Raleigh,United States

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said his team will again be without defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm for Tuesday night's Game 5 of its first-round playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes.McAvoy was a late scratch for Sunday's Game 4 win because of COVID-19 protocols. Lindholm hasn't played since being leveled on a jarring shoulder-to-chest hit from Carolina's Andrei Svechnikov in the Game 2 loss. Cassidy said Lindholm didn't travel to North Carolina for Game 5.McAvoy and Lindholm worked together as Boston's top defensive pairing in Game 1 before Cassidy juggled the lineup for Game 2, moving Matt Grzelcyk up to play alongside McAvoy and putting Lindholm alongside Brandon Carlo.Both teams are unbeaten on home ice in a series tied at 2-2.___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Boston won't have McAvoy, Lindholm for Game 5 vs. Carolina

Boston

BostonBruins

Boston,United States

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk agreed a two-year, $8 million contract extension on Monday, hours before the NHL trade deadline, an abrupt change in direction for a player who had requested a trade and been shopped around for months. General manager Don Sweeney said conversations about DeBrusk continued with teams until the 3 p.m. deadline, but having him signed for two more years gave the team more options and sends a signal to him that he’s valued.“We could have moved him prior to the deadline. We could revisit this in the summer time,” Sweeney said. “He could also go forward — most importantly — with just playing hockey and realizing he’s a big part of our team.”The Bruins entered Monday night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens with 81 points, solidly in fourth place in the Atlantic Division.DeBrusk, 25, has 15 goals and 11 assists this season. In his five-year NHL career, he has 82 goals and 78 assists. “The impact he can have on a hockey club, I think we believe in,” Sweeney said. “I sent a clear message to Jake, and he sent one to us, that he just wants to play hockey. The bottom line is, he knows he’s an important part and if he plays to his capability, he’s going to help us out.”Two days after acquiring defenseman Hampus Lindholm from Anaheim and one day after signing him to an eight-year contract extension, the Bruins made another move to shore up the defense, acquiring Josh Brown from Ottawa. Boston also gets a conditional seventh-round draft pick in exchange for sending Zach Senyshyn and a fifth-rounder to the Senators. Brown, 28, has six assists this season while averaging 13:59 in ice time. Sweeney said he would have liked to add more depth on the blue line, which was one of Boston’s weaknesses during recent playoff runs. “The bottom line is the war of attrition starts from now until when the Cup is presented,” Sweeney said. “And staying healthy’s a big part of that.”Sweeney also said that captain Patrice Bergeron skated on Monday and remains on track to return for Thursday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bruins biggest question for the playoffs is the goaltending tandem of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, who have never started a playoff game. But Sweeney expressed confidence in the team’s chances in the postseason.“Let’s just saddle up,” he said. “I think the guys are excited.”

