Bruins Beat
by Bob Morello
Bruins All-Stars Shine
Tuesday night saw Boston crank out a satisfying 5-3 road win over the St. Louis Blues in David Backes’ return home, a win that saw the B’s notching two power play goals, (Frank Vatrano and Torey Krug) raising their goals scored total for the last three road games to an even dozen. Thus far a promising road trip that has seen them take five of the six points available, with a 2-0-1 record. David Pastrnak and newly named All-Star Brad Marchand each celebrated a three-point night, with a pair of goals from Marchand (14 & 15), and an assist to raise his team leading total to 38 points, while Pastrnak assisted on three and second on the team with 31 points.
Nearing the end of their grueling four games in six days schedule, the Bruins tonight (Thursday), will be hosted by the Nashville Predators in an 8:00pm start. The end of the road trip will signal a much welcomed, albeit brief home stand, with a pair of 1:00pm matinee games on TD Garden ice versus the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, and the New York Islanders on Monday (Martin Luther King Day), with a quick road jaunt scheduled for Wednesday, 1/18 at 8:00pm, as they face the Detroit Red Wings, before returning home to host the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, 1/20 at 7:00pm.
Fans votes have chosen the captains of the four National Hockey League divisions, with Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price named captain of the Atlantic Division’s 2017 NHL All-Star team roster. NHL Hockey Operations named the remaining 40 NHL All-Star player selections, and the Atlantic Division roster includes two Boston Bruins – forward Brad Marchand and goaltender Tuukka Rask. This will be both Marchand and Rask’s first All-Star Game selection. Additional captains voted by fans have, P.K. Subban, Nashville Predators (Central); Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins (Metropolitan) and Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (Pacific).
The 28-year-old Marchand, a Bruins third-round pick, (71st overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, leads the Bruins in points this season with 15 goals and 23 assists for 38 points in 44 games, to go along with 42 penalty minutes. Last season, he established career-highs in goals (37) and points (60), while adding 90 penalty minutes and a plus-21 rating in 77 games. His 37 goals ranked sixth in the NHL and were the most by a Bruins player since Glen Murray (44) in 2002-03.
Rask, the 29-year-old Finnish Flash, was selected in the first-round (21st overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and is currently tied for first in the NHL in shutouts (5), fourth in the NHL in goals against average (1.97), tied for first in wins (21) and seventh in save percentage (.926) this season. In 2013-14, Rask was named to the NHL’s official First All-Star Team and won the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the best goaltender in the league, after posting a 36-15-6 record with a 2.04 goals against average and a .930 save percentage.
The remainder of the Atlantic Division 2017 NHL All-Star team roster will feature forwards: Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning; rookie sensation Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs; Frans Nielsen, Detroit Red Wings; Kyle Oposo, Buffalo Sabres; and Vincent Trocheck, Florida Panthers. Shoring up the blue line will be defenseman: Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning; Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators; and Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens. Joining Rask in net will be captain Carey Price. Pretty impressive numbers in the net for the Atlantic Division, as Price’s numbers have 20-6-4 with a 2.12 goals-against-average and .928 save percentage. Rask’s record is pretty comparable, with 20-9-0-3, 1.93 goals-against-average, a save-percentage of .928, and tied for the NHL lead with 5 shutouts.
The 40 players selected by the NHL join the four captains, who were voted in by fans earlier this month, to take part in the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The 2017 Coors Light NHL All-Star Skills Competition is Saturday, January 28th at Staples Center. The 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game will be played on Sunday, January 29th.
The All-Star format will have each division, (Atlantic, Central, Metropolitan, Pacific) represented by six forwards, three defensemen and two goalies. The divisional teams will compete head-to-head in the Skills Competition on Saturday and then will face off in semifinal games Sunday. The winners of the semifinal games will play for the championship. Each game is played in a 3-on-3 format with two 10-minute halves.
The four coaches for the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend will be Michel Therrien of the Montreal Canadiens (Atlantic), Bruce Boudreau of the Minnesota Wild (Central), John Tortorella of the Columbus Blue Jackets (Metropolitan) and Peter DeBoer of the San Jose Sharks (Pacific). The Pacific Division won the 2016 All-Star Game in Nashville, defeating the Central Division 9-6 in the semifinal and the Atlantic Division 1-0 in the final.
CHS Roundup
CHS boys basketball team defeats two foes
The Chelsea High boys basketball team earned a pair of victories on the road this past week, defeating Commonwealth Athletic Conference rivals Shawsheen and Greater Lawrence.
The Red Devils made the distant trek to Shawsheen Friday and came back with an 80-71 victory. T.J. Patterson paced the potent Chelsea attack with 26 points and teammate Franklin Cruz struck for 24.
Steve Lacy, Chris Torres, and Ralph Otero chipped in nine points apiece. Jamie Celorio, who made 2-of-4 free throws, made a big steal down the stretch to seal the win.
Chelsea made the long bus ride Tuesday evening to Greater Lawrence a worthwhile journey, bringing home a 71-67 triumph.
Lacy and Torres tingled the twine for 17 points apiece and Patterson hit for 16. Otero, in another fine effort off the bench, sparked Chelsea with nine points Balmeiro Daveiga added five points, Cruz chipped in four, and Luciano Bruno contributed two points.
“We’re gaining some momentum,” said first-year CHS head coach Judah Jackson, whose squad now stands at 4-3 on the season. “We’re scoring a lot of points, which is indicative of the team working together and building chemistry.
“However, we still have a lot of things to work on,” added Jackson. “We have been getting into early foul trouble and need to become more disciplined in that aspect of the game.”
Jackson and his crew play at Northeast Regional tomorrow (Friday) evening and then will host Greater Lowell Tuesday evening in a battle for first place in the Large Division of the Commonwealth Athletic Conference.
Revere comes to town Wednesday night in a non-league encounter that has become a big rivalry game in recent years for both schools, which for many years were long-time rivals in the Greater Boston League.
CHS track teams do well in Malden meet
Although both the Chelsea High girls and boys indoor track teams fell to a powerhouse Malden team last Wednesday, a number of Red Devils turned in fine individual performances.
The boys came up on the short end of a 59-27 decision. Individual winners for Chelsea included Adriel Cedano in the 300m (40.5) and Jose Leclerc in the mile (5:04). Other Red Devil point-getters included Nick Ieng in the 55m (2nd, 5.9), Alex Pedrero in the hurdles (3rd, 8.16), Isaac Colcord in the shot (2nd, 34′), and Isaac Deida in the shot (3rd, 33’5″).
Ieng and Cedano combined to take 2nd and 3rd place in the high jump. The boys 4x400m relay team of Ieng, Cedano, Pedrero, and Bryan Rivas, won an exciting race to cap off the scoring.
The Lady Devils dropped their meet by a score of 60-24. Martine Simon was a double winner in the 55m (6.5) and the high jump (4′-4″). Sylvia Agywaa was 2nd in the hurdles (8.7), Owliyo Mohamud was 2nd in the 300m (47.9), Jocelyn Poste was 3rd in the 1000m (3:43.6), Yarid Deras was 2nd in the mile (6:18.8), Amanda Diaz was 3rd in the 2 mile (13:07), and Alex Martinez took 2nd in the shot put (27’11”).
“Both the boys and girls fought very hard against a very deep, strong, and well- coached Malden team,” said CHS head coach Mark Martineau. “It was a great day to race and our younger athletes learned a lot by facing this level of competition. I am very proud of their performance. This is the most points that we have taken from Malden in the past three years.”
The Red Devils were set to take on Medford yesterday (Wednesday) and will compete Friday in the State Relay Meet at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.
They will take on Somerville next Thursday.