Tag Archives: Daniel Paille

Apr 16 2012

Sideline Observations – Boston Bruins 4, Washington Capitals 3

Zdeno Chara's third period goal lifted Boston past Washington, 4-3! (Photo Credit: Zimbio.com)

By Matt Noonan 

For the second time in five days, Boston ended a contest on the winning end, as the Bruins defeated the Washington Capitals, 4-3 at the Verizon Center.

Here are some postgame reactions and thoughts.

How The Game Was Won: With roughly two minutes remaining, and the score tied, 3-3, Boston’s Zdeno Chara whipped a shot from the nearside wing past Washington’s Braden Holtby, (25 saves) which clinched the victory for the Bruins.

Boston’s Fourth Line Sparked The Offense: Let’s give some props to the Bruins fourth line, which tied this particular match in the second period when Daniel Paille wristed a shot past Holtby. That strike rejuvenated the Black and Gold, and helped them register two more tallies before the buzzer sounded.

It All Starts With Defense: With a chance to earn a 2-1 lead in the series, Boston’s top defensive unit – Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg – ramped up their  intensity, and provided some physical blows late in the third period, which helped set up the game-winning goal.

Both players finished the contest with 11 combined hits, and five shots on net.

The Bruins Power Play: Once again, Boston ended another postseason contest with no power play goals. The Bruins are currently 0-for-11 against the Capitals when they have an extra skater, and will attempt to snap their scoreless streak on Thursday, Apr. 19.

Other Notes:

* Washington outshot Boston, 32-29. 

* Washington ended the game with one power play goal, but failed to capitalize on their second, third and fourth chances.

* The last time Boston led a series, 2-1 was against Tampa Bay in 2011 during the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bruins wound up winning that particular series, 4-3, and then defeated the Vancouver Canucks to claim their sixth Stanley Cup championship.

Mar 8 2012

Daily Noontime – March 8, 2012

Evan Turner's 26 points helped the Philadelphia 76ers defeat Boston on Wednesday! (Photo Credit: Philly.com)

By NoontimeSports.com 

Good Thursday to everyone, and welcome into yet another amazing edition of the Daily Noontime! Let’s jumpstart the day with some headlines and news from the Hub.

* Philadelphia snapped Boston’s five-game winning streak on Wednesday, as the 76ers defeated the Celtics, 103-71. Evan Turner led all scorers with 26 points, while Paul Pierce paced the Celtics with 16 points. Boston will return to the hardwood on Friday when they host the Portland Trailblazers.

* The Boston Bruins will look to build off their 5-4 victory against Toronto on Thursday when they host Buffalo at 7:00pm.

* Sources confirmed on Wednesday that Andrew Ference and Daniel Paille both skated on their own in Wilmington. Head coach Claude Julien told the media that having both of them on the ice is a “good sign.”

* The Boston College Eagles men’s basketball team will begin their quest toward capturing an ACC tournament championship on Thursday when they tip-off against North Carolina State at 12:00pm. The Eagles ended their conference slate with a 4-12 record, as well as ended their 2011-12 campaign with 9-21 record.

* Finally, we’re a few days away from the start of a new MLS season, as the New England Revolution will kick-off their 2012 slate in San Jose on Saturday.

Jan 18 2012

Daily Noontime – January 18, 2012

When do you expect Carl Crawford to return to the diamond? April? June? Never? (Photo Credit: Zimbio.com)

By NoontimeSports.com 

Happy “Hump Day,” and welcome into another grand edition of the Daily Noontime!

Here are some headlines and news to kick-start your day, enjoy.

* On Tuesday, Carl Crawford underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left wrist due to soreness he sustained during his offseason training regimen in Arizona. GM Ben Cherington believes the Boston Red Sox leftfielder should be able to play this season. However, it’s possible that the Sox will have to explore other options, while Crawford recovers. Will he return to the diamond in April? We’ll have to wait and see!

* The Boston Bruins dropped to 1-2 on their current four-game road trip, as the Tampa Bay Lightning handed the Black and Gold a 5-3 loss on Tuesday. Nathan Horton netted two goals, Daniel Paille scored a shorthanded goal, and Tim Thomas saved 26 shots between the pipes. The Bruins will wrap up their road trip on Thursday when they travel to New Jersey to face the Devils.    

* Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell was recently fired after his team finished the season, 2-14, and according to a report on Wednesday morning, it’s possible that Peyton Manning may not return to quarterback the team next year.

