By NoontimeSports.com
The Boston Bruins and NHL announced on Thursday morning that Zdeno Chara is one of three finalist for the 2012 James Norris Trophy.
The Norris Trophy is awarded every year to the player who “demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.”
Excluding Chara, the other two finalists are Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators and Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators.
By NoontimeSports.com
Happy Tuesday to everyone, and welcome into yet another tremendous edition of the Daily Noontime! Let’s jumpstart the day with some news and headlines from the city of… winners!
* The Boston Bruins earned one-game series lead on Monday, as they defeated the Washington Capitals, 4-3. Zdeno Chara netted the game-winning goal late in the third period, while Tim Thomas deflected 29 shots between the pipes.
* Boston will attempt to earn a two-game lead on Thursday when they return to the ice for Game No. 4. The last time the Bruins led a series 2-1 was against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, which Boston won.
* According to reports – Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom received a “match penalty” at the end of Game No. 3 on Monday, which means he’ll most likely miss the fourth game of this particular series. Also, the league will now have to review the play, too.
* Boston and Tampa Bay concluded their four-game series on Monday, and sadly, the Red Sox didn’t record a sweep, as Sean Rodriguez scored the only run of the day for the Rays. Daniel Bard lasted six and two-thirds innings, and managed to fan seven batters. However, Bard’s only mistake was allowing Rodriguez to score after walking Evan Longoria in the seventh inning.
* The Red Sox will look to snap their one-game losing streak on Tuesday when they welcome the Texas Rangers to Fenway Park — first pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm — Jon Lester opposes Colby Lewis.
* The Boston Celtics will look to earn their third consecutive victory on Tuesday when they travel to New York to face the Knicks — tip-off is scheduled for 8:00pm.
* Finally, Wesley Koir and Sharon Cherop won the 116th Boston Marathon on Monday.
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.
By Matt Noonan
BOSTON, MA – It’s never enjoyable to be on the losing end in sports, especially against a last place team in the Eastern Conference, ahem… the Carolina Hurricanes.
Boston proved they’re vulnerable Thursday evening at the TD Garden, as a full capacity crowd watched their hometown Bruins struggle immensely, and earn an ugly 3-0 beating.
“Yeah I think sometimes we’re working, [but] we’re not working smart and there’s a fine line there, and we’re not doing that right, it’s obvious,” said a disgusted Patrice Bergeron.
The Bruins center continued by saying, “We know where to be on the ice, we know how to execute, we know the system and we’re just not doing it. We’re just not in sync and it shows.”
Despite following the “so-called” system, the Black and Gold tallied 47 shots on net in a span of 60 minutes, (22 in the first period and 20 in the third period), but didn’t send a puck past Carolina goaltender Cam Ward, who earned his third shutout of his NHL career against Boston.
“I felt like I was seeing the puck well and for the most part,” said Ward. “I was really happy with my rebound control and we had to get off to a good start because we know that they play extremely hard, especially in their building, [but] to walk away out of the first period with a 1-0 lead, we felt good about that and improved our play in the second period.”
Boston also didn’t compliment Tuukka Rask, who recorded 28-saves between the pipes, and allowed one goal in each period.
“We had a lot of shots, but we just let them see the puck pretty well and didn’t go to the net too hard at times and, you know, let them get those easy shots. But, you know, I mean, tough game,” said Rask.
Carolina has now won six contests on the road this year, two of them in Boston’s barn, which certainly is a red flag for head coach Claude Julien, who appeared quite dumbfounded after his Boston’s eighth loss at home.
“There are certain teams during certain years that will give you a hard time, and they have. They’ve played us well, and they’ve made it hard on us, [but] at the same time, they’ve come in here with lots of confidence, [and] they beat us the last three games, I’d say pretty soundly, and so that’s what the situation is,” said Julien.
The season sweep marks the first time in Carolina history that the franchise has defeated the Bruins in a regular season series, too.
“Tonight we were just really bad. We just didn’t play well,” said Boston’s captain Zdeno Chara. “[It was] just a really bad night for us.”
The Bruins will look to bounce back, and recover from their awful performance on Saturday when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 1:00pm matinee.
By Matt Noonan
BOSTON, MA – Trailing Carolina by one goal, Boston’s goaltender Tuukka Rask, (20 saves) attempted to jumpstart his team’s offense by recording various highlight reel saves. Yet, Rask’s efforts didn’t exactly help, as the Hurricanes took advantage of Boston’s lackluster player to notch their second goal of the evening, which Tuomo Ruutu connected on a backhanded rebound for the score at 16:41.
The Hurricanes tallied 14 shots in 20 minutes while the Bruins finished the period with five.
Boston had numerous scoring chances, but David Krejci, Dennis Seidenberg and Zdeno Chara could not poke the puck past Cam Ward, (27 saves).
Interesting Note: The Bruins have been held scoreless following the second period eight time this season. Also, Ward has two shutouts this season, and 18 in his NHL career. (Both notes were provided by the Bruins PR/Media Staff.).