Jarome Finneginla Leads Bruins to St. Patrick's Day Win

The Bruins won their 9th straight Monday night against the Minnesota Wild in convincing fashion. Jarome Iginla scored twice. Loui Eriksson scored as well, and Reilly Smith scored his 19th of the season. Zdeno Chara had two assists.

Iginla has scored 25 goals this season, and as I think about his potential contributions in the upcoming playoffs, I can't help but imagine how much he might have helped the Bruins last year. When the B's faced the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals, they had run out of healthy and performing forwards. Iginla might have been the difference, or at least helped the Bruins force the series to 7 games. At least he's part of the team now.

Tuukka Rask made a couple of big saves in this game, much to Mikko Koivu's chagrin. Rask stopped 33 of 34. As part of this 9 game winning streak he's won 6 times, only allowing 9 goals (1.5 per game) with a save percentage of .947 (161 saves on 170 shots).

But the big story of the streak has been the offense. The B's have scored 36 goals in the last 9 games. If you've forgotten your multiplication tables, that's 4 goals per game.

One reason for the offensive success is the IKEA line of Loui Eriksson and Carl Soderberg. The two Swedish Fish combined for a goal Monday night and have combined for 5 goals in this streak. Not bad for the third line.

The top line has been leading the way. The aforementioned Iginla has scored 8 goals in this streak, including 5 in the last 3 games. David Krejci and Milan Lucic have each scored 3.

So 14 goals from the top line + 5 goals from the Swedish connection + contributions from everyone else + Rask playing well in net = 9 straight wins.

The Bruins now stand with 97 points, first in the Eastern Conference (5 points ahead of Pittsburgh), tied for the second best record in the NHL. With 14 games remaining, the Bruins have a 16 point lead over Tampa Bay and Montreal in the divisional race. The B's are 13 points away from clinching the division and home ice in the first two rounds. They're 7 points away from clinching a playoff spot.

They now embark on a weird road trip, playing in New Jersey Tuesday night, then Colorado on Friday and Phoenix on Saturday. The Bruins end the season with 15 games in 23 days, so clinching stuff will give them a chance to rest key players (Iginla, Chara, Rask) for the playoffs.

Photo Credit:
Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Stanley Cup Roundup*

As always, there are some seriously good series being played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. All Original Six teams made the playoffs, the top two markets in the country (New York, LA) each have two teams in the mix, Canada was well-represented, and there are no teams from truly poor hockey markets like Phoenix or Nashville. And we're already rid of the Vancouver Canucks.

Sharks 4, Canucks 3 (OT) - Sharks win series 4-0

Vancouver went with Cory Schneider and it didn't really work out. This was a matchup between teams that perennially choke in the playoffs, so one of them had to advance and one had to be embarrassed. I had to post a pic of a hot girl in Vancouver colors, since I won't have a chance to post anymore in the upcoming weeks.

Blackhawks 3, Wild 0 - Blackhawks lead series 3-1

Chicago only lost 7 games in regulation this season, and Minnesota doesn't appear to be much of a match for them. The Wild aren't healthy and the Blackhawks have Patrick Sharp, who had 2 goals in the game and has 4 in the series.

Senators 3, Canadiens 2 (OT) - Senators lead series 3-1

Only 8 penalty minutes in this game. There were about 30 times as many penalty minutes in the previous game. Montreal got conservative in the 3rd period and it screwed them. Ottawa grinded out a pair of goals. Carey Price appeared to hurt his groin at the end of the 3rd and backup Peter Budaj allowed the Kyle Turris game-winner. Ottawa scares me more than any other team in the East. They're getting 110% from their talent and they've been working their asses off all season. Every game they played against the Bruins was close and they got better and better against the B's as the season progressed.

Islanders 6, Penguins 4 - Series tied 2-2

The Penguins have the best skaters in the NHL. No doubt about it. They're stacked. Unfortunately, their goalie is Marc-Andre Fleury. He allowed 6 goals on 24 shots. One fourth of the shots on goal went by him. And some of them were hideous. He's allowed 14 goals in the last 3 games, and Vokoun might get the start in Game 5.

Tonight's games...

7:00pm - Bruins @ Maple Leafs - Bruins lead series 2-1 - NESN/NHL Network
The Bruins need to remain consistent. Tonight they have an opportunity to start burying Toronto's grave. They also have an opportunity to give Toronto a second life.

7:30pm - Capitals @ Rangers - Capitals lead series 2-1 - NBC Sports
The Rangers were up against it and Game 3 and came through. Washington looks good, they have Ovechkin, they have depth, and the Rangers don't seem to know how to win playoff series. However, the Caps will have to find another gear to knock them out.

9:00pm - Kings @ Blues - Series tied 2-2 - CNBC
The defending Champions don't look as sharp as they did last year. I haven't seen much of this series but St. Louis has looked good from what I have seen. And Jonathan Quick has looked human.

10:00pm - Red Wings @ Ducks - Series tied 2-2 - NBC Sports
This series is a big reason why Detroit will be moving to the Eastern Conference. A fanbase in the Eastern Time zone is forced to watch playoff games at 10:00pm. On weeknights. Not good for business. One good thing is if Detroit wins they could face Midwest rival Chicago in the next round. And if Anaheim wins they could face California rival LA.