DeBrusk stays in Boston -- perhaps for two more seasons, too

Chicago,United States

CHICAGO (AP) — Matt Grzelcyk scored at 1:40 of overtime and the surging Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 on Tuesday night.After taking a cross-ice feed from Taylor Hall, Grzelcyk whipped a shot past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to end it on Boston’s 48th shot of the game. Hall had two assists as Boston won its third straight to start a four-game trip and improved to 10-1-1 in its last 12 overall. Fleury sparkled in net, making 46 saves as the Bruins dominated and outshot the Blackhawks 48-20. Fleury wasn’t beaten until Patrice Bergeron snapped a scoreless tie early in the third on Boston’s 40th shot. Brandon Hagel scored his 21st goal midway through the period to tie it.Linus Ullmark stopped 19 shots for Boston.It was the second tight game between the Original Six teams in less than a week. The Bruins edged the Blackhawks 4-3 in Boston last Thursday when David Pastrnak scored his second goal of the game with 18 seconds left.Boston dominated the scoreless first, outshooting Chicago 14-4. Fleury kept the Bruins off the board with several sharp saves, including point-blank stops on Hall and Brad Marchand.Fleury was crisp again in the second, especially during a Boston power play late in the period. The crowd started chanting his name after a couple of snazzy saves as Boston ran its shot advantage to 35-11 after 40 minutes.Ullmark turned in some tough stops, too, including one close-in on Kirby Dach off a 2-on-1 with 45 seconds left in the middle frame.Ullmark made a quick glove save on Alex DeBrincat’s deflection attempt during a Chicago power play seconds into the third.Bergeron finally put the Bruins on the board at 4:43 of the third. Boston kept the pressure on Chicago after its fourth power play expired. From a frantic scrum, Bergeron batted in his 17th goal, underneath Fleury and just over the goal line after Marchand and Hall had whacked at the puck.Hagel tied it 1-all on a deflection at 9:36 of the third. Cutting across the crease, he screened Ullmark and tipped in Caleb Jones’ shot.An apparent go-ahead goal by Boston’s Charlie Coyle with 4:45 left in regulation was waved off by referee Pierre Lambert because of goalie interference. Coyle turned and whipped in a loose puck, but Lambert ruled Craig Smith made contact with Fleury.Boston coach Bruce Cassidy challenged the on-ice ruling and asked for a video review. He lost the challenge but Chicago failed to convert the resulting power play.The game headed to overtime with Boston leading 46-20 in shots.MILLENIAL MARKBruins forward Nick Foligno played his 1,000th game in the NHL, joining his dad, Mike, who skated in 1,018. They’re the second father-son combo in league history to each play 1,000 games. The other is Bobby and Brett Hull. Nick Foligno became the 10th player to reach 1,000 career games this season.LOCAL ADDITIONThe Blackhawks signed D Alex Vlasic, from the Chicago suburb of Wilmette, Illinois, to a three-year entry-level contract. The 6-foot-6 Vlasic just completed his junior season at Boston University and is expected to join the Blackhawks on Thursday. Vlasic was drafted by Chicago in the second round (43rd overall) in 2019.NOTES: Blackhawks D Connor Murphy and C Tyler Johnson both missed the game in concussion protocol. Murphy was taken off the ice in Ottawa on a stretcher Saturday after being slammed into the boards by Parker Kelly. UP NEXTBruins: At the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.Blackhawks: Play at Minnesota on Saturday.___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Grzelcyk scores in OT to lift Bruins over Blackhawks 2-1

Chicago

Columbus,United States

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — David Pastrnak scored in the shootout and had an assist to lift the surging Boston Bruins over the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 on Saturday night.Boston has won seven of eight and is three points ahead of Washington for the top wild card and seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Bruins also are two points behind third-place Toronto in the Atlantic Division.Jake DeBrusk, Erik Haula, Craig Smith and Patrice Bergeron scored for Boston, and Brad Marchand added two assists. Jeremy Swayman stopped 20 shots for his sixth straight win. Jakub Voracek’s goal with 1.8 seconds left in regulation sent the game to overtime. Gus Nyquist, Vladislav Gavrikov and Zach Werenski also scored for the Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins made 28 saves but Columbus lost for the fourth time in five games.DeBrusk put Boston on the board at 10:39 of the first period with his deflection of Brad Marchand's shot through a crowd in front of Merzlikins. Nyquist made it 1-all at 16:57, picking up a loose puck and roofing it over Swayman. Columbus took the lead with a minute remaining in the first when Swayman’s attempt to clear a shot landed on Gavrikov's stick and he buried it for his first goal since Nov. 22.Boston came back at 1:51 of the second when Haula tied the score 2-all with a wrister through Merzlikins' pads for his third goal in four games, extending his point streak to six games. Columbus pulled ahead again at 14:28 of the second on Werenski’s wrister from the point with 46 seconds left in Charlie Coyle’s slashing penalty. The goal was Werenski's fourth of the season with the man advantage and first since missing four games. The score was knotted again when Smith scored off a give-and-go with Connor Clifton at 4:40 of the third, and Boston went up 4-3 on Bergeron’s power-play goal at 14:58 of the third, his seventh of the season with the man advantage. Voracek sent the game to overtime with his power-play slap shot from above the left circle.UP NEXTBruins: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.Blue Jackets: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Pastrnak leads Bruins to shootout win over Blue Jackets

