

The Preds (16-2-2 in their previous 20) seemingly had some semblance of momentum after outshooting the B’s, 12-6, in the second period. But, on this night, the Bruins made the plays down the stretch for the hard-earned win.

Nelson, 24, will finish out this season on an amateur tryout deal with the Providence Bruins.

The undrafted free agent brings size to the mix. He’s 6-foot-4, 220 pounds and finished up his fifth year of eligibility strong, scoring 11 goals in his last eight games for the Gophers. But he was a late bloomer in the scoring department. He had 19-12-31 totals in 31 games in 2023-24, but his highest goal total before this season was 10 last season.

“Jaxon is a big, right shot, two-way centerman with leadership qualities as a captain of a very successful collegiate program,” said GM Don Sweeney in a team release. “He has shown consistent growth throughout his time at the University of Minnesota and the Bruins are excited to have Jaxon join our organization.”

The Magnolia, Minn., native had 42-47-89 totals in 169 collegiate games. The B’s hope Nelson will join young centermen Matt Poitras and John Beecher as the next wave to bolster the B’s traditional strength down the middle.

The college free agent market for the B’s has been and will be an important one for the B’s, who have traded away a lot of high draft picks in pursuit of the Stanley Cup, as they try to reload their roster by any means necessary. Last summer they signed Harvard center John Farinacci, who did not sign with with the Arizona Coyotes after they picked him in the third round of the 2019 draft.  Providence Bruins’ leading scorer Georgii Merkulov was signed two years ago as an undrafted free agent out of Ohio State.

The B’s are without their first three picks in the upcoming draft.

JVR set to return

James van Riemsdyk was set to return to the lineup for the B’s against the Predators in Nashville, replacing Jakub Lauko. Van Riemsdyk had been scratched for five of the previous eight games. Some of those absences were due to illness, but his offense had dried up as well. Going into Tuesday’s game, he had just one assist in 15 games and that’s including regular time on the power play. His last goal came on Feb. 15, when he scored two with an assist against the Los Angeles Kings.

Coach Jim Montgomery was asked what van Riemsdyk needed to do to get his game back.

“I guess what he was doing earlier in the year when he was on top of pucks and he was executing in all three zones and making things happen,” Montgomery told reporters in Nashville.

Said van Riemsdyk: “For my game, I think my strengths are playing smart, playing with detail, making the right play all the time and playing within the structure of the team. Those are things we’re trying to work on this time of year.”

Van Riemsdyk had lost 12 pounds due to his illness a couple of weeks ago.

“It’s kind of a weird thing. I usually pride myself on not being sick too often, so it definitely took a lot out of me but I’m excited to be feeling a lot better,” said van Riemsdyk.

Lohrei back in

On the back end, rookie Mason Lohrei went back into the lineup after being a scratch for six of the previous seven games. Matt Grzelcyk, who played just 13:46 in the B’s shootout win in Washington last Saturday, was scratched. … Pat Maroon, still working his way into the lineup since he underwent back surgery as a member of the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 7, traveled with the team and took part in the morning skate. The B’s are scheduled to practice on Wednesday in Raleigh, N.C., ahead of their game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.

But there’s nothing like being in a dogfight with your new teammates to make a player really feel like he’s a part of the team.

Just such an occurrence arose on Saturday night in Washington, D.C. The B’s were in overtime against the Capitals and they really needed that second point to allow themselves to feel good about the game in which they had outplayed their opponent.

But things looked bleak when Hampus Lindholm was tagged with a double minor for a high-sticking penalty 57 seconds into OT. But the B’s managed to kill it off and get that second point in the shootout. On that pivotal kill, Peeke took two big shifts, the first one that lasted 1:09 and the second that lasted 1:37.

For a guy who has scored 10 goals in 226 NHL games, those are the moments for which Peeke lives.

“There’s nothing like competing with the guys and grinding out those tight wins,” said Peeke on Tuesday. “Playing in tight games like that when it seems like the odds are against you and the next thing you know, you win in the shootout… little things like that, and just being out there and being able to celebrate with the guys, that builds the camaraderie that you hear about. Obviously, it’s nice walking around and talking to guys, but competing on the ice is second to none.”

After getting a couple of practices under his belt upon arrival, Peeke has played eight games and is plus-3 with 20 hits and 16 blocks while averaging 17:39 of icetime.

He’s been a fixture on the right side of the third pairing since getting in the lineup (his partner in Monday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena was again Kevin Shattenkirk), which is a far cry from his time in Columbus this year. After playing 162 games over the previous two years, he was for some reason designated as the odd-man out most of the time this year on the struggling Blue Jackets’ back end. He dressed for just 23 games.

But if that experience shook his confidence, he’s done a good job of hiding it.

“Obviously, it was a long year in Columbus and hopefully for me when this opportunity would possibly present itself, it would be a fresh start and a little reset,” said Peeke. “I think for me, just working hard every single day and doing what you can at the rink, whether you’re playing or not, you’re only going to set yourself up for that moment when your in that lineup in Columbus or being traded here. You just have to prepare yourself any way possible.”

While Peeke is finding his comfort level, the confidence from the coaching staff to put him in key defensive situations is also growing.

“I think for everybody it is, because of just how consistently hard he is to play against,” said coach Jim Montgomery.

And Peeke is buoyed by that message.

“It’s awesome having some of the trust from the coaches being out in those scenarios. And then obviously, you use it as a confidence builder,” said Peeke. “For me, I know the way I play, certain situations like the 4-on-3 or a penalty kill, I cherish a moment like that and being out there. We’ll block the shots, we’ll do the little things like that you love doing.”

And for the Bruins, whose issues with closing out games remains a concern going into the playoffs, having another player who can be employed in those hard minutes can only be beneficial.

“I’ll try to help as much as I can,” said Peeke. “Hockey is such a team sport in that regard. Obviously, each guy has their own role and different style of play. I cherish and appreciate being out there in moments like that, whether it’s protecting a lead or being on a penalty kill. Those are things in my game that I really love. But it’s such a team thing and I think when everyone buys into the system and knows what you have to do, it makes each individual look better.”….

Pat Maroon, still recovering from Feb. 7 back surgery, joined the B’s for practice for the first time on Monday. He won’t play this week as he continues to get his timing and conditioning back. Montgomery said the best-case scenario for him to see his first game action would be a week from Saturday in Pittsburgh. That would give him a chance to play two, maybe three games before the playoffs.

“I would like to play a couple of games,” said Maroon. “I think that’s the goal, to play a couple of times before the playoffs. They’ve been really good with me. I can’t thank enough the staff. They’ve been really patient with me and doing all the right things to make sure I’m back to 100 percent. They’ve been really good and they have a plan for me, so we’re just going to keep sticking with that.”

While Maroon and the staff are being prudent, the player said he’s itching to get in a game.

“Trust me, I’m really excited,” said Maroon. “I can’t wait, especially watching the Florida and Tampa games. It makes you just want to go out there and battle with the boys. I’m really looking forward to it. I think I mentioned it before, but just putting on that jersey, an Original Six team… this is a team that a lot of people want to play for and I’m just excited to get with the guys and get in the lineup and go to battle with them. They have a great group here.”…

We’ll see what the lineup looks like on Tuesday in Nashville, but it appeared as though Matt Grzelcyk was headed for a scratch. Mason Lohrei was paired with Brandon Carlo – Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy were paired together again – and Grzelcyk was on a fourth pairing with Parker Wotherspoon. Grzelcyk played just 13:46 in Washington.

Kevin Shattenkirk notched the go-ahead shootout goal and then Jeremy Swayman stopped Connor McMichael to lift the B’s to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals.

But the shootout wasn’t even the most dramatic part of the win.

Just 57 seconds into overtime, Hampus Lindholm was given a double minor for high-sticking T.J. Oshie, but the B’s and Swayman managed to kill off the entire four minutes and get it to the shootout. Swayman stopped Alex Ovechkin on a point-plank shot through traffic and then, on the rebound, managed to get a glove on Dylan Strome’s shot from the top of the crease.

From there, the penalty killers did a masterful job, getting in lanes and to loose pucks to kill it off. Brandon Carlo led the B’s with 5:26 of penalty kill time in the game, followed by Andrew Peeke with 4:03.

“Seeing the guys putting their bodies on the line like that, we’re going to need it down the stretch, that’s fun to see,” said Lindholm, who had an eventful game. “Super impressed. Four minutes of 4-on-3, guys were really tired out there. But they were buying in and making guys work for it.”

Said Swayman: “I think it was just our three working harder than their four.”

In the shootout, Jake DeBrusk and David Pastrnak beat Charlie Lindgren — Pastrnak’s shot just broke though Lindgren and rolled inside the post — but Sonny Milano beat Swayman in a must-score situation to extend it. But Swayman stopped Ovechkin and, after Shattenkirk whistled his wrister past Charlie Lindgren’s glove, the B’s netminder snared McMichael’s attempt to seal it.

“That was a hard-fought game,” said Shattenkirk. “They came with a lot of speed. I think we obviously stuck around and had a chance to get away with our power play but we just stuck with it, stayed resilient and that’s going to be important come playoff time. You’ve got to wait around for your chances to come and we just did that.”

For a while it looked like the B’s inability to take advantage of the scoring chances they created — including another two power plays that went for naught — would wipe out a strong defensive effort. They allowed just 16 shots on net in the first 60 minutes, a season low.

For the first time in four games, the B’s scored the first goal of the game, Lindholm’s first tally in 51 games.

But the game started with Lindholm saving a goal on the first shift of the game. Charlie McAvoy pinched down the right wall but couldn’t control the puck and the Caps broke out with numbers.  Swayman stoppedOveckin’s shot but could not corral the rebound and McMichael swooped in. He took it to his backhand and appeared to have an empty net, but Lindholm sliced in behind Swayman to make a goal-saving stick save.

The B’s were a little slow out of the gate but eventually gained their footing and held an advantage in the first. Coach Jim Montgomery had loaded up with his top pair and line, pairing McAvoy and Lindholm on the back end while reuniting Brad Marchand, Pavel Zacha and Pastrnak.

It was with those five players on the ice that the B’s made it 1-0 at 18:47. With Marchand battling for position in front of the net, Lindholm snapped a left point shot on net that eluded Lindgren for the defenseman’s second goal of the year.

The lead didn’t last long.

With the long change in effect in the second period, the B’s were caught in a bad change, allowing Nick Jensen to send Michael Scarbossa off on a partial break on his off wing up the right side. With Shattenkirk desperately trying to close, Scarbossa ripped a wrister that beat Swayman over the blocker to the far side at 1:20.

But just 1:02 later, the B’s had their lead back. John Beecher blocked a Strome pass out high in the zone and took off. He started the one-man breakout, pushing it ahead to give himself a clean breakaway. Beecher, never known for his scoring touch, calmly slipped a soft backhander between Lindgren’s pads.

The B’s had several good scoring chances to extend the lead, including a 3-on-1 on which Pastrnak’s pass was deflected and the puck never made it to the net.

Then the B’s took two penalties. First, they killed off Danton Heinen’s slashing penalty, and then they appeared to poised to kill off Shattenkirk’s hooking penalty. They even survived a period of time when McAvoy lost a skate blade and the Caps had essentially a 5-on-3.

But with the seconds ticking off the penalty, Max Pacioretty made a sweet pass across the top of the crease for John Carlson. Celebrating his 1,000th game, Carlson beat the block attempt from Carlo to even it up at 14:03.

The B’s had a 17-11 shot advantage over the opening 40 minutes, but they were in a deadlock heading into the third. On this night, the B’s managed to produce the feel-good win in a most unusual manner.

They’d better be.

The last time the B’s faced the Caps, it was back on February 10 at the Garden – and it wasn’t much of a contest. The Caps blanked the B’s, 3-0, to end what was a six-game losing streak for them, helping Washington to take the first baby step toward climbing into a playoff spot.

“They embarrassed us on our home ice,” coach Jim Montgomery told reporters in Washington. “So what we learned is it’s a team that’s really committed to checking. It’s a team that plays the right way and that we better be ready to go tonight if we want to have a chance of success.”

The B’s will have to match the Caps’ desperation, especially after Washinton lost in Toronto on Thursday. The Caps are in a playoff spot, but not by much. They’re currently in the second wildcard spot, with a two-point advantage over the Red Wings with a game in hand. They’re also within striking distance of the Flyers for third in the Metropolitan Division, trailing Philadelphia by a point with two games in hand.

After the B’s 3-1 loss in Tampa on Wednesday, Montgomery is tweaking his lineup, as expected. Kevin Shattenkirk will go in for Parker Wotherspoon on the back end and Jakub Lauko will replace James van Riemsdyk up front.

Jeremy Swayman, who had some shaky early moments against Florida but was solid down the stretch in closing out that big win on Tuesday, will be back in net.

1. New York Rangers – Not only are the Rangers on top of the league standings, in the past eight days the Blueshirts have dispatched the Bruins, Panthers, Avalanche and Flyers. They’re hitting their stride at the right moment.

2. Dallas Stars – Can’t say I always come away impressed when watching the Stars. Yet here they are, only one of two teams with 100-plus points.

3. Carolina Hurricanes – If the Jake Guentzel deal doesn’t finally get this team over the top, what will?

4. Colorado Avalanche – Nathan MacKinnon has put himself in the driver’s seat for the Hart Trophy and, though they’ve lost the last couple, the Avs had been on a tear in March.

5. Boston Bruins – Their record says they’ve been a middling team since their surprisingly hot start. Yet they refuse to concede the top spot in the Atlantic Division.

6. Vancouver Canucks – With all due respect to John Tortorella, Rick Tocchet has earned the Jack Adams Award.

7. Florida Panthers – There aren’t many Bruins fans who’d favor their team over the Panthers in a seven-game series and, yes, the Panthers do have that “built for the playoffs” look about them. But Florida has lost 6-of-7 and they’ve still yet to beat the B’s in three tries.

8. Edmonton Oilers – I don’t think Connor McDavid should win the Hart this year. The Conn Smythe Trophy, however, is still very much on the table.

9. Winnipeg Jets – The Jet have hit a rough patch, losing four of their last five. Not the best timing.

10. Nashville Predators – The Preds finally had their 18-game point streak (16-0-2) snapped on Thursday, but they didn’t need to see U2 to find what they’re looking for.

11. Tampa Bay Lightning – Not only are the Bolts 6-0-1 in their last seven, they beat the B’s on a night Nikita Kucherov was quiet. They simply choked off the B’s attack in the last two periods, which should make a potential post-season matchup a concerning one for B’s fans.

12. Toronto Maple Leafs – The Leafs have not yet been overtaken by Tampa in the standings, but they’ve been just muddling along since the B’s beat them twice in a week.

13. Los Angeles Kings – The Oilers cooled them off on Thursday but with their depth at center, the Kings won’t be a palatable matchup for anyone.