* According to an interesting Yahoo! Sports blog report, it’s possible that the Boston Celtics might actually deal Paul Pierce, as well as Ray Allen or Kevin Garnett to clear cap room. Both Allen and Garnett are expected to be free agents after the season concludes, while Pierce has two-years remaining on his current contract. The Celtics are currently ranked third in their division, as well as one and a half games out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Nov 8 2011

Bruins Push Winning Streak to Three Games, Beat-Up Islanders, 6-2

Seguin continued to impress, as he helped the Bruins knock-off the Islanders, 6-2.

By Brian Willwerth 

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Bruins are on their best roll of the season right now.  They won their third straight game Monday night, a 6-2 victory over the New York Islanders at TD Garden.

The home team got on the board just 1:32 in the game. Benoit Pouliot took a centering pass from Jordan Caron and beat Evgeni Nabokov to make it 1-0. For Pouliot, it was his first goal as a Bruin, and first goal overall in 32 games, dating back to February of 2011 when he played for the Canadiens.

“He’s a guy that’s working hard,” said Bruins head coach Claude Julien. “His work ethic…is there, we’ve just got to keep working with him and see how far we can go.”

Three seconds later, the sellout crowd at TD Garden was on its feet again when Adam McQuaid and Matt Martin decided to drop their gloves at the Boston blue line and go after each other. They would each spend the next five minutes in the penalty box.

The Islanders evened the score at the 5:52 mark. Matt Moulson deflected Steve Staios’ shot from the point past Tuukka Rask to tie the game at 1.

The Bruins jumped back on top, on the power play. With Travis Hamonic in the box for cross-checking, Nathan Horton beat Nabokov with a wrist shot to make it 2-1. Just 29 seconds later, Patrice Bergeron set up Tyler Seguin to make it 3-1.

Seguin has four goals in the last two games, and extended his point streak to four games. Bergeron now has a seven-game point streak.

That goal sent Nabokov to the showers.  Al Montoya took over in net.

“We are getting a lot of chances,” said Horton.  “When you get that many chances they’re eventually going to go in.”

The Isles closed to within a goal late in the period, courtesy of Michael Grabner’s fourth goal of the season at the 18:36 mark.

The second period featured no scoring, but plenty of opportunities. Boston had the better chances, but Montoya was up to the challenge. He and Rask combined to stop all 28 shots they faced in the period, several of them of the point-blank variety.

There was a scary moment early in the third, as Boston’s Daniel Paille got hit in the face with a slapshot. He was down on the ice for a couple of minutes. Julien said Paille was seeing a specialist after the game, and hoped to know more on Tuesday.

A few minutes later, the Bruins scored two goals less than a minute apart for the second time on the night. Horton broke in and fed Milan Lucic, who beat Montoya for his seventh goal of the season to make it 4-2. Lucic now has a goal in four straight games.

Just 49 seconds later, Horton scored his second of the night, putting home a rebound of a Joe Corvo shot to make it 5-2.

“We really put a lot of emphasis on following up a strong shift after a goal scored or after a goal against,” said Julien. “It’s about holding on to the momentum or regaining it.”

The Bruins have never lost when leading after two periods. The Islanders have never won when trailing after 40 minutes of play.

The Bruins return to action on Thursday night when they host the Edmonton Oilers. Faceoff is at 7:00.

“We definitely put ourselves in a hole,” said Lucic of overcoming the team’s slow start. “We’re the ones that are going to have to get us out of this funk.”

Nov 2 2011

Bruins Snap Three-Game Losing Streak, Beat Senators, 5-3

 

By Matt Noonan 

BOSTON, MA — October wasn’t exactly the greatest month for the Boston Bruins, who posted a [3-7] record.

However, on the first day of November, the men dressed in black and yellow turned the page, and ended their three-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory against the Ottawa Senators, as well as their fourth win of the season.

“I think we were trying to maintain that 60-minute focus in our game,” said Bruins head coach Claude Julien. “I think everybody was on the same page tonight as far as, don’t hang your heads, let’s go out there, let’s get the next goal, and let’s find a way to win this game.”

“I think overall we battled hard,” said Senators goaltender Craig Anderson. “Give [Boston] credit, their PK [penalty kill] was good. Overall we battled to make it 3-3 and we were in the game and we just couldn’t seem to stick with it and find a way to get a point.”