Columbus

Ohio

Washington

EasternConference

New York,United States

NEW YORK (AP) — Boston Bruins star Brad Marchand was suspended six games by the NHL on Wednesday night for roughing and high-sticking Pittsburgh goalie Tristan Jarry the previous day.It is Marchand's eighth career suspension and second this season. Marchand received a match penalty with 25 seconds to play in the Penguins' 4-2 win Tuesday night after throwing a punch at Jarry’s head and poking the goaltender’s mask with his stick as a linesman was escorting him away from the fray. Marchand sat for three games for slew-footing a Vancouver player in late November.___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Marchand suspended six games for hit on Penguins' Jarry

NewYork

BOSTON (AP) — The winningest goaltender in Boston Bruins history is calling it a career. Citing an inability of his body to respond after his recent return to the ice following offseason hip surgery, Tuukka Rask announced his retirement from NHL on Wednesday. “Today is a day that I hoped would never come. But now that it’s here, I feel I owe it to everyone to hear it from me,” the 34-year-old said in statement tweeted by the team. “Over these last few weeks, I’ve realized that my body is not responding the way it needs to for me to play at the level l expect of myself and that my teammates and Bruins fans deserve.“Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement from the game of hockey.”Rask ends his career with a franchise-best 308 career wins and 14,345 saves. His .921 save percentage and 2.28 goals against average are also the best among former Bruins goalies with at least 30 starts.A two-time All-Star, he won the 2013-14 Vezina Trophy and 2019-20 Jennings Trophy and also was the No. 2 goalie on Boston’s 2010-11 team that won the Stanley Cup. But he played in only 24 games last season as the team managed his workload while he fought hip and back injuries. After a second-round loss to the New York Islanders, he revealed that he needed hip surgery.Rask was a free agent this summer and remained unsigned while he recovered from an operation to repair a torn labrum in his hip. He agreed to a prorated $1 million, one-year deal last month that was scheduled to pay him $545,000 for the remainder of the season. “When I made the decision to have surgery on my hip last summer, I did so knowing that the road to recovery would be challenging,” he said in his statement. “I also knew it was something I would have to do if I wanted to give myself a chance to play my best hockey again.”Ultimately, Rask’s return lasted just four games. He began skating with the Bruins again this winter and eventually signed a professional tryout agreement with Providence last month. But the AHL team had two games that were supposed to serve as rehab starts for him scrubbed because of COVID-19 protocols.He decided to return the NHL without the tune-ups and allowed two goals and stopped 25 shots during his season debut in Boston’s 3-2 win over Philadelphia on Jan. 14. But the Bruins fell in two of his next three starts with Rask allowing 12 goals. In his four games he gave up 14 goals with 76 saves. Rask said last month that he never really contemplated retiring this offseason and the motivation to come back was to make one more run at a Stanley Cup and finish out his career alongside longtime teammates Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. “The biggest point for me was if I feel great I want to try to come back,” he said. “The only thing I want to do at this point is try to help out. I’m not looking for a big contract like I’ve said before. I just want to come and help out the guys and do my part that way.”Instead he leaves a Bruins team that is 27-15-3 and currently holding onto the Eastern Conference’s final wild-card spot. Boston is also facing a stretch without two of its top players. Bergeron skated gingerly toward the bench after getting tangled up with Sidney Crosby and slamming hard into the boards midway through the third period of Boston’s 4-2 loss to Pittsburgh Tuesday. He’s been ruled out for Thursday’s matchup against Carolina with a head injury. Marchand is also facing his eighth career suspension and second this season. Marchand received a match penalty with 25 seconds to play on Thursday after throwing a punch at Tristan Jarry’s head and poking the goaltender’s mask with his stick as a linesman was escorting him away from the fray. Marchand sat for three games for slew-footing a Vancouver player in late November.As for Rask, he said he leaves the ice with no regrets. “Through all the ups and downs, I am so grateful for all the support this team and the people of Boston have given me. I will miss everything that comes with representing the Boston Bruins,” Rask said in his statement. “I’m so proud to have worn the Spoked-B for my entire career and wouldn’t have had it any other way.”___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Bruins goalie Rask ending comeback, announces retirement