14. Vegas Golden Knights – No matter how much high-end talent the Knights added at the deadline, they have not replaced Mark Stone.

15. Philadelphia Flyers – They’re not guaranteed a spot in the post-season but the fact that they’ve hung on to one while half their their D corps is on the shelf is commendable.

16. Washington Capitals –Their minus-30 goal differential is concerning. But as Jim Montgomery pointed out earlier this week, that means the Caps win their close games. Should be a good test for the B’s on Saturday night.

17. St. Louis Blues – If the Blues were in the Eastern Conference, they’d be in the playoffs right now. Instead, they’re most likely headed for a DNQ.

18. Detroit Red Wings – Not making the playoffs would be a bitter pill, especially when they’ve gotten everything they could have hoped for with the Patrick Kane acquisition.

19. Minnesota Wild – Hard to think this team will miss the playoffs this year with the way they played against the B’s this year, but that’s where it’s headed.

20. New York Islanders – It looks like they may have hired Patrick Roy just a little too late.

21. New Jersey Devils – Dougie Hamilton may not be the best defenseman in his own zone, but his loss definitely hurt. And, oh yeah, not having a goalie didn’t help much, either. After beating the Rangers in the playoffs last year, the Devils are probably the NHL’s biggest disappointment

22. Pittsburgh Penguins – For anyone who minimizes the B’s regular-season accomplishments this year, the Pens have proven that making the playoffs is not as easy as it looks.

23. Seattle Kraken – Last year’s Cinderella team never got out of neutral this season.

24. Buffalo Sabres – With yet another late-season tease falling short, Sabres’ fans should sue the team for cruel and unusual punishment.

25. Calgary Flames – How do you build a team when stars keeping running away? GM Craig Conroy has his work cut out for him.

26. Arizona Coyotes – There’s talent here but not enough to prevent another fade-out down the stretch.

27. Ottawa Senators – Again, goalie is kind of an important position.

28. Montreal Canadiens – The Habs play with gumption but not enough skill. With five picks in the first three rounds of the draft, the rebuild marches on.

29. Columbus Blue Jackets – Here the Jackets are, starting over yet again with another GM search. Columbus deserves better.

30. Anaheim Ducks –The Ducks have seven picks in the first three rounds. They could use some meat-and-potatoes skill in the new crop to add to the French pastry type they already have.

31. Chicago Blackhawks – The Hawks will get another high-end pick. They’ll also get Taylor Hall back. Depending on their free agency activity, the Hawks should be ready to move up from the lowest tier of teams.

32. San Jose Sharks – The GM and coach are both Boston University-bred. It would seem only right that the Terriers’ superstar freshman Macklin Celebrini lands in San Jose as well.

But Boston remains in a sour mood when it comes to its pro sports teams.

The UConn bandwagon just doesn’t cut it. Connecticut might as well be in Kansas.

The Huskies are the betting favorite to repeat as the last team standing at The Big Dance. More joy in store in Storrs?

Meanwhile, Boston remains dogged by pessimism, cynicism and defeatism.

Sure, it’s embedded in the region’s DNA. But Boston hasn’t felt this sort of vibe in 30 years. The 1990s have returned to Fenway, Foxboro and TD Garden.

Woof.

The heady days of counting parades in your child’s lifespan now sit alongside Paul Revere in the Bay State history books.

These Patriots have their own rallying cry: “One if by land. Two if by sea. Fourth in the AFC East.”

Kraft created “The Dynasty” – © Kraft Dynasty LLC – hoping it would be his Pro Football Hall of Fame Infomercial. It’s become the NFL’s version of “New Coke.”

Kraft was outraged, outraged, over the hit job “The Dynasty” – © Kraft Dynasty LLC – pulled on Bill Belichick. Kraft miraculously turned Belichick into a sympathetic character.

“I feel so privileged that we had Bill here. We hope when he’s finished that we’re going to have a chance to honor him the way we will do with Tom Brady this year,” Kraft said at the NFL’s owner meeting in Orlando on Tuesday. “I look forward to the privilege of putting Bill into the Patriots Hall of Fame one day in the future.”

Kraft apologized the negative tilt toward his team but added that he had no say in what appeared on screen. Kraft said he enjoyed the first three episodes of “The Dynasty” – © Kraft Dynasty LLC.

Wonder why?

No one bothered to ask the team owner why “The Dynasty” – © Kraft Dynasty LLC – omitted Kraft’s dalliance with Hartford before Gillette Stadium was built. That was the first of many glairing omissions we noted here last month after episodes 1 and 2.

Kraft’s charm offensive Tuesday packed all the punch of the Mac Jones-led offense. He went full “Joliet” Jake Blues blaming everything and everyone but himself for his team’s woes.

The Old Kraft Magic has since gone the way of AFC East Division champion T-shirts and 35-point home playoff victories. He’s now just plain old. A NFLPA survey ranked the Patriots 29th of 32 NFL teams. The Patriots scored an F- when it came to “Treatment of Families.”

“I was unaware of how bad that was,” Kraft said. He said the team is “committing” to a modern facility “in excess of $50 million.”

“Players are the heart and soul of the business. I’d be very surprised if that didn’t improve,” he said.

Yet the mastermind of “The Dynasty” had no idea how poorly those players and their families were treated. Kraft cited Calvin Ridley’s “girlfriend” as the chief reason in the team’s failure in signing the top wideout in free agency. Ridley may or may not have married Dominque Fitchard in 2020. They have two children together.

You see, it’s never the money. Except when Kraft & Son are cutting the checks. And mixing wives and girlfriends never helps when it comes to the NFLPA player assessment of “Treatment of Families.”

The good news for Kraft is that in a few years he’ll be old enough to run for the White House.

On another depressing note, it’s Opening Day for the Boston Red Sox. John Henry remains MIA when it comes to his baseball team. He was last seen in public at The Players Championship.

Raffy Devers and the Men of Mystery begin their 2024 MLB season Thursday night in Seattle. Defense of the AL East last-place crown commences at 10:10 p.m. on NESN. The Red Sox are being choked by a pandemic of apathy.

“Ennui and Tedium” have replaced “Aura and Destiny” as the Red Sox nemesis of choice.
Opening Day at Fenway is April 9. Plenty of good rows remain available.

The “buzzz” – emphasis on “zzz” – is that this team will somehow overperform and break the .500 barrier. An improvement in fielding and hitting will make games more palatable for viewers, allegedly. The pitching? Check back on Memorial Day.

The Red Sox were unable to pull the trigger on Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery. One or both could have shored up their rotation post-Lucas Giolito injury. That’s all the tell you need the Red Sox are in race to meet Fenway Sports Group’s bottom line. Even if it lands them in the bottom of the standings for the fourth time in five years.

It’s not just the last-place Patriots and Red Sox that have left fans feeling sour despite the arrival of the Sweet 16 in Boston.

The regular-season success of the Celtics and Bruins has done little to ease the playoff dread set to return next month.

The Celtics remain “vulnerable.” Kendrick Perkins’ description, not mine. It’s easy to see why. They lack the will and ability to finish off opponents – while continuing to fizzle at crunch time. The Celtics have shown nothing to counter the fear that they will get star-struck in May or June and allow themselves to get pushed around right out of the postseason.

Bruins fans have been reduced to praying their team does not win the Presidents Trophy and the all-but-certain playoff doom that it carries. The team’s shortcomings have been stuck in a time capsule. Unbalanced scoring. Lack of size and depth on defense.

Concerns that the coach will choke under the playoff spotlight. Little has changed little since last year’s first-round exit against Florida. Both the Celtics and Bruins could have home court/ice throughout the postseason.

Making that inevitable Game 7 calamity all the more painful.

And there’s nothing sweet about that.

Bill Speros (@RealOBF and @BillSperos on X) can be reached at bsperos1@gmail.com.

The B’s had scored their best win of the season on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers when they came back from three separate deficits to win. But on Wednesday, the B’s never led and the Lightning were not nearly as generous as the Panthers had been on the other side of the state. Brayden Point’s second-period goal stood up as the game-winner for the Bolts for a 3-1 win at Amalie Arena.

The B’s went into the third period down by a goal but any chances they had were one-and-done until Nikita Kucherov ended it with an easy empty-netter for the Bolts. Tampa, which was playing its first game back from a West Coast trip, wasn’t clicking very well offensively, either, but they did a very good job protecting a one-goal lead for over half a game. A possible first round opponent for the B’s, the Lightning looked more playoff ready on this night.

The B’s power play woes, especially with the first unit, continued. They didn’t have a lot of opportunities but they went 0-for-2 and a timely goal could have made a big difference.

“Tough loss,” said David Pastrnak, who drew both second-period power plays. “Obviously we weren’t at our best and didn’t deserve to win. The outcome is just as it should be. Tough power play, couldn’t get a goal. And the 6-on-5 was tough, couldn’t get in the zone. It’s a tough loss and it’s bad. It was a heck of game by our group (on Tuesday) and too bad we couldn’t roll it over into today.”

Though the B’s were on the second half of a back-to-back, it was not the follow-up you’d like to see after a such an emotional win in Sunrise.

“(Tuesday) there was a lot of emotion in that game and the physical product also contributes. You win a game like that and we’re sky high. then we have to come back and play an elite team in the league again. It’s a hard schedule,” coach Jim Montgomery told reporters in Tampa.

For the second time in as many nights, the B’s allowed the first goal, this time with a Mitchell Chaffee tally at 10:06 of the first.

On a quick Tampa reload in the neutral zone, Mikey Eyssimont fed Nick Paul along the right wing just inside the blue line. Brandon Carlo came over to help Parker Wotherspoon but he could not keep Paul’s pass from getting through to Chaffee, who’d gotten behind James van Riemsdyk. Still, van Riemsdyk, back in the lineup for Jakub Lauko after getting scratch against the Panthers, appeared to have had Chaffee’s stick tied up from behind, but Chaffee was able to wriggle it free and snap a quick shot over Linus Ullmark’s shoulder.

Van Riemsdyk, who’d be limited to a team-low 9:37 in ice time, then took an offensive zone penalty to give the NHL’s most dangerous man advantage unit an opportunity. But the B’s were able to kill it off without much drama and then finally went on the attack.

They had several close calls, including a Charlie McAvoy hit post and a 3-on-1 that saw Charlie Coyle turn down a good shot for a pass that didn’t connect.

But the B’s tied it up at 17:11 off a good forecheck by Pastrnak, who forced Matt Dumba to drop a pass for no one behind his net. Pavel Zacha was the first one on it and he fed Danton Heinen in the right circle. Falling away from the net, Heinen ripped a wrist shot that beat Andrei Vasilevskiiy to tie it up with his 15th of the season.

With the B’s taking over the play, the Bolts’ Tanner Jeannot tried to put a stop to it on the next shift. He tagged Hampus Lindholm with a good hit along the boards and Trent Frederic went to address it. They dropped the gloves, but Jeannot got in a good first uppercut that cut open Frederic. From there, Frederic just had to hold on until he could get to the room for repairs.

The Lightning took control of the play at the start of the second, refusing to allow any scoring chances to the B’s until the Bolts took their second lead of the game. On a dominant shift from the Bolts, Point gave Tampa its lead back at 6:50. Emil Lilleberg’s shot was blocked and went behind the net, where Point collected it. With Ullmark leaning toward his left, Point simply went behind the net and beat the netminder as well as defenseman Andrew Peeke to the far post on a wraparound for a 2-1 Tampa advantage. That’s all the Bolts would need.

“Obviously it was a nice wraparound by him, but I’ve just got to check off and meet him at that post earlier if I can,” said Peeke.

The B’s then squandered a pair of PP chances.

With the game still in reach, the B’s could not get much going offensively in the third. They passed when they should have shot and forecheckers could not catch up to dump-ins, allowing the Bolts easy breakouts.

At 6:02 of the third, it looked like the Bolt had taken a two-goal lead when Steven Stamkos scored off a blocked shot. But the B’s challenged for offside and after a fairly lengthy review it was revealed that Anthony Cirelli barely beat the puck over the line.

That gave the B’s a new life, but they could do nothing with it.

To paraphrase Jim Montgomery’s Monday morning admonishments, they woke the bleep up.

The B’s shook off three one-goal deficits and took their first lead of the game with 2:31 left on Pavel Zacha’s goal to beat the Florida Panthers, 4-3, in Sunrise, Fla., on Tuesday.

The B’s then were able to kill the 6-on-5 situation, a bugaboo dating back to their Game 7 loss to the Panthers last spring, for over two minutes to capture the much needed win.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was playoff-style hockey, physical and nasty, and the B’s came out on top for a change, snapping a two-game losing streak that had their coach steaming mad.

All their leaders — Charlie McAvoy (goal, assist), David Pastrnak (goal, assist) Brad Marchand (assist on late equalizer, plus a notable scrap) — stepped up, and they got depth scoring from Trent Frederic and Zacha to beat the Panthers for the third time in as many tries, again taking the Atlantic Division lead for the moment.

“I think Monty’s message is we have to come prepared to play and practice every day and we weren’t the other day. But the way we finished (practice) is the way we played tonight,” Marchand told reporters in Sunrise. “We played direct, played hard and competed all the way through. It’s what we need coming down the stretch and going into the playoffs.  I liked the response. I thought we had a good game tonight. There are some areas where we can continue to work on. But that’s a great team over there. They compete very hard. They’re very deep. They don’t really have any holes. So good character win.”

Yes, there were some foot-in-the-TV screen moments for which the B’s have had a penchant lately. But in the end, it was the signature win of the season so far.

“I loved the way we stuck together out there,” Montgomery told NESN. “It was a playoff atmosphere. It’s what we’re going to see in a couple of weeks .Loved the way we responded. Even though we fell down 1-0 in the first minute and gave up (a goal) in the last minute (of the first period), usually those things end up costing you. But you know what? We just kept forging ahead.”

The game started as poorly as you could have imagined. After being read the riot act from Montgomery for a sleepy start to Monday’s practice, the B’s duplicated that effort on the first shift of the game and found themselves down a goal just 27 seconds in.

It was a patented Panthers’ shift to start. Vladimir Tarasenko went in on the forecheck and delivered a blow that knocked Morgan Geekie’s helmet off. Geekie chose to leave the ice instead of picking up the bucket and the B’s were scrambling. Eventually, Sasha Barkov sent a bad angle shot toward the net. Jeremy Swayman couldn’t glove it and it got through him to Evan Rodrigues, who had a tap-in.

Matthew Tkachuk then suckered Parker Wotherspoon into taking a roughing penalty with a low reverse hit and the B’s went on the penalty kill. They survived it, and then a few more minutes of Florida pressure before they themselves went on the attack.

