Bruins Defeat Senators in Probable Postseason Preview

The Boston Bruins headed to Canada's Capital city of Ottawa to take on the Senators.

When they last met in Boston, the Sens took the contest with the game's lone goal, and it was their first win in nine tries.

In what looks like it may be the first-round matchup for the second/seventh seed, both teams rested some of their key players knowing that risking them to injury with a week to go before the playoffs is not worth it.

The Sens got Ben Bishop in net, as Anderson didn't dress.

The Bruins' No. 2 goalie, Tuukka Rask, is still on the IR with no clear date on when he'll be back.  Marty Turco is not eligible to play in the playoffs due to his post-trade-deadline signing.  They brought up Anton Khudobin from the Providence Bruins to get in game shape in the event Rask is unable to back up starter Tim Thomas.

First Frame

Boston got on the board first with the lone goal by Benoit Pouliot.  Pouliot and Brian Rolston gained the Sens' zone with a two-on-one.  Pouliot and Rolston played give-and-go, and it was Pouliot who tipped the puck into the wide open left side of Bishop.

Middle Frame

The Bruins extended the lead with a shot from the point by Greg Zanon that seemed to be misjudged by Bishop.  The shot hits his glove, but it then rolled out and into the net to make it 2-0, Bruins.

The Sens get on the board with a fluky chain of events.  Jason Spezza gained the line and as he skated to the middle of the ice, he whipped a shot at the net and it went off Andrew Ference's skate, off the right post, off Khudobin and in to put the score at 2-1 for the Bruins.

Khudobin made some spectacular saves at point-blank range on three occasions in the frame and has shown why he is the starter for the Bruins' farm team in the AHL.  Expect to see him in the near future if that performance is a sign of things to come. 

Final Frame

The Bruins were on the power play and the Sens had a golden chance to tie it—and I mean golden.  Erik Karlsson, one of the Sens' top performers had the wide open right side, and he heeled the puck to put it wide right.  Not only did Karlsson have the chance to knot up the game, but he would have been only the second player to score a short-handed goal against the Bruins this season.

The B's made the Sens pay for that mistake as David Krejci skated in the Sens' zone and passed to Milan Lucic, who buried his 26th of the season.  3-1 Bruins.

Khudobin got his first win as a Bruin with a 44-save night.

The Bruins look sharp for not having Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuk dressed for the night.

Next up are the Buffalo Sabres, who were eliminated from the playoffs tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The game means nothing at this point in terms of standings and seed placement, but there has been some bad blood between these two teams in the past and more so in recent seasons.  Look for some shenanigans in that game. 

This is Cory Ducey saying "Hit Hard, But Keep It Clean".