Jonas Hiller stopped all 45 shots he faced as the Anaheim Ducks shutout the Bruins 3-0 at TD Garden on Monday night. The B's were booed off the ice by the TD Garden crowd after dropping their fourth game in their last five games (1-3-1).
Brandon McMillan gave Anaheim a 1-0 lead 5:57 into the game. Luca Sbisa's shot from the slot deflected off McMillan at the top of the crease. McMillan gathered the puck and chipped it in over a sprawling Tim Thomas for the early lead.
Lubomir Visnovsky's slapper from the slot made its way through heavy traffic in front and past the glove of Tim Thomas for a 2-0 Anaheim lead at 4:45 of the middle period.
Corey Perry's shorthanded goal made it 3-0 on a great individual effort with 4:55 to go in the second period. Perry skated the puck into the right wing corner, carried the puck along the goal line and stuffed the puck passed Tim Thomas for his 17th goal of the season.
Notes:
- The Bruins wore their road white jerseys tonight because the Ducks asked the NHL for permission to rock their new third jerseys.
- The Bruins gave out "Rancournaments" to the first 10,000 fans through the turnstiles.
- Brad Marchand was scratched from the lineup with an undisclosed injury and is considered "day-to-day". The consensus was that Marchand was feeling the lingering effects of P.K. Subban's open ice hit. According to Claude Julien, it was from a hit he took in the Washington game:
"He’s day- to day, from what we know right now it’s not long term. He’s still stiff and that’s all I can basically tell you right now and that I guess it escalated from that hit near the penalty box the other day [Saturday vs. Washington]. So hopefully we get him back soon."
- I can't figure out if Jonas Hiller's gun metal black mask is cool in a simplistic way or lazy. At any rate, it still looks cooler than Tim Thomas' "mage".
- Sad News: Graig Woodburn, hockey writer for WEEI.com passed away on Sunday night after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Woodburn was 50 years old. I met Graig at the NHL Winter Classic and he seemed like a great guy. We was one of the press box veterans that made me feel like I belonged there. According to James Murphy, the Bruins PR staff will leave Woodburn's seat in the press box empty in his honor for the remainder of the season.
- Gregory Campbell and Kyle Chipchura dropped the gloves and squared off 1:52 into the second period. Campbell hung with him, but Chipchura scored the takedown.
- There was a scary moment just over midway through the second period when Steven Kampfer went crashing into the end boards. Teemu Selanne was given a two minute minor for boarding. Kampfer was able to leave the ice under his own power, but seemed to be favoring his right leg. The rookie defenseman returned to the ice a few minutes later.
- Patrice Bergeron made a great, calm, cool, and collected play to sweep a puck that had beat Tim Thomas off the goal line to prevent a 3-0 Ducks lead in the second period.
- Late in the third period, a "Fire Claude" chant started in the balcony.
- Apparently, there was more spirited action in the stands than on the ice tonight. Punches were thrown in 309.
- The Bruins out-shot the Ducks 45-25. The Bruins have only a .462 win percentage when out-shooting their opponents.
- The Bruins directed 88 shots towards net tonight and could not find the back of the night: 45 shots on goal, 23 attempts blocked, and 20 missed shots.
"Lethargic and Uninspired"
- Versus Studio Analyst and Former Bruin Aaron Ward on the Bruins performance tonight
- The Bruins will spend the day tomorrow delivering toys to sick children at seven Boston area hospitals.
- The Bruins return to game action on Wednesday when they will face-off against the Atlanta Thrashers in a Festivus showdown.