After controlling the play for a good chunk of the period, the B’s tied it up with 2:37 left in the first on a strong shift. It started with a good reverse hit by Pastrnak that flattened Tkachuk along the left wall and he got the puck to Zacha a few feet away. Zacha fed Matt Grzelcyk at the left point and, with the Panthers overloaded to left side, Grzelcyk dished to McAvoy. McAvoy stepped into the right circle and blasted a slapper past Sergei Bobrovsky for his 10th of the year, snapping a 10-game pointless streak.

But with the B’s lately, good things happening usually means a bad thing is right around the corner. They could not get out of the period even. Brandon Carlo retrieved a puck behind his net and, as he was looking to move it up to Hampus Lindholm, he fell and missed his mark. Dmitry Kulikov collected it and fed Eetu Luostarinen, who slipped it across the top of the crease for a Sam Reinhart redirect past Swayman with 1:04 left in the period.

In the second period, the Panthers tried to flex their muscles. After a particularly nasty scrum, Sam Bennett held Lindholm’s head down just long enough to anger the mild-mannered Swede. Lindholm came up swinging and tagged Bennett with a left and the two went at it for Lindholm’s first career fighting major.

A little later in the period, the 5-foot-9 Marchand dropped the gloves with 6-foot-5 Niko Mikkola, who then wrestled Marchand to the ice. The combatants only received matching minors, but Marchand signaled to the Panthers — and maybe his teammates — that they were in this fight until the end.

While the rough stuff is supposed to favor the Panthers, the B’s tied it again at 15:59. Marchand created a turnover on the forecheck to get the Panthers chasing. The puck eventually came around to McAvoy on the right wall. He made a move to control it and then found a wide-open Pastrnak in front of the net. He was able to just get it over Bobrovsky’s left pad for his 45th goal and 100th point on the season. Pastrnak became the first Bruin in 30 years to post back-to-back 100-point seasons since Adam Oates did it from 1992-94.

The B’s were playing some decent hockey in the third period until one mistake blew up on them. On a promising looking rush, Charlie Coyle attempted a shot from deep on the right wing that missed the net and sent the Panthers off on an odd-man rush. Carter Verhaeghe beat Swayman with a wrister from the left circle at 9:53.

The Panthers threw the B’s a life-line when Kevin Stenlund slashed McAvoy but Marchand wiped out the power play with an interference penalty. The B’s got another chance when Rodrigues shot the puck into the crowd with 5:43 left in the third. This time, they didn’t reject it.

For the third time in the game, the B’s tied it again. As they were changing out power -play units, Marchand danced into the zone through a couple of Panthers and fed Frederic for a one-timer goal from the slot with 4:22 left in regulation, his career-high 18th goal.

Then the B’s got some puck luck to take their first lead with 2:31 remaining in regulation. Pastrnak whipped a pass toward the net that went off Zacha’s skate and in for the 4-3 lead.

“I saw that Pasta was looking for me before he got the puck so I was just trying to go to the back post and he hit me in the skates,” said Zacha.

The B’s don’t have long to enjoy this one. They travel across the state to take on the hot Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday. But it’s the kind of confidence-boosting win that could pay dividends down the road.

Bruins’ practice was barely five minutes old when Montgomery screamed to his players, “Wake the (expletive) up!”

With that, Montgomery stopped practice and made his team go through rink-length wind sprints.

When practice resumed, his overall tone didn’t change much.

“Get the puck in! How (expletive) hard is that?!?” yelled Montgomery.

While he wasn’t happy with the way practice was going, it was not the only (or even main) source of his ire. On Saturday, the Bruins showed up late to a winnable game in Philadelphia and then, when they put themselves in position to grab at least a point out of it, they simply played losing hockey and wound up with nothing.

“I hated the way we finished the game in Philly,” said Montgomery. “It was a good hockey game, it was playoff intensity, physicality to it. And I don’t think I’ve done a good enough job of teaching the details and game management that we need. And then, we weren’t prepared to practice today. So those things coupled together – not ready to start practice on time and guys not knowing what we’re supposed to be doing… Again, I take responsibility for it. There’s got to be some responsibility on the players, too.”

The last two games against the Flyers and the Rangers have given the B’s a taste of what life will be like in the playoffs, which for them will be short-lived if they can’t manage to fight through the checking any better than they did in those two regulation losses. In both games, the B’s offense went dormant for close to 40 minutes.

Life won’t get any easier this week. On Tuesday, the B’s travel to Sunrise, Florida to take on the Panthers, who regained the inside track to the Atlantic Division title with their win in Philly on Sunday. Then they’ve got the Lightning on Tuesday and the Bolts are proving old champions die hard. On Saturday, they’ll play a surprising Capitals team that is inside the playoff structure.

“To me, as much as team it’s (about) individuals. Who’s ready to handle big moments? And it goes back two games. Checking is elevated in the league. The league usually goes up after All-Star break and I find it’s gone to another level the last two games,” said Montgomery. “Do we lose our patience and start giving up odd-man rushes? Or do we continue to fight and have second, third efforts and play the right way and get a greasy goal to win a hockey game. That’s what I’m looking for in the Florida game, the Tampa game. Then we have two days off and we’re playing a team in Washington at the end of the trip and – I’m not trying to get too ahead of myself – but this team is (minus-27) in goal differential. But they win the games they’re in.”

What specifically did he not like in the Philly loss? Let him count the ways.

“Bad changes. We had a real bad change. We gave up five odd-man rushes in the third period. A 1-0 game, we gave up two. We tie the game, we give up one and go down 2-1. We tie the game and we give up another two in the last three minutes and they go ahead. That’s the kind of things that we need to get better at,” said Montgomery.

Montgomery didn’t discuss what his lineup will look like on Tuesday in Sunrise. But in practice, it looked like Mason Lohrei and Kevin Shattenkirk were trending toward being the scratches on the back end – Parker Wotherspoon and Andrew Peeke were the third pairing – while James van Riemsdyk could be the odd-man out up front.

What is Montgomery looking for from individuals?

“Who are the guys who are going to manage the game, manage the puck, protect the puck? Who’s going to win battles? Who’s going to be first on pucks? We saw some guys who didn’t want to be first on pucks last game,” said Montgomery.

The tone of the practice from the head coach was spot-on to captain Brad Marchand, who felt it caught the players’ attention and eventually produced a good practice. But more importantly, that attention to detail needs to carry over into games.

“That’s what wins and loses in playoffs, the details. One mistake can cost you a game. And it’s not something you can turn on and off come playoffs time,” said Marchand. “It’s something we need to be really detailed in going down the stretch and your game has to be not perfect, you’re never going to get there. But you need to strive for that every day. You see teams fighting for their lives. They’re playing for keeps every night and they’re competing at a different level. Even though we’re not in that same position, we have to have that same mindset. That ultimately means that we need to be prepared in every minute of the game to take care of the puck and be on top of our structure. When we do that, we’re a great team. When we get away from that, we’re not.”

While the schedule is a challenge, it’s also a blessing. The B’s would not be able to get right if they were playing the Blackhawks and the Sharks every night. They’ve got 10 games left and eight of them are against teams currently inside the playoff bracket.

“I don’t think our team’s ready yet for playoffs,” said Montgomery flatly. “We’ve got to continue to get tested and we’re going to get tested.”

The 6-foot-1, 194-pound Woburn native notched 9-7-16 totals in 35 games for the Friars. He had 27-28-55 totals in 102 collegiate games for PC.

Duran, taken in sixth round (182nd overall) in 2020, has performed well in the B’s Development Camps and, when performing among the top prospects in the world, he showed up well. Duran had two goals and three assists in five games at the 2022 World Junior Championships.

And they have come up lacking in both urgency and timely goaltending.

Linus Ullmark (26 saves) made a few high danger saves but was beaten on two long distance shots in the third period and the Bruins dropped their second straight, a 3-2 decision to the Flyers in Philadelphia.

But while those two goals were tough to swallow, Ullmark had made other key saves to keep the B’s in it. The lack of intensity with the puck in the offensive zone in the first 40 minutes against a team was even more bothersome. The B’s managed just 13 shot on net through two periods.

They did show some gumption in the third period by erasing a pair of one-goal deficits, but they wound up getting nothing out of the game, which is what they deserved off their first 40 minutes.

After failing to exploit a New York Rangers team that had two key defensemen missing in their loss on Thursday, the B’s also couldn’t beat a similarly shorthanded Flyers team, which was determined to play much tougher in their own zone than they did when they allowed six goals to the B’s last week.

“I just told the team, it’s what we’ve got to get used to. It’s what it’s going to be the rest of the year. You’ve got to have second and third efforts to create offense and you have to be desperate to get back above the dot defensively,” said coach Jim Montgomery.

The B’s also need to make more winning plays in crunch time. After he tied the game on a late goal, Danton Heinen tried to make a play with the puck back up to the point in the offensive zone but Philly picked it off and went back the other way for an odd-man rush. Tyson Foerster, perhaps aided by a ramp-up off Brandon Carlo’s stick, was able to beat Ullmark with a shot from high on the left circle with 1:29 remaining. It held up as the game-winner.

Heinen conceded the puck needed to stay low, not only on that play but in general at this time of year.

“More simple hockey, you don’t want to turn pucks over. You look at their last goal. I turn the puck over and they go back down … that’s playoff hockey where it gets greasy and that’s how you score goals this time of year,” said Heinen.

The first period didn’t offer much by way of scoring chances for either team or entertainment except for an explosion of righteous indignation from captain Brad Marchand.

Cutting through the neutral zone, Flyer defenseman Erik Johnson stuck his left leg out and clipped Marchand in the left leg on a dangerous hit. After no call was forthcoming, Marchand erupted, screaming at the officials and banging his stick on the boards until he was tagged with a two-minute minor. The B’s killed it off and the teams went into the first break deadlocked at 0-0.

Both teams had surges of offensive zone time in the second period. The B’s at one point had the Flyers hemmed in for over 2:00 in their own zone. Their best chance of the period came when James van Riemsdyk had Samuel Ersson down but could not lift the puck over him from the top of the crease, which has become the story of his season in which his shot percentage is a career low (8.0%).

When Andrew Peeke was called for a late period high-sticking penalty, the Flyers finally broke the ice at 18:15 on an ugly goal. Jake DeBrusk and Matt Grzelcyk got caught out high in the defensive zone, which left too much open ice down low. Scott Laughton fed Foerster in the slot and he fanned on the shot. Unfortunately for the Bruins, the mis-hit turned into a perfect pass to Travis Konecny at the side of the net.

Ullmark made a great pad save on Konecny but when the puck went airborne, Ullmark accidentally knocked it into the net with his blocker.

The Flyers nearly took a two-goal lead when Hampus Lindholm’s indecision in the offensive zone turned into a breakaway when a sprawled-out Johnson deflected Lindholm’s pass attempt that led to a breakaway for Laughton, who was stoned by Ullmark.

That kept the B’s in striking distance going into the third but the offense needed to crank it up. Despite the Flyers missing three defensemen on the back end (Nick Seeler, Rasmus Ristolainen and Jamie Drysdale), the B’s had managed just 12 shots on net. Flyer killer David Pastrnak, who missed the net on a good one-timer chance in the first period, had not hit the net yet.

In the third period, Montgomery changed his lines, putting Justin Brazeau up with Charlie Coyle and Marchand and, at 10:19, it paid off.

After a helter-skelter moment in the B’s zone, Mason Lohrei broke the puck out and fed Coyle on the right wing. Once in the zone, Coyle sifted a nice pass to Brazeau, rumbling toward the net. The big man with the soft hands cut across the crease and tucked a backhander past Ersson to even the game for his fourth goal and fifth point in three games.

Then things really picked up.

With 4:44 left in regulation, the Flyers regained the lead when, on a harmless looking rush, Konecny beat Ullmark with a long range shot from the left wing.

But just 56 seconds later, the B’s tied it up again. With the B’s changing, Morgan Geekie entered the Flyer zone 1-on-4 but was able to protect the puck until he got help. He found it in the form of Heinen on the left wing. Geekie got it to him and Heinen buried it to make it 2-2.

The B’s looked poised to at least get a point out of this one. But after Ullmark stopped Owen Tippett on another breakaway, he let in Foerster’s GWG from the left wing with 1:29 left. The B’s pulled Ullmark for the ensuing faceoff for the extra skater, but they did not have another equalizer in them.

The playoff vibe continues this week. After two days off, the B’s travel to Florida for back-to-back games against the Panthers on Tuesday and the Lightning on Wednesday. If they take two periods off at a time against those teams like they did against the Flyers and Rangers, it won’t be pretty.

Job one in that endeavor will be to fix the struggling first power play unit. It went 0-for-3 in Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Rangers and has looked out of sync for a while. Captain Brad Marchand has particularly struggled, going 29 games now without a power-play goal.

Whether Marchand is in the lineup on Saturday is still a bit of a question mark. He did not practice on Friday at Warrior Ice Arena and coach Jim Montgomery termed his absence as a “maintenance” day but couldn’t definitively confirm he’ll play against the Flyers.

“Most likely (he’ll play). I’m not going to say 100 percent but most likely,” said Montgomery.

In the captain’s absence, the first power-play unit was reconfigured with Pavel Zacha moving to Marchand’s spot on the right, Jake DeBrusk going in to the net-front position, Charlie Coyle in the bumper and David Pastrnak (left elbow) and Charlie McAvoy (blue line) in their usual spots.

Montgomery has been trying to get the first unit to simplify and think shot more often than it has, which he admitted can be a challenge when you have veterans who have had a lot of success in the past on the PP.

“Yes, but I think the tougher thing is mentally to not get frustrated, coaches and players alike,” said Montgomery. “Because they’re used to having success, when things continue to not have successful outcomes, you tend to get impatient. We’ve been trying to be less impatient but always with a shot-first mindset. I still don’t think we have a shot-first mindset out there.”

Marchand, stuck on 399 career goals, has just one goal in his last 14 games and he had a rough night on Thursday when he was charged with four giveaways and the Rangers’ eventual game-winning goal coming from the defenseman (Adam Fox) on his side of the ice.

Montgomery stuck up for his captain while simultaneously acknowledging he’s fighting it right now.

“I think in an 82 (game) grind, you’re going to have nights when you have it and nights when you don’t. But I think with Brad, we always get his maximum effort and that’s how he leads and why we’re one of the teams with the most points in the league, because a lot of times your team play is a reflection of your captain and our captain competes really hard and I feel our team competes really hard,” said Montgomery. “But with that, there’s frustration like we talked about. He’s part of that frustration on the power play, right? He expects to do great things and that’s why he’s an elite player. But sometimes it doesn’t go your way and sometimes you get impatient. I think he’s a little impatient right now, especially on the power play. Not so much five-on-five.”

Montgomery said finding success on the PP can be as simple as the player who is getting the puck to have his stick in a half-cocked position for a one-timer to force the defense to react to it, which in turn can open up passing lanes.

“Whether the pucks on the goal line or it’s up to with Charlie or it’s on the elbows, they’ve all got to look to score,” said Montgomery. “It seems real simple. But a lot of times if you watch them, they’re getting the puck and they’re looking for their next play. They’re not looking to score.”