Philadelphia

Boston, MA, USA

Willie O'Ree has experienced many honors during his lifetime, from becoming the NHL's first Black player in 1958 with the Boston Bruins to being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018. Also Read: Women's hockey league to increase salary cap, add 2 teams,But the 86-year-old says having his No. 22 jersey retired in Boston on Tuesday will rank right up there near the top. ,It was something that I've never dreamed of, O'Ree said in a phone interview Monday. I was very fortunate to be called up to the Bruins in 1958 and played with them '60 and '61. And then all of a sudden, to find out that my jersey is going to be retired and to hang in the rafters there with the local icons and legends that are up there at the present time — it's just simply amazing. Also Read: US Olympic men's hockey roster includes 15 college players,O'Ree had his pioneering moment on Jan. 18, 1958, when he suited up against the Montreal Canadiens. He'll be the 12th player in Bruins history to have his number raised to the rafters. He had planned to be in attendance for Boston's game against Carolina on Tuesday, but persisting concerns about the pandemic changed those plans. He will now participate virtually from his home in San Diego. I was disappointed, he said. I have a lot of friends in the Boston area and fans that I've known over the years. … With the virus are going on, we just felt that for our own safety that we were not going to make the trip. O'Ree, who is originally from Fredericton, New Brunswick, played two games for the Bruins during the 1957-58 season, spent the next two seasons in the minors, and came back to Boston for 43 more during the 1960-61 season, notching four goals and 10 assists over his 45 total games. He was traded to the Canadiens in 1961, but never made it back to the NHL level. Also Read: Buffalo Sabres' Rasmus Dahlin to play for Atlantic Division in NHL All-Star game,Coinciding with Tuesday's ceremony, the NHL's Black Hockey History museum is in Boston this week. It'll make its way to 28 cities in the U.S. and O'Ree's native Canada this season — the most cities it's visited yet. It was at the Bruins' training facility Sunday and will stop at TD Garden prior to Tuesday night's game. ,The 525-square-foot museum highlights trailblazers and history makers like O'Ree, along with the league's founders and Stanley Cup champions. It also looks ahead to the next generation of young stars, NHL officials, broadcasters and women in the game. O'Ree has focused on the future of the NHL since his retirement from the sport. And since 1998, he has worked for the NHL as a diversity ambassador, working to foster more inclusion and combat the racism that still exists in league. O'Ree previously said that while he felt embraced by his teammates in Boston, his short time in the NHL wasn't untouched by the racism that permeated the Jim Crow era in the U.S. at that time. ,When I broke in with the Bruins in 1958, I heard the racial remarks and the racial slurs from fans in the stands and players on the opposition, O'Ree said. But it didn't really bother me. And I have to thank my older brother, who was not only my brother and my friend, but he was my mentor and taught me a lot that I would need to know. He says, 'Willie. If people can accept you for the individual that you are, this is. That's their problem. Just go out and work hard and stay focused on what you what you want to do.' And basically, that's what I did. O'Ree said he's proud of the work he's done speaking with young people at hockey clinics in the hopes of diversifying the sport he loves. ,I just want to be remembered as not only as the first Black player to play in the NHL, but just an individual that wanted to be involved with boys and girls and help them set goals for themselves and help them work toward their goals and feel good about themselves and like themselves, he said. I think that's very important.