Ottawa set the tone early by scoring twice on nine-shots in the first period, thanks to Nick Foligno, (one goal, two assists) and Stephane Da Costa, while Boston countered with Milan Lucic on the team’s second power play of the game before Patrice Bergeron, (three goals, two assists in his last five games), added the Bruins second goal early in the middle period. Then, after Bergeron re-energized the TD Garden crowd, Chris Kelly, (one goal, one assist) rifled the puck past Craig Anderson 14-minutes later, and gave the Bruins a one-goal advantage heading into the second intermission.

“[Rich] Peverley entered the zone with a lot of speed and everyone was pretty much concentrated on him because he was moving so fast, and I just tried to find the high slot there and it was a great job by Jordan [Caron] to be at the net there,” said Kelly, when asked to describe his goal.

Jared Cowen kicked-off the final period with his Ottawa’s final score of the evening, as he pushed the puck past Tim Thomas to tie the game before Boston rebounded once again, and netted two goals in a span of 37-seconds. Johnny Boychuk and Daniel Paille not only gave the Bruins their largest lead of the game, but also recorded their first goals of the season, and officially ended any possible comeback by the Senators.

“Getting that first one by you and now you don’t have to worry about it. I think last year it took me until January, so I feel a little bit better,” said Boychuck.

Obviously, the Bruins have struggled this season, but earning a win against a Senators team that entered Tuesday’s affair atop the Northeast Division might give Boston some confidence, especially against Toronto on Saturday.

“Hopefully we can build off this and have a couple good practices before we go into Toronto,” said Kelly.

 

Jun 6 2011

Bruins Beat Up Canucks in Game 3, 8-1

The Bruins outplayed the Canucks on Monday and Tim Thomas denied 40-of-41 shots between the pipes.

By Brian Willwerth 

The Bruins lost one of their star players just five minutes into Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. They emphatically made sure they would not lose the game on their home ice.

Boston’s offense erupted in an 8-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks Monday night at TD Garden. The Bruins cut Vancouver’s lead in the series to 2-1 – a series that’s starting to see bad blood boil over between the two teams.

The play that everyone’s talking about happened five minutes into the game.  Aaron Rome leveled Nathan Horton near the blue line. Horton was down on the ice for several minutes, and had to be helped off the ice on a stretcher. Rome got a major penalty for interference, and a game misconduct. Horton ended up in the hospital. Word came near the end of the first period that he did have movement in all of his extremities.

The Bruins and their fans viewed that as a cheap shot. And did it ever fire up the home team.

The Bruins scored the first goal of the game just eleven seconds into the second period. Andrew Ference’s shot from the point found its way through traffic, and past Roberto Luongo, to give Boston a 1-0 lead.

Four minutes later, the Bruins added to their lead on the power play. Mark Recchi’s pass went off Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler’s stick and past Luongo to make it 2-0.

Then Brad Marchand scored what may have been the prettiest goal of the series.  He stole the puck at center-ice, passed it off the boards to himself, broke in on goal and lifted it over a fallen Luongo to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead. And to top it all off, it was a shorthanded goal to boot.

The scoring didn’t stop there. David Krejci picked up the rebound of a Michael Ryder shot and knocked it past Luongo for the Bruins’ fourth goal of the period.

Boston got its second shorthanded goal of the game in the third period, courtesy of Daniel Paille. That made it 5-0. After Jannik Hansen spoiled the shutout, the Bruins scored three more goals within a 1:50 span. Recchi, Chris Kelly and Michael Ryder got into the act during that time.

And then, there was Tim Thomas. He was sensational once again. He stopped 40-of-41 Vancouver shots. Many of his saves were of the spectacular variety. Yes, we’ve said this before about him.

Game 4 is Wednesday night at TD Garden. Will there be any discipline stemming from Rome’s hit on Horton? That’s up to the NHL to decide. One thing is certain: we have ourselves a series.

May 4 2011

Goaltending Helps Boston Prevail against Philadelphia

Tim Thomas has been terrific and a major reason for Boston's playoff success, especially against Philadelphia!

By Dan Libon

Goaltending: it’s what this series is all about.

On one end of the ice is Tim Thomas, who has been playing out of his mind all year for Boston, while on the other side is the game of musical chairs known as the “Philadelphia Flyers goaltending.” It is a group that has featured mid-game changes in all 10 of their playoff affairs this past year. Philadelphia’s goalies are incredibly slow and as Bruins head coach Claude Julien would say, “they’re flat,” especially with a save percentage of [.904] and a playoff worse [.875], so it’s hard to think that the Bruins would indeed repeat what happened last May, especially with these gaudy numbers.