Whether Marchand is in the lineup on Saturday or not, the B’s will be challenged to break out of their power play slump. The Flyers, fighting to stay in the playoff structure, are ranked third in penalty kill (84.6% kill rate) and lead the league in shorthanded goals with 16. The B’s will be going for the season sweep of Philly.

New pairing?

There’s a possibility we see another third defense pairing. Mason Lohrei skated with Andrew Peeke in practice and, though Montgomery would not commit to his lineup, Lohrei manned the blue line on the second power play unit with Justin Brazeau at the net-front, Hampus Lindholm on the right elbow, Morgan Geekie on the left elbow and James van Riemsdyk in the bumper.

“We wanted to see (the Lohrei-Peeke pairing) in practice today,” said Montgomery. “Ideally, it looks good, a guy that’s stiff and physical with a guy that’s a puck mover, an offensive guy. On paper it looks good. Maybe we’ll see it in Philly. I’m not 100 percent sure.”

Voice of reason

Singer Celine Dion was a guest of the Bruins for Thursday’s game and announced the starting lineup in the locker room before the game.

Though Montgomery and Dion are from the Montreal area, the coach said he had no connection to her.

“We both speak French, that’s the only connection. I sing a little better. She coaches better,” said Montgomery with a laugh.

Will Dion have to mend fences up in Montreal after being cozy with the hated rival?

“No, the sons are Bruins fans!” Montgomery said with a grin. “And as you know, once you have kids, your allegiance goes to wherever your kids are because that becomes your life.”

The five-time Grammy Award winner surprised the Bruins locker room with two of her sons and a sweet rendition of the starting lineup. She was also spotted playing air guitar during the game.

She’s clearly not letting her stiff person syndrome diagnosis stop her from having fun!

The Bruins did fall to the Rangers 5-2, but at least she brought some star power to the Garden.

Now, THAT'S a legendary lineup read @celinedion | #BehindTheB pic.twitter.com/xCqj0pAWRv

— x – Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 22, 2024

It was an anticipated head-to-head matchup between Eastern Conference division leaders and the B’s were hoping to avoid the three-game season sweep at the hands of the Rangers. On top of that, the Rangers were missing two of their best defenders in Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren.

But the Rangers rose to the occasion and the B’s did not. After a decent first period by the B’s, the Rangers took over the game in the second period and were clearly the better team in their 5-2 victory.

The Blueshirts got a pair of excuse-me Artemi Panarin goals in the second period and then immediately answered the B’s tying goal early in the third with what turned out to be the game-winner from Adam Fox to complete the three-game season sweep.

That was not the way the Bruins wanted to head out in a six-game road trip.

Despite the missing Ranger defensemen, the B’s were not able to fight through the New York defensive layers to establish much in the way of prime scoring chances after the first period.

“They checked really well. I don’t think we checked well enough. I don’t think we competed hard enough on pucks,” said coach Jim Montgomery, his paucity of words a clear indication of his disappointment.

The B’s had 14 shots on net in the first period and just 12 in the last two periods combined.

“We knew it was a big game. They’ve had our number. We haven’t beaten these guys. I don’t think emotions were a question coming in,” said Jake DeBrusk. “I think it was just a matter of answering the push, which we didn’t do. There were some fluky plays, two empty-netters. But overall in the game, I thought they really controlled us below our own goal line and I thought they were controlling us on the offensive side as well. It was one of those things where it felt like we were defending a lot.”

The B’s best players were not that on Thursday. Brad Marchand (one goal in 14 games) was charged with four giveaways and, though the B’s were 0-for-3 on the power-play (the second unit did score seconds after a PP), their first unit is stuck in the mud right now.

“It’s not just tonight. Our second power play unit has scored maybe eight of our last 10 power-play goals. We’ll look at the film and we’ll get better,” said Montgomery.

Jeremy Swayman, meanwhile, lost his second game in three outings, allowing a dozen goals in that time. He was victimized on a couple of bad bounces and couldn’t come up with the save on Fox’s answer goal — admittedly a bar-down laser — that stood up for the GWG. Swayman was asked where he could grow his game.

“Everywhere, baby. Everywhere,” said a smiling Swayman, maintaining his usual positive outlook. “I think there’s a lot of opportunity for that and I’m excited to get better.”

The game held some promise for the B’s at the start. They were all over the Rangers on their first PP but did not score until Fox had just stepped out of the box. The B’s peppered Jonathan Quick, who made a pair of 10-bell saves from low in the slot on Trent Frederic. But after the second and more spectacular stop on Frederic, Quick was never able to regain his equilibrium while DeBrusk pounced on the loose puck in the slot and beat the Ranger netminder just inside the post at 8:04. It was DeBrusk’s 18th of the year.

That was the only goal of the period, but both teams had Grade A chances after that. First, Erik Gustafsson set up Vincent Trocheck for a redirect from the slot. Trocheck had a good chunk of the net behind Swayman, but he tipped it wide. Hampus Lindholm was also in the right place at the right time to keep Will Cuylle from scoring into an empty net.

Then the snake-bitten Marchand had a glittering chance from the slot but Quick somehow got his pad on it.

Neither team had much of an advantage early in a back-and forth-second period but the Blueshirts managed to tie it at 7:58 off a broken play. Braden Schneider tried to set up Panarin in the slot and it appeared that the B’s had broken it up. But Danton Heinen deflected the puck right back to Panarin, whose shot from the right circle leaked through Swayman, who was screened a bit by Pavel Zacha.

“It was a broken play and then it went through a couple of skates,” said Swayman. “It’s one that I can work on, seeing through traffic and, again, another opportunity that I can work to make a save and we can move on and finish off the period.”

From there, the Rangers controlled the play at both ends of the ice, giving up very little by way scoring chances — including on a late Bruin power play — and then took the lead with 35 seconds left in the period on a gift. Alex Wennberg forced a Lindholm turnover behind the net and it went to Panarin. The sharpshooter tried to send it right back to Wennberg on the other side of the net but DeBrusk dove to break it up. Unfortunately, the puck went off DeBrusk and dribbled through Swayman’s pads.

The B’s nearly went down by a deuce but Panarin hit the crossbar before the horn mercifully sounded with the deficit a manageable single goal.

And the B’s evened it at 3:17. Jesper Boqvist took the puck out from behind the net and handed it off to Marchand, whose shot broke through Quick and sat in the crease. In a pileup at the net, Justin Brazeau knocked it home for his third goal in two games.

The good vibes lasted all of 40 seconds. That’s when Fox was allowed to take the puck down into the right circle and roof it over Swayman’s shoulder. Mika Zibanejad salted it away with an empty-netter with 2:03 left and then Panarin got the vulture hat trick with another empty netter.

The final score may not have been quite indicative of the game overall. But then again, no one could argue that right team didn’t win it.

When this NHL season started, Danton Heinen was still a man without a contract. He’d been impressive enough in training camp while working on a tryout agreement to have made the roster, but the tight-against-the-cap Bruins still had to wait a little bit before they could actually sign him on Oct. 30 — two weeks into the season — on a one-year deal for $775,000.

Now? He’s seeing top line duty with David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha. He’s got 13-15-28 totals, has points in six of his last eight games, he’s plus-8 and takes a regular shift on the penalty kill.

Not bad for the league minimum.

“You never know with this game, right?” said Heinen on Thursday. “There’s ups, there’s downs. I’m just happy to be a part of it and want to build off of it.”

With the salary cap staying basically flat last summer, it was a tough economic landscape for a lot of players looking for work. The B’s were obviously hit hard by it, having to move two pricey players in Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno, but they also benefited from it, too. They not only brought Heinen in on a tryout but there are also two players now in the lineup, Morgan Geekie and Jesper Boqvist, who were not qualified by their respective teams last summer.

With the cap is expected to rise more generously than it did last summer, one would think Heinen has re-established some marketability. But he’s not satisfied with what he’s accomplished.

“For me, I think I still have more in me,” he said. “I think I can create more and impact the game more. But, yeah, you definitely want to be here and you want to be a guy that’s reliable and a good pro day in and day out. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

How long he stays on this line remains to be seen. Coach Jim Montgomery is not shy about changing his lines and, as Boston’s best Swiss Army knife, Heinen has played on all four lines at one point or another.

But as Montgomery looks to zero in on his lineup with the playoffs a month away, Heinen has a chance to solidify his sweet spot up in the lineup.

“I feel like it’s going pretty well,” said Heinen. “I’m just trying to build every game and get more comfortable with them and I just listen to hem and see what they want. Pasta had three last game, so that’s a good thing seeing him put the puck in the net. I’m just trying to put the puck in the net anyway I can.”

On his first tour of duty with the B’s, Heinen had played a little with Pastrnak, but he’s seen a lot of growth in the superstar in his return.

“You see as a guy how much he’s grown as a leader in the room,” said Heinen. “But I think on the ice, too, he’s grown into himself. He was a kid when he came into the league. People don’t realize how hard he plays and how many battles he wins to create that offense and how hard he is on pucks. I think that gets looked over sometimes.”

Heinen, too, has shown some growth in his game since was traded to Anaheim at the 2020 deadline, eventually ending up with the Penguins for two years. He’s upped his tenacity in puck battles and shown a good hockey IQ since coming back to Boston.

“I would say he’s the same player but he just has more experience,” said Pastrnak. “He’s been on some great teams and met some world class players so you gain experience and learn from those guys. Experience plays a big part of it once you get a little older and understand the game a little differently … he’s a big part of our team.”

What next season holds for Heinen remains to be seen. He said he loves playing here and the vibe in the B’s dressing room, but so far there’s nothing imminent on an extension. How he performs in the playoffs could play a big part in whether he returns or not.

But his journey has taught him not to look too far in advance.

“I kind of block out that stuff,” said Heinen. “Just play and have fun.”

So far, that approach has worked well for him.

Paying the price

One thing that impressed Montgomery about Justin Brazeau was that, even though he was without an NHL contract last summer, he stuck around the area to work out in Boston. That said a lot to Montgomery.

“You trust your players are going to be working out and doing everything they can, but when you see and witness the transformation in someone’s body like we did with him and the dedication it takes and the financial commitment it took from him, it’s very noticeable,” said Montgomery. “It’s like if you work in an office and you get paid for 40 hours and you clock in and clock out at 40 hours and expect to get a promotion, it’s not the way it works. You’ve got to put in the hours to earn and grow as a person.”

Brazeau had kept his place in Providence and commuted back and forth to Boston for workouts.

“It’s obviously nice to be recognized (for that). I was here for two and half, three months to start the year and two years ago as well, so it’s it’s nice to see your hard work pays off,” said Brazeau.

Loose pucks

James van Riemsdyk was designated as a scratch for the second straight game but, though he’s been skating, Montgomery said he wasn’t completely healthy.

“He’s just nursing some things,” said Montgomery. “To be honest, with his 1,000th game (last Saturday), it probably didn’t do him any service playing that night.”

Van Riemsdyk had missed the previous game with an illness that caused him to lose 12 pounds. … Pat Maroon, recovering from back surgery performed on Feb. 7, returned to the ice for the first time on Thursday morning before the morning skate at the Garden.

“The Big Rig’s on his way back,” said Montgomery, who still termed him as week-to-week.

The B‘s signed Providence goalie Michael DiPietro to a one-year, two-way contract worth an NHL salary of $775,000. The 24-year-old DiPetro, originally a 2017 third round pick of the Vancouver Canucks who came back to the B’s in the Jack Studnicka trade, has posted a 17-8-4 record for the Providence Bruins this season with a .917 save percentage and a 2.52 goals against average. He has posted four shutouts.

DiPetro has split time with Brandon Bussi (19-9-2, 2.63, 913), on whom the B’s are high. Bussi, scheduled to a restricted free agent, also needs to be signed.

The Providence Bruins also signed undrafted college free agent goalie Ryan Bischel out of Notre Dame earlier to an AHL contract earlier this week. Bischel, 24, was the Big Ten Goalie of the Year in 2023 with a .931 save percentage.

The B’s also have till June 1 to sign goalie Reid Dyck before his rights expire. Dyck, whom the B’s drafted in the sixth round in 2022, has been a standout for the Swift Current Broncos this year, posting 24-7-2 record with a .911 save percentage.

With essentially two No. 1 goalies at the NHL level in Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, the B’s had reportedly looked into trading Ullmark at the trade deadline with Ullmark nixing a deal with his no-trade clause. The B’s could very well revisit that idea in the offseason.

Right now, however, Ullmark is playing the best hockey of his season, posting a 3-0 record and a .956 save percentage since the trade deadline. If that play continues, he could very well earn the Game 1 start in the playoffs. Jeremy Swayman is expected to get the start in the B’s showdown with the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Ranger on Thursday.

But while this team has flaws that are plain to see, the B’s are finding new and interesting ways to rack up points.

The B’s did receive a hat trick from old reliable David Pastrnak (Nos. 42, 43 and 44) in their 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators but they also got other contributions from unexpected sources.

Big Justin Brazeau, who was on an AHL contract for most of the year and dismissed as being too slow for the NHL, scored a pair of power-play goals (Nos. 2, 3). Kevin Shattenkirk, a healthy scratch in the previous two games, jumped back into the lineup on his off side and notched three assists, throwing his hat in the ring to be in the lineup when the playoffs begin.

And now Linus Ullmark is making a push to be the starter for Game 1. On Tuesday night, he stopped 30-of-32 shots (including 21 in the second period, though there was one he would have wanted back) and he is now 3-0 with a .956 save percentage since the trade deadline.

This team is no juggernaut, just one with a chance. And though the B’s notched their third straight win for the first time they won five in a row from Jan. 13-22, there’s a belief that, with12 games left in the regular season, they haven’t come close to hitting their ceiling.

“That’s definitely not what we talk about in the room,” said Pastrnak of the potential of winning the Presidents’ Trophy. “We don’t care where we finish. We want to feel good about our game and wherever it takes us. We don’t look too far right now. Our game is not where we want it to be, so we’re taking it game by game so we are ready when it counts.”

The game started rather sleepily for the B’s and everyone else in attendance with two short delays for rink repairs by the bull gang. But Pastrnak woke everyone up with a pair of goals in less than three minutes midway through the period.

The first one came at 8:27 when, parked in the slot, Pastrnak deflected Matt Grzelcyk’s slap pass past Joonas Korpisalo.

Then he turned defense into offense for his second goal. Wheeling in the B’s zone, Tim Stutzle attempted an ill-advised pass that Pastrnak picked off and pushed ahead for a breakaway. With a pair of Sens on pursuit, Pastrnak took it in tight and just got the puck to roll over Korpisalo’s blocker for the 2-0 lead at 11:23.

“It’s great having a game-breaker on your team,” said Shattenkirk, noting the team’s slow start.

