Nine goals.
NHL scores 2016: Milan Lucic thanked Bruins fans by routing them with the Kings
Boston did not enjoy seeing Milan Lucic again.
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Nine.
The Boston Bruins were either completely checked out mentally on Tuesday or they made the single most generous gesture to a returning former teammate in the history of sports.
You might've heard that Milan Lucic, the bruising big winger that embodied the Bruins' Stanley Cup winning team in 2011, returned to Boston on Tuesday for the first time as a visiting player. He received a royal welcome, full of ovations, signs and video tributes.
And then the Kings went to work.
Brad Marchand got the Bruins on the board first, but then the Kings scored.
And kept scoring.
And kept scoring.
And kept scoring. Even Milan Lucic got in on the fun.
By the end of regulation, the Kings were up by seven goals and the Bruins were left wondering just what happened. Part of the problem is that Tuukka Rask is mired in one of his rare bad spells. He's given up at least three goals in three of his last five starts, and the Bruins have lost all of them.
In the two starts they’ve won, Rask had a 1.42 goals against average and a .955 save percentage.
That’s an incredibly small sample size, I know, but it’s a decent microcosm of where the Bruins are at these days. More often than years past, as Rask goes, the Bruins go. It’s a glimpse of the team they were back in October, leaking goals at a staggering pace when their goalie couldn’t cover defensive mistakes.
They’ve proven they aren’t that team. Or at least, they’re capable of overcoming those tendencies. They’ll hope this ugly performance was just a blip on the radar.
Scores
3 things we learned
1. Bob Hartley pushed the right buttons in Calgary
After a reportedly terrible effort in practice on Monday, Hartley laid into his team and benched stars Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan (as well as Lance Bouma) to send a message to the youthful squad. It seemed to have worked on the guys actually on the ice. Calgary overcame the massive absences and scored four goals anyway, while Jonas Hiller shut down the Maple Leafs' rally late in the third. The real test will be how Gaudreau and Monahan respond when they return to the ice. If they play inspired hockey again, Hartley should be lauded.
2. Never leave John Klingberg open in the slot during overtime
Just a few games ago, Dallas’ budding young blue line star started a three-on-one in overtime and sniped a goal when left open down the middle. The Wild did the exact same thing on Tuesday and Klingberg cashed in again.
3. The Blackhawks are sick and tired of losing goal challenges
They’ve lost three in five games. And Joel Quenneville can’t take it anymore.
Impact Moment
The New Jersey Devils’ ceremony for Martin Brodeur’s jersey retirement was absolutely phenomenal.
Stat of the Night
The Leafs have 19 regulation wins in their last 102 games.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) February 10, 2016
I'm not kidding.
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