Although, while this particular series is all about goaltending, that’s not the only reason why the Bruins are up three games to none.

With the sudden awakening of the teams first line, the Bruins are showing production from their top players. The second goal of Wednesday’s game, which was recorded by David Krejci is one of those goals that shows how productive a line can be. Throwing the puck down to Milan Lucic, Krejci got it back for a great shot in front of the goal during the first period, which made it, 2-0.

In the second period, the Bruins scored two more times, as Gregory Campbell hit Daniel Paille in stride for Boston’s third goal, which was followed up by Nathan Horton scoring the teams fourth goal and completing the Gordie Howe hat trick. Philadelphia was then forced to take Brian Boucher out of the game and replace him with one of their back up goalies, Sergei Bobrovsky.

The final period was capped off by watching Boston score their first power play goal of the playoffs, as Zedeno Chara scored with a two man advantage for the Bruins to secure their third of the series.

Overall, I don’t expect the Bruins to self destruct, again. With the exception of Game 2, this series hasn’t been close. The Bruins look like they are peaking at the right time and with the first line awakening, along with productivity from lines 2 and 3, Boston looks like they are in good shape to potentially wrap up the series on Friday night at the TD Garden.

May 4 2011

Boston Wins Game 3, Beats Philadelphia, 5-1

Chara's two goals helped Boston prevail, 5-1 against the Flyers in Game 3!

By Matt Noonan 

The Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday at the TD Garden and now, the question remains, can the men dressed in Black and Gold win one more game? That’s right, can they actually end this series on Friday and move onto the Eastern Conference Finals?

Friends, I am going to say, yes, the Boston Bruins will indeed win Game 4 and put any remaining nightmares from last May to rest.

So, what exactly happened in Game 3? How did the Bruins win and Flyers lose?

Well, the Bruins dominated and scored at least one goal in each period. Zdeno Chara was responsible for two scores, while Nathan Horton, David Krejci and Daniel Paile took care of the rest.

Tim Thomas saved 37-of-38 shots between the pipes and finally, Boston earned their first power play goal of the playoffs, when Chara scored on a 5-on-3 in the closing minutes of the third period.

Yes, they are 1-for-31, but now the monkey is off their back and they can officially say, “we scored on the power play.”

As for the Flyers, well, this wasn’t exactly a perfect game. Both Sergei Bobrovsky and Brian Boucher split time defending the cage, while their offense and defense played incredibly timid.

Sure, the Flyers displayed their true grit and toughness, which resulted in five penalties. Andrej Meszaros scored Philadelphia’s only goal of the game, but again, the Flyers appeared un-attentive, which certainly was a major reason for them losing their third game in a row.

Although, while Game 3 was an exciting 5-1 victory, it’s time to turn the page and get ready for yet another “knock-out” game. Boston is [1-0] in the playoffs this year when their opponent is “on the ropes,” so I do wonder if Philadelphia will give it their all on Friday or pack it in for another year?

I believe they can beat the Flyers, but let’s be honest; Philadelphia won’t go down without a fight.

Against the Buffalo Sabres in the opening round, Philadelphia lost Game 5, but battled back to win Games 6 and 7, as well as punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, but against Boston, no one expected the Flyers to play this bad.

Before the puck was dropped at the Garden for Game 3, Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette told the media that he was determined that his team would win this series. Although, he’s probably somewhat worried now, especially how his team is starring a 0-3 deficit.

So, I do have to pose the question, which is will the Flyers do what they did last year and win four games in a row or actually let the Bruins win Game 4?

Hockey is a game of momentum and while the Bruins indeed hold the series lead, one goal can really change a series. If Philadelphia wants to play another game on their home ice, as well as sport their ugly Orange Crush uniforms, then they’ll have to win Game 4, as well as steal all the momentum away from Boston.

Who knows what will happen next, but in the meantime, Boston can definitely celebrate the fact that they are one win away from the Eastern Conference Finals.

Apr 2 2011

Bruins Beat Thrashers, Capture Northeast Division Title

By Dan Libon

BOSTON, MA – After missing a golden opportunity to clinch the Northeast Division title on Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Bruins capitalized on Saturday, as they defeated the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-2, as well as won their division.