The B’s controlled play after that for the rest of the period but could not extend the lead.

And they didn’t make it easy on themselves early in the second when John Beecher was called for slashing and, after spending nearly the entire penalty kill in their own zone, Charlie Coyle was called for a dubious tripping penalty, giving Ottawa a 37-second 5-on-3. Ullmark, who made a couple of good saves early in the game as the B’s got their footing, had to be spectacular to keep the Sens off the board.

But when Andrew Peeke was called for interfering with Mark Kastelic on an Ottawa rush, the Sens finally got on the board at 13:08. On the Sens’ 21st shot of the game, Shane Pinto’s Grade A shot from the slot broke through Ullmark to make it 2-1.

When the B’s finally got their first power play at 17:15 after Jakob Chychrun interfered with Trent Frederic, who’d been getting under the Sens’ collective skin for a few shifts, they cashed in. After the first unit turned it over to the second unit, the B’s scored on a simple play. Coach Jim Montgomery had been looking more of a shot mentality and he got. Shattenkirk got a shot on net that Korpisalo could not handle and big Brazeau was there to deftly control the rebound and score on the rebound at 18:51.

“In training camp, I remember saying to people, ‘He’s a poor man’s Dave Andreychuk,’ because he seems to get to every puck below the goal line. He makes subtle little smart plays. And he has a nice touch,” said Montgomery. “I’m glad he got rewarded because he’s been playing a lot better than what his stats have shown on paper, but we’re really happy with how he’s playing in all three zones and how well he supports his teammates.”

But the B’s could not bring the two-goal lead into the second break. Ullmark spit out a rebound of a Chychrun shot and Brady Tkachuk pushed his way to the top of the crease to shove the puck home with just three seconds left on the clock.

It was a painful goal to allow, but the B’s – outshot 23-11 in the second – probably deserved to be in a tight game at that point.

In this one, they put the hammer down. Pastrnak completed his 17th career hat trick at 4:43. Playing down low, Shattenkirk attacked the net and tried to get a pass through the Pavel Zacha but Korpisalo denied it with his stick, knocking it into the slot. Pastrnak homed in on it and beat Korpisalo with a backhander.

“(Shattenkirk) made two incredibly clever plays and he looked really good on his offside, defending and breaking pucks out, which is not easy,’ said Montgomery.

Twenty-five seconds later, Jesper Boqvist took a Beecher pass in the neutral zone, cut from right to left in the offensive zone and beat Korpisalo on a nice move to his forehand.

After nearly blowing a three-goal lead to Philadelphia on Saturday, the B’s were able to salt this one away with little drama, allowing just four shots to make it to Ullmark. Brazeau added his second power-play goal of the game with 1:54 left to finish it off.

But the B’s are not exactly clicking in every area of their game, and one place they can improve upon is on the power play. It hasn’t been horrible, mind you. They’re ranked ninth in the NHL and the first PP unit scored in Boston’s 6-5 win over Philadelphia last Saturday. They’re 5-for-21 in their last seven games.

Yet it hasn’t been quite the weapon it could be. Coach Jim Montgomery would like to see, among other things, more pucks at the net – or at least that mentality.

“Lately I’ve liked the effort. I think we’ve come up with a lot of loose pucks. I would still like us to find bumper on retrievals more often and I would like to see more convergence and shot-first attitude from everyone,” said Montgomery, whose team got two second unit power play goals in its 6-2 win over Ottawa. “I’m not saying they have to shoot but they should look. It looks like right now, (Brad Marchand) gets the puck, he’s looking to pass. He moves it up to Charlie (McAvoy) and Charlie’s looking for his next pass instead of ‘can we score?’ I want a little more of ‘can we score?’ attitude.”

The latest look the B’s have shown on the first unit is to have both centers Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle in the bumper and at the net front, giving them two centers who can take faceoffs on their strong sides. In the win over Philly, it worked well on the goal, with Zacha winning the draw on the left side over to Marchand, who in turn sent it pack to the left side for Coyle and a tap-in.

But the goals from the elbows have been harder to come by. Going into Tuesday, Marchand had not scored on the power play in 27 games (he’s had some mishits on one-timers and he’s also been robbed a few times during that stretch). As for Pastrnak, he’s drawing the attention a guy who scored 61 goals last year would get, and there’s also the fact that the PP is also configured differently with the left shot Zacha in the bumper.

Pastrnak believes they can and will be better. Montgomery is looking for more of shot-first mindset

“On the power play, I’m pretty hard so there’s not much good lately except the goal last game. But we keep each other to high standards, especially when we go over the boards. We want to at least create momentum for the team or score a goal,” said Pastrnak, who leads the B’s with 12 PP goals.

“Usually we turn it around always after tough stretches. I think we know the recipe. We have to be more patient. We’re looking for the A look right away instead of possessing it and recover the puck and that’s when the holes open up. We know the recipe we just need a couple of goals to get going and it’s going to turn around soon.”

Teams have long been trying to take away Pastrnak’s one-timer. Last season he started to incorporate taking a step or two to the inside to avoid the shot-blocker and slip home a wrist shot.

“Definitely, I haven’t been getting as many one-timers as usual but that’s also because we have Pav who’s a lefty on the bumper so it’s playing more on that side so I’m a little lower than usual because of the bumper,” said Pastrnak. “It’s a couple different looks. We’ve been practicing it and looked much better (in Monday’s practice). Hopefully we can translate it to the game and bury a couple of goals and get the PP going.”

It’s all right

As expected, the third pair for Tuesday’s game against the Senators consisted of two right-shot D-men, Kevin Shattenkirk and Andrew Peeke. Shattenkirk had skated on the left side in Monday’s practice and Montgomery said part of the idea was to see how certain players performed on their right side.

But if this seemed at all like an experiment, Montgomery said that he was doing more than just tinkering or just keeping guys fresh.

“Experimenting is experimenting to try and find the people that are going to deserve to start Game 1 in the playoffs. It’s not so much to see this guy with that guy. It’s we’re trying to find the lineup that’s going to give us the best success. The experimenting is trying to find that lineup,” said Montgomery. “And again, I can’t say it enough. If you play well, you’re staying in the lineup. It’s the same way we operate in the playoffs. We’re trying to get that mentality now that there’s more urgency when you get that opportunity to get in the lineup or there’s more urgency to stay in the lineup.”

Shattenkirk was expected to man the second PP unit instead of Hampus Lindholm.

“I told Lindy about a week ago and I told him again (Monday) that I know he can run the power play but his focus right now that I want is for him to be the shutdown guy and first PK guy out with (Brandon Carlo). It’s just owning and relishing your role. I know he can do the power play. He’s proven it since he’s been here,” said Montgomery.

Drawn out

John Beecher has taken over the faceoff duty for the fourth line even though Jesper Boqvist, who’d been struggling on the draws, remains the center because of ability of skating with the puck in the middle of the ice. Boqvist said the switch-off doesn’t adversely affect him, but he would like to be that guy who can be relied upon.

“I want be that guy, too, who can take the draws. It’s something I have to work on and I do. Hopefully I can be there one day,” said Boqvist….

Upon notching his 17th career hat trick, Pastrnak received a pretty unique “hat” among all the ball caps that rained down. It was a a kind of furry cape with a bear’s head at the top.

“I thought it was a fur coat in the beginning,” said Montgomery.

Needless to say, Pastrnak had his keeper among the chapeaus.

“Yeah, it was cozy,” said Pastrnak with a smile. “I really wonder how they got it down. It’s a credit to whoever threw it there. They came after the game to the bench so I gave them a stick as a thank you for the bear.”….

The B’s had enjoyed a rare night in which all four of their primary faceoff men finished in the black. Charlie Coyle was dominant, winning 13 of 16, Pavel Zacha captured 6 of 11, John Beecher won 11 of 15 and Morgan Geekie won 6 of 8…

Geekie and Jake DeBrusk each had five hits to lead the B’s.

In Monday’s practice, Charlie McAvoy took his usual spot with Matt Grzelcyk while Hampus Lindholm was paired with Brandon Carlo in the usual second unit.

But with four players to fill two spots, the B’s coaching staff went with two lefties (Mason Lohrei and Parker Wotherspoon) for one pairing and two right-handed D-men (Kevin Shattenkirk and Andrew Peeke) for the other.

“You’re trying to see if guys are comfortable playing the offside, especially when we knew today was going to be a good practice where we would be defending the rush a lot,” said coach Jim Montgomery after Monday’s practice in Brighton. “Tthere were three drills defending the rush, so we see guys playing on the offside. And we tell them to switch, so they get comfortable playing with each other like that. And then a little bit is just seeing what we have.”

Shattenkirk, a scratch the last two games, played on the left side in practice with Peeke, something he’s done sparingly during his lengthy career. While there was no confirmation that he will play on Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators, he was on the second power-play unit, which is usually a pretty good clue.

A veteran of 15 NHL seasons and a pro’s pro, Shattenkirk expected to be in a battle for playing time.

“That’s part of being on a good team,” said Shattenkirk. “There’s going to be competition for third line, fourth line, third pair roles. I think I expected them to be feeling things out and trying to see what the lineup’s going to look like in the playoffs. You can’t really dwell on it too much. I’m happy with where my game has been in the last six or seven games. I think it’s more of just making sure you’re staying in that groove and not lose confidence in what you’re doing. I think it helps, too, when you have good communication from the coach, which I have. It’s not like I’m being completely left in the dark about (being out of the lineup).”

For a right-handed shot, playing on the left side presents some challenges, though it could also benefit an offensive-minded player like Shattenkirk.

“For sure, it’s different. You just have to maybe think about your play a little bit more,” he said. “I think the hardest part is when you’re getting D-to-D passes, whether it’s in the D-zone or the neutral zone, it’s hard to get your head around and find that strong side option a lot. So that’s just something I try to remind myself of. But it frees you up in different ways on the offensive blue line, when you get D-to-D passes having the ability to take a one-timer or get to the middle quicker off the wall. There are definitely pros and cons.”

If Shattenkirk and Peeke are tapped to play, it would be the first time they’ve played together.

“I think he’s as advertised,” said Shattenkirk of Peeke. “He’s a big defenseman, plays physical. Last game, that assist he had was what we preach on the blue line, getting involved as defensemen. As I know, it’s a different system to get used to. I’m not sure what they were doing in Columbus but I think we’ll all try to help him out and make it as seamless as possible for him to get in and get adjustment.”

Whether Lohrei is deemed to be ready for playoff action remains to be seen. He saw first-pair duty in Montreal last Thursday when Grzelcyk was sick, then was scratched. The rookie’s got some of the best stick skills among the eight defensemen, but he has also had challenges in the defensive zone from time to time. And once the playoffs start, every mistake is magnified. At this time of year, development takes a backseat to winning.

“To me, this time of year there are no more rookies. You’re a first-year player now,” said Montgomery. “Our approach with him is he may see more video for his development, he may see more on-ice instruction from our skills coach and assistant coach John McLean. But as far as my approach with the players? Everything’s the same. You earn what you get. If you play well, you’re going to keep playing. If you have a hiccup in a game, you’re going to watch for a bit and then you go and apply it the next time you get in. It’s not about development right now.”

At some point, the coaching staff will zero in on a top six. But things can change quickly in the playoffs and history shows that eight defenseman can be the bare minimum needed to get through a long playoff run.

“Obviously, when we get closer to playoffs or in playoffs and when things are working and the team’s winning, I know that you’re not going to expect to get back in at that point,” said Shattenkirk. “But you have to stay ready if you’re out of the lineup. And if you’re in the lineup, you do your job and play your role. Again, if you look at the group that we have, there could be, based on our matchups, different guys playing against different teams. That’s on us and making sure we’re staying ready and staying focused as well, so that when we come in, we’re able to get right back up to game speed.”…

Montgomery had no update on Pat Maroon, who underwent back surgery on Feb. 7, other than to reiterate he remains week-to-week and he will not be available this week….

The Providence Bruins signed Notre Dame goalie Ryan Bischel, the 2023 Big Ten Goaltender of the Year for 2023, to a one-year AHL contract for the 2024-25 season. In 105 NCAA games, Bischel posted a 2.46 goals against average and a .924 save percentage.

On a night when the B’s nearly lost a three-goal third period lead – but didn’t – the Toronto Maple Leafs blew a three-goal advantage and lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in a shootout. Over the last couple weeks we’ve seen teams believed to be contenders like the Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes blow three-goal leads and lose.

That’s not to say that what almost happened at the Garden – again, almost – is acceptable and the B’s should not keep trying to fix a problem that has dogged them off and on all season. But in the near-calamity of the B’s 6-5 win over a desperate Flyers team, there was a glimmer of hope and something that the B’s might be able to build off.

The last 1:30 of the game, with all the momentum on Philly’s side and their goalie pulled for an extra attacker, the B’s were able to kill it off with some pretty good team defense and relied on the five skaters more than Jeremy Swayman to close it out.

The B’s won three faceoffs down that stretch and were able to keep pucks off the goalie for the most part. Sealing it with an empty-netter would have been nice, but it’s a start.

“I did like the last 90 seconds,” said coach Jim Montgomery on Sunday. “I thought we didn’t give up anything. We got pucks out. We didn’t allow them to come at us with speed like we did on their fourth goal when we didn’t cover speed in the neutral zone. We’d rather the defensemen handle the puck and we get over the top of speed because those are the guys that are dangerous, the guys away from the puck when the defenseman has it at his own blue line.”

Montgomery also values the experience of simply going through these tight late-game situations now, whether they survive them or gain a hard lesson.

“Last year, nothing happened. Then it happened in the playoffs and we didn’t handle it well. This hopefully prepares you for those moments,” said Montgomery.

Another positive to come out of Saturday’s win is that it appears that they just may have another player they can rely upon in close-out and defensive situations. Andrew Peeke played 19:31, 2:54 of which was on the penalty kill, and he recorded game highs in blocks (4) and hits (5). He was also on the ice when the final horn sounded.

“He had a great shot block at the end of the first on the power play on a one-timer, so he’s got plenty of courage,” said Montgomery. “His gaps are really good. He’s right in people’s faces. He’s not afraid of confrontational areas, and that’s at the net front, in corners, at the blue line. And then I thought he’s really supporting the play pretty well for someone who’s new to our team. Besides the goal (he assisted on), he’s out there for the 4-on-4 situation (that eventually led to Charlie Coyle’s second goal of the game) and he showed a lot of poise.”

Obtained at the deadline from Columbus, the 26-year-old Peeke has two more years left on is contract with a cap hit of $2.75 million, so the B’s view him as something more than just another body to help down the stretch.

But while the club acquired the right-handed defenseman with an eye toward the future, he’s shown in just a two games that he could be a help for the here and now.

How he was relied upon on Saturday was a boost to Peeke’s mindset.

“It’s great being in a critical situations,” said Peeke. “Obviously it builds your confidence being trusted in a situation like that. It’s part of who I am as a player, helping out in those situations, so it’s awesome.”

