BOSTON (AP) The Boston Bruins won
Viktor Arvidsson Jersey , then got the break they needed to remain in contention for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.David Pastrnak and Tommy
Wingels scored 51 seconds apart in the second period and Boston beat Ottawa 5-2
on Saturday night, a win that preserved Bruins’ chances for the No. 1 seed with
an overtime loss by Tampa Bay.”It’s been a battle all year. It’s been a grind,
but we’re in that position,” said Patrice Bergeron, who assisted on Pastrnak’s
tying goal 8:08 into the second period.The Bruins host Florida on Sunday night
in a game postponed by a winter storm Jan. 4. Boston is one point behind Tampa
Bay, which lost in overtime at Carolina, for the top spot in the East and the
Atlantic Division.Danton Heinen also scored for Boston, which added late goals
by Noel Acciari and David Backes in the final two minutes to put away the
Senators and complete the season sweep.Anton Khudobin stopped 26 shots for the
Bruins.”We have a chance to move into first. That’s what we all can ask for – to
have a chance,” Boston captain Zdeno Chara said. ”It’s in our hands
tomorrow.”Ryan Dzingel scored both goals for Ottawa and Colin White had two
assists. Daniel Taylor made 29 saves for the Senators, who finished 28-43-11 one
year after reaching the Eastern Conference finals.The Senators closed out the
season with back-to-back games on the road against two of the top teams in the
East. After getting shut out 4-0 at Pittsburgh on Friday night, Ottawa didn’t
concede anything against the Bruins.”We’ve got a lot of young guys and some big
names missing. It could have been easy yesterday or today to come up with a poor
effort or a lack of commitment,” Ottawa coach Guy Boucher said. ”We were making
some mental mistakes and stuff but I think the effort was there from the
beginning until the end.”After falling behind 1-0 on Dzingel’s goal 12:31 into
the game, Boston tied it on Pastrnak’s power-play goal 8:08 into the second
period. The tie lasted less than a minute before Wingels fired a wrist shot that
Taylor got his glove on but couldn’t hold and the puck bounced over the goal
line at 8:59 of the second.Heinen made a steal at the Boston blue line and took
it the other way, beating Taylor on a wrist shot with 2:59 left in the
second.Dzingel pulled Ottawa to 3-2 at 7:07 of the third with his second goal of
the game, but Acciari added an insurance goal for Boston with 1:51 left and
David Backes scored on an empty net with 43 seconds left to play.”I thought
today we got better as the game went on and we really started playing our game,
our style, our system and it showed on the scoreboard,” Bergeron said. ”We’re in
a position where we can win the conference. It’s a big feat.”NOTES: Senators D
Erik Karlsson missed his third straight game, remaining at home with his wife
after the couple’s first son was stillborn last month. … Bruins LW Tim Schaller
and RW David Pastrnak are the only Boston players to have played in the first 81
games. … Bruins LW Rick Nash missed his 11th straight game with an upper-body
injury. … After entering the season on a six-game winless streak against Ottawa,
Boston swept all four games.UP NEXTSenators: End of regular season.Bruins: Wrap
up the regular season Sunday night at home against the Panthers. The Dallas
Stars will move forward with their new coach and a familiar young face after
missing out on the NHL’s top free agent.General manager Jim Nill started another
long offseason for the Stars without postseason play by hiring coach Jim
Montgomery out of the college ranks in early May. On the first day of free
agency Sunday, right wing Valeri Nichushkin signed a $5.9 million, two-year
contract to return to Dallas after the last two seasons playing at home in
Russia.Nichushkin was the 10th overall pick by the Stars in the 2013
draft
Brian Gibbons Jersey , and had 64 points (23 goals, 41 assists) while playing 166 games in three seasons by time he was 21 before returning to Russia
and playing in the Kontinental Hockey League. Now he is back in the NHL at age
23.”Over his past two seasons in the KHL and with the national team, he has
continued his growth and development as a hockey player,” Nill said. ”He is a
fantastic addition to our depth at forward and we look forward to his return to
our club.”The Stars were one of six teams who met last week with John Tavares,
the New York Islanders captain who on Sunday agreed to a $77 million, seven-year
deal to play for his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs.Tavares could have been a big
boost for the Stars, who have missed the playoffs eight of the last 10 seasons.
Dallas still has high-scoring All-Star forwards in captain Jamie Benn and Tyler
Seguin. They also have goaltender Ben Bishop, who got a new backup Sunday.Free
agent goaltender Anton Khudobin signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the
Stars after a backup role in Boston last season behind Tuukka Rask. Khudobin has
played in 147 games with 135 starts over the past nine seasons with four
different teams.Dallas also signed 12-year veteran right wing Blake Comeau to a
$7.2 million, three-year contract after he spent the past three seasons in
Colorado. Defenseman Roman Polak got a $1.3 million, one-year deal after 54
games for Toronto last season.The 32-year-old Comeau, the Islanders’
second-round draft pick in 2004, had 13 goals and 21 assists last season with
the Avalanche. That included three short-handed goals.”His elite speed makes him
a disruptive defensive presence and he fits well with what head coach Jim
Montgomery is trying to accomplish,” Nill said.Goaltender Kari Lehtonen, who is
second in Stars history with 215 wins but had become a backup to Bishop, is an
unrestricted free agent.The Stars lost left wings Antoine Roussel ($12 million,
four years with Vancouver) and Curtis McKenzie ($3 million, two years with
Vegas), and defenseman Greg Pateryn ($6.75 million, three years with Minnesota)
in free agency Sunday.—