“Its what a lot of teams obviously battle for, so I’m glad that that’s out of the way. Again we just got to keep playing and playing to win our next games and see where we end up,” said Bruins coach Claude Juilen.

Bruins rookie center Brad Marchand, who was awarded the 7th Player of the Year Award prior to face-off, showed off his physical and smart play during the opening minutes of the first period when he assisted Mark Recchi for an early goal.

After scoring the first goal of the game, the Bruins then dictated the pace of the game, as well as limited Atlanta’s offensive surges and chances in their own zone.

The Thrashers would eventually tie the game on a power play, as Dustin Burmistrov pushed the puck past Tuukka Rask for Atlanta’s first goal of the game.

After a quick Thrashers score, the Bruins then began to play somewhat sloppy and eventually watched Rask give up his second goal of the contest to Evander Kane, which gave Atlanta their own lead of the game. Yet, the Bruins eventually rebounded from their horrendous play when Daniel Paille scored on a shorthanded goal in the second period, which tied the game, 2-2.

“I just wanted to get in the play,” said Paille. “I felt that it wasn’t high enough so I just thought to get a jump on there and I noticed they were just trying to pass around me.”

Boston would finally take the lead for good when Michael Ryder scored eight minutes into the third period, which propelled the Bruins to their 44th win of the season, as well as the Northeast Division crown.

The Bruins will return to the ice next on Monday, when they travel to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers.

Feb 15 2011

Bruins Fall to Maple Leafs, 4-3

By Matt Noonan

BOSTON, MA – In front of 17, 565 fans, the Boston Bruins [31-19-7] and Toronto Maple Leafs [24-27-6] faced off for the fourth time this season, but in the end, a majority of the “Black and Gold” fan faithful left the TD Garden unsatisfied. The Maple Leafs earned an important road victory Tuesday, as they defeated the Bruins, 4-3.

“It’s one of those situations where if you have any sense of pride your embarrassed about tonight,” said Bruins head coach Claude Julien. “Not because the other team played well [but because] we did not play to the level that we should be playing and its unacceptable.”

The first period began with the Bruins playing unimpressive and out of sync hockey. Their passing was horrendous, they didn’t skate well or move the puck, although they were able to account for 14-shots on the Maple Leaf’s goaltender James Reimer [32-saves] during the opening period. As for the defense, they did receive some extra help from goaltender Tim Thomas [24-saves] who didn’t have his greatest game between the pipes.

“I don’t have an analysis yet, it’s just too early after the game. I mean, not a big enough picture to analysis to make one,” said a frustrated Thomas after the loss.

Yet, despite Boston’s early struggles to score points, they did manage to record one goal when Mark Stuart and Gregory Campbell assisted Daniel Paille, which gave the Bruins an early lead.

“I was fortunate and got a lucky bounce off [Mike] Komisarek, I think it was his foot, so you know, I’ll take it there, but I’d rather have that one. It was a lucky bounce for us there,” said Paille when asked about scoring the Bruins first goal.

The Maple Leafs later responded on their second power play of the game when Phil Kessel scored his first goal since January and helped Toronto even the score before the first intermission.

“I haven’t scored in fourteen games, so it was nice to get a couple in tonight,” said Kessel.

Mikhail Grabovski began the second period with an impressive goal for the Maple Leafs, which gave Toronto the lead for the majority of the second period until Campbell netted the second goal for the Bruins.

As the final period began, Boston once again appeared desperate on offense, but also exhibited that their defense seemed either over tired or completely out of gas. Although, the Bruins offense eventually worked together to produce their third goal in the contests, as Adam McQuaid and Mark Recchi set up Patrice Bergeron to score what appeared to be the go-ahead goal.

Although, Boston’s lackluster performance continued, which allowed Kessel to tie the game and Grabovski to win it.

“[I was mad because] I didn’t stop it and the fact that [Kessel] lost the puck right before he scored and that’s what threw me off. That’s what made me open up my legs because he lost the puck and I tried to adjust,” said Thomas.

“That was without a doubt Phil’s best game, not just because he scored, [but] he was in on the forecheck,” said Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson.

The Bruins will regroup following an upsetting loss on Wednesday and look to snap their three-game losing streak against the New York Islanders on Thursday, which also marks the beginning of a six-game road trip.

“What’s happening to us is what we deserve. If we can’t play better than that, we shouldn’t expect more than that. I think we have to take responsibility. We have to stop making excuses and take charge of the situation starting [Wednesday],” said Julien.