While the Blue Jackets had played a defensive system similar to the Bruins’, Peeke said there are still things to learn.

“There’s something new every day,” said Peeke. “Practice, you can only do so much when it comes to game situations. Once you get those game reps in, there’s something that comes up, whether it’s each shift or every other shift… I feel like each shift I’ve been progressing better and understanding the system better.”

And preparing for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in his five-year pro career can do a lot for a player’s outlook.

“What I’ve noticed is he’s got a smile on his face and he seems to be soaking in a lot,” said Montgomery. “So I think the opportunity to play in the playoffs, the opportunity to be on a team that’s one of the top teams in the league is something that’s really exciting for him.” …

Loose pucks

The third pairing of Parker Wotherspoon and Peeke has played well, which begs a question. If rookie Mason Lohrei is squeezed out of playing time at the NHL level, could he be returned to Providence in order to get him playing time?

“I’ve got to be honest, I haven’t had that direct conversation with (GM Don Sweeney), but I think he’s here for the rest of the year. Because it gives us a lot of latitude with what we can throw out there on the D corps. But I haven’t had that conversation,” said Montgomery. …

As for the goalie deployment, Montgomery wouldn’t commit to anything down the stretch but reiterated he’s comfortable with the rotation.

Meanwhile, competition for Game 1 starter is heating up all of a sudden. Swayman, who at least appeared have the inside track with is play all season, has allowed nine goals in his last two starts after back-to-back one-goal performances against Toronto.

Montgomery isn’t overly worried about the goalie he calls “Bulldog.”

“It’s not a concern, but we need (Swayman) to get back to the form that he was at,” Montgomery. “Some of that is our team defense and some of it is the schedule and the way it happens. But he’s probably six to seven starts away from starting the playoffs, him and Linus, hopefully to get sharp for it.”

The B’s broke open a taut, playoff-like game with three goals in 2:56 early in the third period to take a 5-2 lead over a desperate Philadelphia Flyers who went into the night with a thin three-point cushion for a playoff spot. But the B’s let the Flyers back in the game and had to white-knuckle home a 6-5 victory at the Garden.

Coach Jim Montgomery lauded the Flyers for how hard they played and their never-say-die approach, as well as his own team’s early explosion in the third.

But…

“We’ve got to learn that we’ve got to close out games,” said Montgomery. “You can’t just think it’s over. Other teams are desperate and it’s like a playoff game. There are going to be those momentum and emotional swings. We’ve got to be a little bit better and little more mature as a team to be able to close out those games, a little bit easier, especially when you’re up 5-2.”

And yet, despite this team’s plain-to-see blemishes, they find themselves in a spot few would have expected at the start of the season. With Florida’s second consecutive regulation loss, the B’s are not just at the top of the Atlantic Division standings, but they lead the entire NHL for the moment. After what happened to last season’s juggernaut,  the B’s know that it doesn’t mean much at this point. But there are a lot of teams who would change places with them.

“I think it’s a testament to what these guys have done here throughout the year,” said Jake DeBrusk, who stayed hot with a goal (17) and an assist. “Obviously there’s a lot of naysayers and people that didn’t think we’d make the playoffs and all that stuff. I feel like we’ve heard that two years in a row, so we knew we’d be all right. There’s a lot of trial and error. It’s not as pretty or as clean. But it’s a testament to what we can be as a team. Obviously, in the post-season everyone starts at zeroes and it’s a different game. But you always want advantages when you can get them. That’s what the regular season’s for.”

The game was a wild one.

With their coach John Tortorella back from a two-game suspension, the Flyers came ready to play. They contested every puck and held the B’s off the shot clock for the first 12:26. They also took the first lead of the game at 4:18. Along the right boards in the offensive zone, David Pastrnak, who’d just missed the net on a good chance from the slot, could not gather a loose puck. Charlie McAvoy pinched down and couldn’t get it either. That allowed Garnet Hathaway to break out on a 2-on-1 that developed into a 3-on-1. Hathaway made the cross-ice pass to Ryan Poehling, who blasted a one-timer past Jeremy Swayman.

The Bruins knew they were in a game and responded in kind, pushing back and starting to get some offensive zone time.

Later in the period, the B’s tied it up just seconds after they nearly went down 2-0. Travis Konecny got behind Parker Wotherspoon for a quick breakaway but Swayman stoned him with good pad stop. Wotherspoon quickly retrieved the puck and got it up to Jake DeBrusk. Cutting left to right, DeBrusk gained the zone with speed and fed Morgan Geekie, who was near the end of his shift. Geekie stepped into the right circle and unleashed a slap shot to the far top corner, his 16th of the year at 15:51.

They Flyers regained the lead on a second period power play. McAvoy delivered what looked like a good check through the body on Travis Konecny, but it rode up to catch the Flyer in the head after initial contact and he was called for an illegal check to the head. Just before the penalty expired, Joel Farabee tipped home a Cam York shot at 12:01 to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead.

But the B’s evened it up at 15:32 when they got their first power play of the game. Pavel Zacha won a faceoff and got it over to Brad Marchand. The captain could not handle the pass, but he stuck with it and sent a backhand pass through the slot for Charlie Coyle, who had a wide open net for his 22nd of the year, a new career high for the centerman.

The game was getting testy and, after a dustup after the horn to end the second period, matching minors were handed out and the third started with a 4-on-4. And it was with that extra ice that the B’s took their first lead of the game at 1:08 of the third. The B’s had controlled the play on the 4-on-4 and, after Pastrnak handed it off to an oncoming Coyle, who roofed it past Sandstroom.

That was just the start. Andrew Peeke picked up his first point as a Bruin, moving down on the right side and feeding John Beecher in front. Beecher first hit the post and then followed up his own rebound for his sixth.

Then just 19 seconds later, DeBrusk took a pass from Brad Marchand and made a pretty move to avoid the prone Sandstrom and tuck it inside the near post at 4:04.

With that, Tortorella called his timeout to stop the bleeding, which it did. Then they got two quick ones 1:08 apart late in the period.

The Flyers got one back with 5:48 left in the third when Sean Couturier caught Swayman leaning the wrong way and fed Nick Deslauriers from behind the net for a tap-in at the side of the net.

Then Morgan Frost got the Flyers back to within one with a beautiful between the legs finish at the top of the crease.

But with 2:59 left, Danton Heinen took off on a an odd-man rush off a defensive zone block and sniped a goal from the left wing.

It still wasn’t over. With 2:04 left in the third, Farabee scored on a wraparound with Sandstrom pulled.

That, however, was the merciful end to the Flyers’ comeback bid as the B’s somehow survived the onslaught for the win.

Jake DeBrusk scored 25 seconds into overtime to the lift the Bruins to a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Thursday, improving the B’s 3-on-3 record to 6-12.

After the B’s lost the opening OT faceoff, DeBrusk forced Mike Matheson wide on the rush. Hampus Lindholm then beat Matheson in a puck battle deep in the Bruin zone and sent Brad Marchand off on a 2-on-1 with DeBrusk. The captain fed DeBrusk, who did a great job of controlling saucer pass and then cut in from the left wing to beat Sam Montembeault on a backhander.

At this time of year, all’s well that ends well.

“We weren’t a Picasso by any means, but we did find a way to win,” coach Jim Montgomery told NESN.

A week ago, DeBrusk wasn’t sure if he’d still be a Bruin after the trade deadline but he finished off a strong night (four shots on net, a hit and a block) with his 16th goal of the season.

“I think everyone in this room will agree that it’s a sense of relief when you know where you’re going to be and then you see (new) guys come in and they’re super excited. It’s just that time of year again,” said DeBrusk. “Tonight was not necessarily our best game as a team but we found a way.”

If the B’s had let this one get away, it would have been a very tough loss indeed.

With the Bruins killing off a penalty at 12:06 of the third period and the score tied 1-1, Charlie McAvoy jumped high to bat out an aerial puck when he was clipped by Nick Suzuki’s stick. After a review, Suzuki was tagged with a double minor, giving the B’s 2:58 of power play once the 4-on-4 was over.

The B’s got nothing out of the lengthy man advantage, then had to survive a hairy final shift in regulation before it went to overtime, where they took care of business for a change.

At first, it looked like the B’s were ready blow out the Habs like they did in their last meeting at the Garden when they crushed their ancient rivals, 9-4. They started strong, had a handful of shifts on which they blitzed the Habs’ zone and took the first lead of the game. But Montreal was able to push back on occasion and, because of that, it was a 1-1 game after the opening 20 minutes.

The B’s got on the board at 4:49 after a great shift in which they repeatedly kept the puck in the zone. Eventually, David Pastrnak fired a shot that Montembeault stopped but the rebound was kicked out in front. Danton Heinen, who had notched a hat trick the last time the B’s met Montreal, missed on his first swipe but as the puck was sliding away from him, Heinen was able to reach behind and sling it into the open net as he was falling down. It was his 12th of the season.

The B’s had several great chances to extend the lead, especially on a particularly dominant power play on which DeBrusk hit the post on a backhander.

But the Habs didn’t lay down. They pieced together a few good shifts and, on one of them, they evened the game at 14:37.

Brandon Carlo won a puck battle with Cole Caufield. He sent a soft pass into the middle of the ice intended for Lindholm but it was picked off by Suzuki. His shot was deflected but the puck went right to Juraj Slafkovsky, who passed it right back to Suzuki for the equalizer on which Linus Ullmark (18 saves) had no chance.

It was a fun first period, but the chances dried up for both sides the rest of the way. The B’s had little by way of scoring opportunities in a scoreless second period after they got an early power play. The one even-strength chance was a glittering one, though. Pastrnak took off on a breakaway and appeared to have Montembeault beaten but he hit the outside of the post. He then collected the loose puck and tried to bank it off of Montembeault but that failed as well.

Shortly after the Pastrnak misses, Heinen was called for a hooking penalty, the first of two in the final five minutes of the period. The B’s killed the first and had 45 seconds to kill to start the third.

They killed that off and, after missing their chance to win it in regulation, Marchand and DeBrusk secured the second point in OT. On the 2-on-1, DeBrusk was hoping Marchand would give him the puck.

“I just felt like I had enough speed that I could beat (Montembeault) to the other side. It was a very nice pass by him,” said DeBrusk. “I was screaming at (Marchand) up the ice that he had two so I think I knew it was coming my way.”

And DeBrusk made it count.

John Beecher played his first game for Boston since Jan. 13 and he made the most of it, excelling in an area in which the team needs help — faceoffs. Though he lost the draw to start overtime, which is often a critical faceoff, he won 8-of-11 on the night.

“The coaching staff does a great job for us. Before every game, we have the I-Pad that shows all the guys that take faceoffs and some of their tendencies and it give you a little bit of an edge going in,” said Beecher. “I was very happy with the performance. Would have liked to rake the one back in overtime a little bit more but it is what it is, you can’t win them all. It was a pretty good game overall in the dot.”

Defenseman Andrew Peeke made his Bruin debut and emerged unscathed with two blocked shots and a hit in 17:01 of ice time.

“I thought his gaps were good. I thought he was aggressive, I thought he was physical, he separated people. He did a good job on the 4-on-4 when we put him out. He played aggressive, which is what you’re looking for, and he was using his feet,” said Montgomery.

Coach Jim Montgomery confirmed Andrew Peeke, acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets at last week’s trade deadline, will be in the lineup for the first time as the B’s try to get on the winning track against the Habs.

“I’ve watched those (B’s-Habs games) for a long time now. No matter who’s playing at the Bell Centre, it’s a special place. But playing for the Bruins against them is going to juice it up a little bit more,” said Peeke after Wednesday’s practice before the B’s jetted north.

There will be a couple of different defense pairings on display in Montreal. Matt Grzelcyk will not travel to Montreal due to illness, so Mason Lohrei was skating on a top pairing with Charlie McAvoy while Peeke skated with Parker Wotherspoon on a third pair. Kevin Shattenkirk appears to be headed for a scratch.

“We’re going to see a lot of different pairings coming here,” said Montgomery. “We’re trying to tinker and see what gives us the best option come playoff time.”

The coach is looking forward to see Peeke get his feet wet and what kind of look he can give the B’s.

“Obviously, he doesn’t know our complete structure. We showed him video but he’s got to go out and apply it,” said Montgomery. “The good thing is, having talked to him, is that there are a lot of similarities with the way they played in Columbus and the way we play, so hopefully we’ll just see him play on his toes, bring some physicality to our lineup and some mobility on the back end.”

After being a regular defenseman for the Jackets the previous two season, playing 82 and then 80 games, Peeke had fallen out of favor this year. He’s played just 23 games this year.

He played in three games leading up to the trade deadline, but was sat out for a month’s worth of games before that. With two more years left on his deal, he has an opportunity to jumpstart his career. Likewise, the B’s could certainly use a right-shot defenseman to step up considering that, after McAvoy and Brandon Carlo, they’re thin at that spot going forward.

“It was going a little long in Columbus this year. There’s a bunch of different ways to look at it. I’m excited to be coming here. Just being able to put the Bruins’ jersey on and coming to a new team, a playoff team and a winning culture, that’s exciting,” said Peeke.

Meanwhile, Peeke has been getting acclimated to Boston since he first arrived last Friday night.

“Everything comes at you pretty quick here,” said Peeke. “But I’ve always loved Boston. My mom lived here for a little bit, my family lived here and I’ve visited here many times as a kid playing hockey. It’s a little different than Columbus in terms of traffic and all the one-ways and little things like that driving, but I know I’ll get adjusted pretty quickly.”

Beecher recalled

James van Riemsdyk was suffering through an illness as well but Montgomery said he will travel with the team. Just in case he’s unavailable on Thursday, the B’s recalled John Beecher from Providence on an emergency basis.

Beecher played his last game for Boston on Jan. 13 before being sent to Providence. He had made the varsity roster out of camp and played 39 games with the B’s (5-2-7 totals) before being sent down to Providence.

The message from the coaching staff then?

“Just go down, work on some consistency and build my game,” said Beecher. “Everyone knows what I have to do to help the team win and help the team in a playoff push. I’m well aware of that as well. So it was just working on bringing that each and every night and gaining consistency and a little bit of confidence in my game moving forward. I feel like over the past two, three weeks especially, we’ve been playing a lot on the weekends and I feel like my consistency is definitely starting to come through and starting to string some games together. I’m happy about that.”

In Wednesday’s practice, he skated as the left wing on a fourth line with Jesper Boqvist and Jakub Lauko while Justin Brazeau bumped up to the third line.