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And then all of a sudden, to find out that my jersey is going to be retired and to hang in the rafters there with the local icons and legends that are up there at the present time — it's just simply amazing.\\\"\"}},{\"type\":\"paragraph\",\"data\":{\"text\":\"Also Read:&nbsp;<a href=\\\"https://opoyi.com/us-olympic-mens-hockey-roster-includes-15-college-players\\\">US Olympic men's hockey roster includes 15 college players</a>\"}},{\"type\":\"paragraph\",\"data\":{\"text\":\"O'Ree had his pioneering moment on Jan. 18, 1958, when he suited up against the Montreal Canadiens. He'll be the 12th player in Bruins history to have his number raised to the rafters.\"}},{\"type\":\"paragraph\",\"data\":{\"text\":\"He had planned to be in attendance for Boston's game against Carolina on Tuesday, but persisting concerns about the pandemic changed those plans. He will now participate virtually from his home in San Diego.\"}},{\"type\":\"paragraph\",\"data\":{\"text\":\"\\\"I was disappointed,\\\" he said. \\\"I have a lot of friends in the Boston area and fans that I've known over the years. … With the virus are going on, we just felt that for our own safety that we were not going to make the trip.\\\"\"}},{\"type\":\"paragraph\",\"data\":{\"text\":\"O'Ree, who is originally from Fredericton, New Brunswick, played two games for the Bruins during the 1957-58 season, spent the next two seasons in the minors, and came back to Boston for 43 more during the 1960-61 season, notching four goals and 10 assists over his 45 total games. He was traded to the Canadiens in 1961, but never made it back to the NHL level.\"}},{\"type\":\"paragraph\",\"data\":{\"text\":\"Also Read:&nbsp;<a href=\\\"https://opoyi.com/buffalo-sabres-rasmus-dahlin-to-play-for-atlantic-division-in-nhl-all-star-game\\\">Buffalo Sabres' Rasmus Dahlin to play for Atlantic Division in NHL All-Star game</a>\"}},{\"type\":\"paragraph\",\"data\":{\"text\":\"Coinciding with Tuesday's ceremony, the NHL's Black Hockey History museum is in Boston this week. It'll make its way to 28 cities in the U.S. and O'Ree's native Canada this season — the most cities it's visited yet. It was at the Bruins' training facility Sunday and will stop at TD Garden prior to Tuesday night's game. \"}},{\"type\":\"paragraph\",\"data\":{\"text\":\"The 525-square-foot museum highlights trailblazers and history makers like O'Ree, along with the league's founders and Stanley Cup champions. It also looks ahead to the next generation of young stars, NHL officials, broadcasters and women in the game.\"}},{\"type\":\"paragraph\",\"data\":{\"text\":\"O'Ree has focused on the future of the NHL since his retirement from the sport. And since 1998, he has worked for the NHL as a diversity ambassador, working to foster more inclusion and combat the racism that still exists in league.\"}},{\"type\":\"paragraph\",\"data\":{\"text\":\"O'Ree previously said that while he felt embraced by his teammates in Boston, his short time in the NHL wasn't untouched by the racism that permeated the Jim Crow era in the U.S. at that time. \"}},{\"type\":\"paragraph\",\"data\":{\"text\":\"\\\"When I broke in with the Bruins in 1958, I heard the racial remarks and the racial slurs from fans in the stands and players on the opposition,\\\" O'Ree said. \\\"But it didn't really bother me. And I have to thank my older brother, who was not only my brother and my friend, but he was my mentor and taught me a lot that I would need to know. He says, 'Willie. If people can accept you for the individual that you are, this is. That's their problem. Just go out and work hard and stay focused on what you what you want to do.' And basically, that's what I did.\\\"\"}},{\"type\":\"paragraph\",\"data\":{\"text\":\"O'Ree said he's proud of the work he's done speaking with young people at hockey clinics in the hopes of diversifying the sport he loves. \"}},{\"type\":\"paragraph\",\"data\":{\"text\":\"\\\"I just want to be remembered as not only as the first Black player to play in the NHL, but just an individual that wanted to be involved with boys and girls and help them set goals for themselves and help them work toward their goals and feel good about themselves and like themselves,\\\" he said. \\\"I think that's very important.\\\"\"}}]}

Vaishnavi Vaidyanathan

<ul>
  <li>Willie O'Ree became NHL's first Black player in 1958</li>
  <li>He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018</li>
  <li>He said having his No. 22 jersey retired in Boston is an honour&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

#BostonBruins