Whether or not he gets in Thursday’s game, Beecher could certainly help the B’s in the faceoff department. Though he’d slipped in draws before being sent down, he still held a 53.9% win percentage. Beecher has also played some wing in Providence

“Just trying to add a little bit of versatility to my game,” said Beecher. “I’ve never minded playing wing. I’d take the faceoffs on my strong side and I had (Patrick Brown) up the middle with me, so we were able to have a bunch of success. It was fun. A little less responsibility in the D-zone so it was kind of nice to go out there and fly around a little bit. It was just something the coaching staff down there wanted me to work on just in case an opportunity presented itself up here.”

Montgomery received a promising report on Beecher.

“What we heard is that he kept getting better and better, he kept showing that he’s fighting for a spot to get back up here, which why he’s been the guy who was recalled in an emergency situation,” said Montgomery.

Maroon debut?

There is still no target date for Patrick Maroon’s Bruin debut. Though he said he had started skating while still in Minnesota and felt he wasn’t too far off from returning from Feb. 7 back surgery, he is not skating now and Montgomery termed him week-to-week. There are just over four weeks left in the regular season.

“If we’re not (having him skate), then it’s because (manager of player rehabilitation) Scotty Waugh and the professionals we have think the best thing is to gradually bring him back on to the ice,” said Montgomery.

“We have 91 points,” said Montgomery. “We have a good hockey team.”

True enough. The B’s have been among the elite teams in the standings all season, and that’s a credit to how GM Don Sweeney has filled in the roster with depth acquisitions after massive turnover and Montgomery’s utilization of those players at the right times.

But if some B’s fans have an uneasiness about this team heading into the playoffs, it’s understandable. There are certain details that have seen a drop-off from last year to this year. One of them was somewhat expected yet still the most glaring – faceoffs.

The B’s went from being second-ranked in the NHL in overall win percentage (54.5%) and defensive zone draws (55.6%) and first in offensive zone faceoffs (55.4%) to taking a precipitous drop this season. Overall, they rank 21st (49.1%).

While there have been some some high-profile defensive zone faceoff losses in squandered leads since the All-Star break, they are actually a little better in the D-zone than one might have expected, ranking 11th in the league (51.9%). But when it comes to keeping the puck in the offensive zone off draws, the B’s are one of the worst teams in the league. They’re ranked 28th at 46.2%.

Now, faceoff win percentage does not always correlate to winning games. The Pittsburgh Penguins are the top faceoff team in the league and they’re playing out the string.

But it’s better to have the puck than not. And it would be comforting to B’s fans if they had it a little more.

“Sometimes faceoffs are weird,” said Montgomery during an optional practice at the Garden on Tuesday. “It’s just the way you match up with certain people. Your stick just seems to cover more of the dot and you end up wining more faceoffs. It’s being able to find that consistency when you go up against someone that you don’t cover the dot well and how you adjust your game. Faceoffs are a game of chess. Are you going under the stick, over the stick, are you hitting the stick? There’s a lot of different ways to win faceoffs. That’s the art and you see as players age in the league, they usually get better.”

With the retirement of Patrice Bergeron, one of the league’s top faceoff men for years, it stood to reason that the B’s numbers would drop. David Krejci’s numbers weren’t as good as Bergeron’s, but it seemed that if there was a key draw, he managed to win it more often than not.

But the top six numbers have not been bad. With some tough late-game losses to Leon Draisaitl in an overtime loss to Edmonton are still fresh in the mind, Charlie Coyle has an overall win percentage of 51.8% and is better than 52% in both the offensive and defensive zones. Pavel Zacha is at 54.2% overall while he’s at 55.1% in the D-zone and 54.1% in the offensive zone.

However, one of the more underrated losses from last year’s team has been that of Tomas Nosek, who pulled them back at an even 60% overall last year and in the D-zone, where he was most utilized, he won 58.3%.

The B’s have had trouble winning draws while the bottom six have been on the ice. While both Morgan Geekie and Jesper Boqvist have been legitimate finds by Sweeney, they’ve had their struggles on the dot. Geekie is at 42.8% (37.2% in the O-zone, 47.3% in the D-zone) and Boqvist has really struggled (37.3% overall, 40.7% in D-zone, 38.5% in D-zone).

The concern has not escaped either player. Geekie has been over 50% his last two games, but his draws are a work in progress.

“I’ve been trying to mess with some stuff,” said Geekie. “Normally I’m better than I have been and I feel like I haven’t been getting bounces. But then again when that happens, you’re not very comfortable in there. I’ve been screwing around with a lot of stuff and just trying to find something that works and get my timing down a little better. I’ve found something the last few games. Obviously it’s nice to win a few draws, you start with the puck a little more. When we get O-zone draws and I win those, it’s a lot easier to make plays off those. It’s something I’m definitely working on and I just haven’t really found anything that works. So it’s nice to get something as of late.”

Boqvist has played his best hockey as a centerman, but draws have long been a bugaboo. He was under 40% the previous two seasons in New Jersey.

“That’s a part of my game that I can really improve. I’ve improved a little bit this year. I’ve got keep growing. A 50-50 puck can be a loss, so I’ve got to tell my wingers to help out, too, right?” he said with a smile. “But, no, most of it is on me so I have to keep working on and keep watching videos to see what I can do to improve. It’s something I really want to improve, for sure.”

When the playoffs start next month, the faceoff wins and losses become magnified.

Bavaro signed

The Bruins signed right-shot defenseman Drew Bavaro, a college free agent out of Notre Dame, to a one-year entry level deal. The 6-foot-3, 202-pound Bavaro recorded 10-10-20 totals in 35 games with the Fighting Irish in 2023-24.

Last season, he had 6-13-19 with ND. Bavaro, who spent his first two collegiate seasons at Bentley, adds to the organizational depth at the right-handed D-man, a coveted commodity. The deal that kicks in next year will carry an NHL cap hit of $867,500. He’ll report to Providence on an amateur tryout deal for the rest of this season.

The St. Louis Blues jumped out to a 4-0 lead through two periods and, despite some late huffing and puffing by the B’s, they cruised to a 5-1 win.

It not only snapped the B’s very modest two-game win streak but it also ended four consecutive games in which they allowed just one regulation goal. The Blues scored on a flukish goal then on a 5-on-3 to jump up 2-0 in the first period and the B’s were on the chase for the rest of the game.

“I didn’t like our start,” said coach Jim Montgomery. “I don’t think we had the intensity that’s required in this league to start games on time. The execution, they executed their 5-on-3, we didn’t execute on our power play that we got, especially in the first.”

It wasn’t that the B’s effort was missing all night – though it did arrive late – it was that they were all thumbs with the puck in the offensive zone and a couple of the goals scored against them were too easy.

The game had a very Monday feel to it to start, with less than sparkling playmaking from both teams. But when the B’s got a power play just 53 seconds into the game, it seemed like the Blues were there for the taking. But the PP applied zero pressure and an opportunity was lost.

And the Blues took the lead on a funky bounce at 10:13. From the left point, old friend Torey Krug sent the puck down along the boards but, instead of rimming around behind the net, it somehow bounced directly into the slot to Kaspari Kapanen. With Jeremy Swayman – and everyone else – expecting a different trajectory of the puck, the netminder couldn’t square up to the shooter and Kapanen made it 1–0.

The B’s pushed after that, forcing St. Louis netminder Joel Hofer to make a couple of quality saves before the B’s got themselves in penalty trouble.

They killed the first one off with ease and appeared to be well on their way to killing off the second one, a Charlie Coyle hook, when Trent Frederic high-sticked Brayden Schenn.

That gave the Blues a 58-second 5-on-3, but they would need only nine of them before Robert Thomas hummed a slapper past Swayman’s blocker for the 2-0 lead at 17:59.

The second period started much like the first. The B’s had a couple of one-and-done chances and, when the Blues countered with an opportunity of their own, they made it count. Mason Lohrei (minus-3) went down from his left point position but could not reach the puck and then David Pastrnak could not stop Matthew Kessel’s pass up along the boards in the neutral zone. That allowed Kapanen to slip in on a a 3-on-1. He took it deep and fed Kevin Hayes in the middle to make it 3-0 at 4:31.

At 11:11, the B’s thought they had some hard-earned luck of their own when the fourth line – the B’s best line – appeared to get the B’s on the board. Justin Brazeau came out from behind the net and his backhander ramped up off Hofer’s stick, went over the goalie’s head and dropped down behind him. But after a challenge from St. Louis coach Drew Bannister and a lengthy review, it was ruled that Brazeau was offside some 17 seconds – and a lot of work – prior to the goal. There was an argument that Krug had brought the puck back into the zone himself, but that is not how the officials saw it.

“I thought initially that maybe because their defenseman hit the puck back that it was a good goal. They explained that it was not a possession play, it was a battle play and our guy was in before the puck, clearly,” said Montgomery, whose team held a 35-22 shot advantage.

If there was a bright spot, it was the play of the fourth line.

“Braz’s line was great all night long and we didn’t have enough guys following suit,” said captain Brad Marchand.

If you had the sense that it wasn’t going to the be the Bruins’ night with the disallowed goal, that notion was hammered home at 15:25 when Hayes (plus-4) was allowed to cut through slot and was able to feed the puck back across the grain for Brandon Saad, who was parked at the right post for the 4-0 goal.

The B’s were booed off the ice to at the end of the second, but they finally did get on the board at 1:48 when Pastrnak’s long-distance slapper beat Hofer.

Though the B’s pressured immediately after the Pastrnak goal, that slowed and Montgomery decided to pull Swayman with 8:45 left in the third. But just 12 seconds later Alexey Toropchenko deflected Colton Parayko’s clear and into the empty net.

“Just trying to push the issue,” said Montgomery. “The (Pastrnak) goal, we sensed that we were coming. We got some opportunities. The it got to be about four minutes when we didn’t have opportunities. So you’re just trying to get back in the game. Whether we lose 5-1 or 4-3, it doesn’t matter to me. It’s a loss.”

And that was that. Montgomery said he would take what he could from the game, but it didn’t seem like he was going to obsess over it.

“You have nights like this when the puck doesn’t go your way. You don’t have puck luck. It happens,” said Montgomery. “We have 91 points. We’re a good hockey team. We weren’t good tonight.”

But last Friday’s trade deadline came and went and he remained a Bruin. And for the moment, that allowed him to breathe a little easier.

“It’s always a big one, to be honest,” said DeBrusk on Monday morning. “As the years have gone on, it’s really (tough) for everyone in the room. And it depends on certain situations – and how much you look on Twitter. And I’m still here. It’s definitely a sense of relief. You obviously don’t know until about 4:30 (on deadline day) and then you go from there. But I’m happy to be here and just excited to move forward in the playoff push here.”

Two years ago, there was a sense DeBrusk would be dealt at the deadline. He had already asked for a trade and was about to become a restricted free agent. But on deadline day, he signed a two-year extension worth $4 million annually and has remained with the club. He had a very good season in 2022-23, notching 27 goals while missing a month with a broken leg.

But the consistency in scoring has not been there this year and, whether or not it’s closely linked, neither has a contract extension.

“I’ve had uncertainty before in different ways,” said DeBrusk. “I think in the beginning of the year, I felt prepared if it went this way. But you never know unless you’re going through it. I definitely thought my year would be different in certain ways. At the end of the day, it’s stuff we always talk about. There’s only certain things you can control and focus on. It’s inhuman not to think about those things, to be honest, but there’s lots of good support around here for me. I have guys that are on this team that I lean on, guys that were on this team that I lean on and reach out and all that stuff. It’s crazy when you think about it, that it’s just a game. You just have to go out and play.”

Trying to avoid the trade talk is futile, said DeBrusk.

“It kind of gets thrown in your face these days, I feel like,” he said. “But, I’ve got to be honest, I’ve seen a lot of heat on social media throughout my entire career. Sometimes people ask or it gets brought up and I think it’s just the way we live nowadays. Does it affect you? I think it does in some ways. It’s easy to say it doesn’t. That’s one of the things that’s exciting as a fan and nerve-wracking as a player.”

As he did with Linus Ullmark, the other Bruin most prominently mentioned in trade speculation, former captain Patrice Bergeron reached out to DeBrusk several times during the lead-up to the deadline.

“It’s nice to see him around the rink and talk to him a little bit. But, yeah, he has reached out and sent a couple messages. I miss that guy. That’s what I was waiting for at the trade deadline, the signing that he’s coming back. Because any time he’s around the room, I’m trying to beg him to come back. He’s looking good,” joked DeBrusk. “But he’s obviously someone I leaned on when we were together and speaks volumes of his character. Just out of the blue getting a text from that guy, it’s like you’re getting a text from your first date.”

Another thing that’s undoubtedly helped ease DeBrusk’s mind is that he’s starting to pick up some points. He’s got 2-4-6 totals in his last four games.

“Well, I think the puck’s going in, finally, which is nice,” he said. “There’s been some nice finishes and getting rewarded on that side of things is something you can’t necessarily control completely. But I haven’t minded my game. I think my game has been pretty similar. It just seems like things are going in and when things go in, you gain more confidence. It’s been an intense month, an intense week. I came back from an injury (he missed the last game before the All-Star break with an undisclosed injury) and I feel like I’m just starting to get healthy again. This is the most fun time of year. You don’t practice, you’re just playing games. They’re intense games, either divisional games or against teams that are trying to get into the playoffs. This is when the hockey means the most.”

He’s not overly concerned about not having an extension. He takes that fact he’s still here to mean there’s a belief on the team’s side that something can get done.

“It’s easy to get emotional or upset on these things,” said DeBrusk. “But I understand it’s a business and you’ve got to do what’s best for the team or you.”

Loose pucks

On Saturday, Ullmark made a point of saying how much Charlie McAvoy reaching out on deadline day meant to him.

“It just felt like it was something I wanted to do,” said McAvoy. “There was a lot of stuff going around and he’s a good friend, just like everybody in this locker room. You step away from the ice and all these guys matter more as people than they do as players. I just wanted to send him a text. I’m happy that meant a lot to him. And I’m really happy he’s still here.” …

Coach Jim Montgomery went with the same six defensemen for Monday’s tilt against the Blues, electing to get newly acquired defenseman Andrew Peeke some practice time on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“I’m not going to commit to getting him in (on Thursday in Montreal), but he’s going to get in,” said Montgomery. “He’s an important piece and we have to get him acclimated and assimilated to how we play and get him comfortable. But we want him to be comfortable with a couple of practices before he gets in.”

Peeke will be wearing No. 52, the number current Blue Jacket and former Bruin Sean Kuraly wore when he was here. Peeke, a good friend of Kuraly’s, didn’t know it was Kuraly’s number when it was issued to him.

“Yeah, that’s something he’ll have over me,” said Peeke with a laugh. “He said he’s surprised it’s not in the rafters yet.” …

With the exception of when Jeremy Swayman got four straight starts when Ullmark was hurt in January, the B’s have pretty much stuck to a goalie rotation this season. But the B’s brain trust is open to go with a hot hand in the playoffs, and we may get a taste of it before the regular season is over.

“At some point we might want to see someone play three games in a row. It’s kind of what we’ve discussed. We haven’t discussed since a couple of weeks ago. Let a guy go on a run and then let the other guy go on a run, just to simulate the damages physically of playing that,” said Montgomery.

“Yeah, I feel like I’m hated here,” said Maroon with a chuckle while meeting with Boston reporters for the first time since being acquired from Minnesota on Friday.

When you win a Stanley Cup on Garden ice and you’re not wearing a Bruin uniform, these passions tend to rise up in the fandom. But if Brad Park can be embraced by the Bruin faithful, anyone can. And it’s not like Maroon’s brand hockey rugged hockey that’s not appreciated in this city. Maroon himself seemed to know that.

“I’m super excited, an Original Six team, a great opportunity,” he said. “I’ve heard nothing but good things about the locker room and a great opportunity to achieve our goals. It’s a great chance to play in the playoffs and have another run.”

Maroon is still recovering from disc surgery on Feb. 7 and does not yet have a target date. But he has started skating and he said he’ll be with the team at home and on the road as he continues to his rehab.

“I’m not too far out,” said Maroon.

When he arrived the Garden on Saturday, he was brought into the interview room before he had a chance to meet his new teammates, many of whom he’s had long, running battles with, like captain Brad Marchand.

“Once I see everyone, it’s going to be fun,” said Maroon. “Obviously, there’s been a lot of chirps and a lot of fighting in the past with these guys. It’s going to be good to be on the other side with these guys now. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s probably going to be an easy transition, so I’m looking forward to it.”

After the B’s 5-1 win over the Penguins, Marchand said, not surprisingly, that he was all good with Maroon.

“I’ve met him before numerous times over the past few years. He’s a great guy off the ice. Never enjoyed him on the ice. We’re really looking forward to having him with our group. He brings a lot of energy and emotion in the room and on the ice and we’re happy to have him here,” said Marchand.

Maroon’s looking forward to pulling on the Bruins’ sweater.

“It gives me chills thinking about it,” said Maroon. “I’m really looking forward to it, just to put that jersey on and go out there. I know these fans are very passionate about their sports. I’m just really looking forward to putting that jersey and going out there and playing and working for the guys. My old high school team is the Bruins colors, so I feel like it was meant to be.”

Maroon was also asked to reminisce about one of the more pain Bruin memories of he last decade, when he and his St. Louis Blues came into the Garden and won Game 7 of the 2019 Cup finals.

“I would say the first 15 minutes of the Game 7, they had us on our heels,” said Maroon. “But it’s a game of adversity and things that change in time. We get a tip-in and then we get that late goal (in the first period). But I think they had all the momentum going into Game 7. They had us on our heels and Jordan Binnington stepped up. I think they were both good teams and sometimes you need puck luck and good saves and good goaltending to win.”

That was his first of three straight Cups with the next two coming with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now, thanks in part to Minnesota Wild GM Billy Guerin, he hopes to chase a fourth.

“He asked me if I wanted to go to a contender, so kudos to him for coming up to me and asking me if I wanted to to go try and win another Stanley Cup,” said Maroon. “And why not? That’s the ultimate goal when you leave this game, to win and put a stamp on your career. He gave me the opportunity and he worked hard for me to go on a nice playoff run.”

Maroon will wear No. 61

Positive Peeke

The Bruins will see Andrew Peeke in uniform before Maroon. After being scratched for all but 23 games this year after playing 162 over the previous two years, the big righthanded defenseman looked like a young man who was just let out of jail when he met with reports before the game.

“There were some tough days, a lot of adversity, but I think looking back at it now and where I am today, you can only look back and take a positive out of it, helping you grow as a person and as a hockey player,” said the 25-year-old Peeke, a second-round pick for Columbus in 2016. “I think for me it helped me understand a lot of things in terms of what I’ve got to do on a nightly basis. That’s what I’m most excited about.”

GM Don Sweeney said Friday that Peeke would have to get acclimated to the Bruins’ system and coach Jim Montgomery said he’d get a better handle on things at the B’s practice on Tuesday. But Peeke was happy to get going.

“I’m pumped, especially coming into an organization like this,” said the 6-foot-3, 215-pound stay-at-home defenseman. “You’ve only heard good things, from all the way to the top to the guys. That’s what’s most exciting for me. I’m hitting a little reset obviously. Yesterday was crazy and a whirlwind of a day, but I couldn’t be more happy coming to a team like the Bruins, Original Six. It’s just special.”

Peeke said he got the low-down on what it’s like to play in Boston from Sean Kuraly, the former Bruins who is now with Columbus.

“I’ve heard about Boston for the past three years with Sean,” said Peeke, who’ll be wearing Kuraly’s old No. 52. “He told me it’s an unbelievable spot. The organization speaks for itself and the amount of playoff runs this place has gone through in the past few years and everyone said the guys in the room are unbelievable. That’s what I’m excited about.”…

Morgan Geekie, who has struggled on faceoffs this year, won 8-of-14 on Saturday.

That fact, along with some timely execution from Boston’s top skilled players, was enough to beat a scuffling Pittsburgh Penguins team, 5-1 for their second consecutive regulation win, the first time they’ve done that since Jan. 20 and 22.

“He was our best player. Wasn’t close. He was really good. Glad he’s still a Bruin,” said coach Jim Montgomery with a laugh.

Montgomery’s lighthearted comment alluded to the reports that Ullmark used his 16-team no-trade clause to nix a deal ahead of Friday’s trade deadline that might have brought help to other areas of the team. Ullmark would not specifically confirm those reports after his 38-save performance, but he didn’t deny them, either.

“I’m just very happen to be here. This is the team I want to be on,” said Ullmark when asked about the reports. “I’m very fortunate to be a part of this group. Ever since day one, I’ve loved it here. I’m very happy with where I am now.”

He also didn’t sugarcoat the anxiety of the deadline, especially when your name is one of the most prominent ones being tossed around, when he was asked if he was happy to have it behind him..

“Oh thank God, yes,” said Ullmark. “No, it’s tough. You try to act tough beforehand. You don’t want to show any emotions, kind of like in playoff situations as well. But it is tough on players. This is the first time I had to go through being rumored about. I always felt safe. But once it starts picking up more and more, you hear those outside noises, it takes a toll on you. There’s the emotional part of it and then you start thinking about your family and then there’s all these questions that you don’t have any answers to. So, yes, I’m very happy that it’s over with and I’m very happy to be here.”

Ullmark said he had a conversation with Patrice Bergeron early in the week that helped him and then Charlie McAvoy reached out on Friday with “a very thought-out text that really it home. It just shows what kind of group and what kind of people that’s on this team. I was very happy and emotional after I read it.”

On top of it all, Ullmark had to snap a six-game personal losing streak, five of which have come in extra time.

“It was emotional. We always have a conversation, me and (Jeremy Swayman) after every win and some losses,” said Ullmark. “There’s no easy games in this league. It’s got to be a 60-minute game and you can’t take anything for granted. So it was nice to finally get one after a month’s hard work.”

The B’s were led offensively by Pavel Zacha (2-1-3) while David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk each had a goal and an assist.

On Saturday, it was clear Ullmark was on his game from the time he stoned newest Penguin Michael Bunting on a clean breakaway in the early going.

After a scoreless first period, and after killing off the first penalty of the game, the B’s broke the ice at 2:26 with Pastrnak’s 40th goal of the season. It’s his third straight 40-goal season and it was Pastrnak’s league-leading 12th first goal. After Zacha heeled a nice set-up from Kevin Shattenkirk, DeBrusk retrieved the puck behind the net and fed Pastrnak out in the high slot. Pastrnak simply ripped a slapper past Alex Nedeljkovic.

Zacha made up for his missed chance at 12:48 on the power play. Parked at the right side of the net, Zacha made a nifty redirect of a Morgan Geekie pass for his 16th of the season.

Finally, Marchand made it 3-0 with 1:35 left in the second period with his 27th goal, snapping an eight-game goal-less streak. Charlie Coyle slipped a pass through a Pittsburgh defender for Marchand, who cut in from the left wing and roofed a pretty backhander, his 399th career goal.

The Penguins finally did beat Ullmark at 2:51 of the third period when he couldn’t pick up Kris Letang’s perfect point shot just inside the far post until it was too late.

The Pens pressured for a good chunk of the next eight minutes and, if not for Ullmark, that here-we-go-again feeling would have permeated the Garden.

And then, at 9:36, the B’s got their three-goal lead back on a DeBrusk goal. Hampus Lindholm (two assists), looking very good in his first game back after missing the previous nine with a lower body injury, picked off a pass in the neutral zone and went on the attack. He fed Marchand on the left wing and the captain in turn beamed a beautiful pass between two Penguin defenders for DeBrusk, who one-timed his 15th of the year past Nedeljkovic.

Zacha added another late goal and the B’s cruised to the victory and a goalie hug that meant just a little bit more to Ullmark on this day

“Some games you’re going to take with you a little bit longer,” said Ullmark. “It’s tough to talk about, but I’m just so gosh-darn happy.”

First, Sweeney added big, physical winger Pat Maroon, 35, to the mix for AHL wing Luke Toporowski and a 2026 conditional sixth-round draft, the condition being the pick is transferred if Maroon plays one playoff game for the B’s this spring.

After back surgery on Feb. 7, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Maroon is on injured reserve. He’d been given a timetable of four to six weeks but Sweeney didn’t have a target date.

They also made a somewhat surprising longer term commitment in obtaining 6-foot-3, 214-pound righthanded defenseman Andrew Peeke for Jakub Zboril and a 2027 third-rounder.

Peeke, a second-round pick in 2016, has two more years left at $2.75 million. The former Blue Jacket has 218 NHL games under is belt but had fallen out of favor in Columbus, playing just 23 games this season with 1-7-8 totals and a minus-2 for a bad Jackets team. Last season he was minus-41 in 80 games with 6-7-13 totals.

Sweeney had been looking to add physicality to the team and Thursday’s slugfest with Toronto confirmed that was an area which needed to be addressed.

“(Thursday’s) game is a good indication of where playoff hockey is going to take a turn to and we tried to address the depth of our club in particular areas. And we needed to give the group a push,” said Sweeney.

Provided they’re able to play and contribute, Sweeney at least addressed the physicality that the team had been lacking, especially with the loss of Milan Lucic to personal issues and Derek Forbort to injury. Sweeney said Forbort had been dealing with two injuries, at least one of which will require surgery. His season essentially over, Forbort’s $3 million salary is headed to LTIR to make room for Peeke’s salary.

Zboril, the first of three first-round draft picks for the B’s in 2015 (13th overall), had been buried in Providence this year and passed through waivers twice with no takers.

Sweeney believes it will take time for Peeke, a stay-at-home type who is expected to help on the penalty kill, to acclimate himself.

“I think there’ll be an adjustment coming into a new structure and the systems that we play,” said Sweeney. “But we’re excited about going to work with him. He’s a bigger body on the right side that I think is hard to find. And it’s not a rental. …We have to make sure we continue to sharpen up his game and he’s excited.”

There was another twist. According to several reports, Linus Ullmark, with his 16-team no-trade clause, nixed a move believed to be to the Los Angeles Kings. Out of deference to the human element on a very tough day for many players across the league, Sweeney would not confirm that or any other conversations that didn’t come to fruition. But he made it clear he was exploring all options.

“I made no bones that if I had to rob from a real strength of this hockey club, that was something we may have to do if it made our team ultimately better,” said Sweeney. “And we didn’t move in that direction. But that’s not an indictment on the two great goaltenders we have. It’s been a real strength of our hockey club from day one and it’ll continue.”

As far as the goalie rotation continuing into the playoffs, Sweeney said the decision will ultimately rest with the coaching staff but he didn’t rule it out, nor did he rule out going with a hot hand.

Sweeney also held on to his pending UFAs, including Jake DeBrusk, whom he said he continues to value and hopes to find common ground at some point.

One commodity he couldn’t land that might have helped, in light of some key defensive zone lost draws, was another center. But Sweeney lauded the work of long list of players who’ve jumped into the role from Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha at the top to Morgan Geekie, Trent Frederic, Jesper Boqvist, John Beecher, Matt Poitras and Patrick Brown.

“I think with the collection of the group, we knew it would have to be by committee. But I’ll tell you, the committee’s done a pretty good job,” said Sweeney.

Maroon, 35, comes with a resume of winning. He won three straight Stanley Cups from 2019 – as a member of the St. Louis Blues when they beat the B’s in the final – to 2021, winning the second and third with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Maroon is a tough, left-shot wing who has shied away from no one in his career, and that includes several bouts against Zdeno Chara.

Kevin Shattenkirk won a Cup with Maroon in Tampa.

“He’s great,” said Shattenkirk. “He’s a close friend and, again, he’s accepted his role as the type of player that he is. He’s a presence on the ice but he still can play and knows how to get the puck out of the zone on the wing, which is crucial this time of year. He’s great down low in the offensive zone, holding on to pucks and wearing teams down. And obviously there’s the other factor of that he’s a big body and he doesn’t shy away from that part of the game – chirping, fighting and that’s a valuable asset at this time of year.”

Hampus Lindholm played with him in Anaheim.

“A great guy to be around, which I learned playing with him and against him. I’m super excited to have him here and be part of the Bruins. He’s excited as well I think,” said Lindholm.

In 49 games with the Wild, Maroon had 4-12-16 totals and was minus-11 with 60 penalty minutes.

Meeting with reporters before the deal was official, coach Jim Montgomery did not want to speak on Maroon as if he was part of the team just yet. But he gave the same scouting report most everyone in the league knows about Maroon.

“He’s a three-time Stanley Cup champion,” said Montgomery. “He’s a gregarious person that I just remember last year, he came in here and he wanted to start something right away. He brought emotion right into the game right away and he ended up in a fight in five seconds with (Garnet) Hathaway. He’s the kind of guy that brings some glue to locker room and on the bench.”

Maroon winning the Cup on Garden ice and his battles with Chara are not his only connection to Boston. In one of his more benign comments toward a Bruin opponent in his colorful career, NESN play-by-play man Jack Edwards jokingly referred to Maroon’s weight during one broadcast last season. Maroon took exception to it.

“Pat had a beef with what I said on the air and the very next time the Bruins played the Lightning, I went to his dressing room stall and let him have his say,” wrote Edwards via text. “I’m not one to hide from criticism. I owed him that. It’s like a hockey fight. We had it out. On we go. He plays with grit and physicality, excels in confrontations in inside ice, makes plays where others shy away, and drags teammates along to raise their games.”

Loose pucks

The B’s signed defenseman Parker Wotherspoon to one-year, $800,000 extension.

“I spent a lot of time in the minors and for them to give me an opportunity has been huge,” said Wotherspoon. … Coyle and Toronto’s Jake McCabe both were fined $5,000 for their stick infractions in Thursday’s game. … Montgomery said Lindholm, who has missed nine games with a lower body injury, is probable for Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh.