Joe Haggerty
28 articles published
Articles by Joe Haggerty
Haggerty: Bruins must make tough decision on Arvidsson
The Viktor Arvidsson situation is going to become a really interesting one for the Bruins ahead of the March 6 trade deadline around the NHL. The 32-year-old officially surpassed all of his season totals for last season by notching a pair of goals in Boston’s 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden on Thursday night in the first game back from the Winter Olympics break. Arvidsson now has 16 goals and 30 points on the season, looks like a lock to be a 20-goal scorer for this group and is on pace for 23 goals and 42 points that would be decent production for the second line winger. The first goal was Arvidsson simply throwing a puck on the net from long distance that caught a deflected Columbus stick on its way to the back of the net, and the second score was the empty netter that clinched the game for Boston in the final minutes.
NHL Notes: Road woes could be big playoff deal for Bruins
The Boston Bruins have a road problem that’s going to have to improve down the stretch if they hope to be a playoff team. The Black and Gold dropped their fifth road game in a row – if one counts the outdoor Stadium Series game in Tampa as a road tilt – with a 3-1 loss to the Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon, and some of the happenings in defeat had the familiar ring of other losses on the road this season. The loss dropped the B’s to 11-13-4 on the road this season, a mark that will need to improved as the Bruins play a slew of road games at the very end of the season when a wild card spot is likely to be clinched.
BSJ Live Q&A: Haggerty on B's ahead of trade deadline, Bruins at the deadline -- 11 a.m. Wednesday 03.04.26
Haggs has you covered with any burning questions as the Bruins approach Friday's NHL trade deadline with "a cautious approach" for a hockey club currently pointed toward the postseason.
Haggerty: Bruins appopriately cautuous at the trade deadline
As the big names come off the board ahead of Friday afternoon’s NHL trade deadline, it shouldn’t be any surprise that the Bruins have not made a momentous splash despite a hockey team that’s currently in a playoff spot in the East. Don Sweeney cautioned everybody at the beginning of the week that the Bruins would be looking to give this scrappy wild card team “a bump” in terms of adding a sprinkle of talent, but it wasn’t going to happen at the cost of the organization’s long-term vision. Sweeney conducted a fire sale at last season’s trade deadline where Charlie Coyle, Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Trent Frederic, Justin Brazeau and others were sent away for a raft of prospects and draft picks, and that house cleaning was executed at an extraordinarily high level leading into this season’s pleasant surprise.
Haggerty: Bruins showing they've got right playoff stuff
It really shouldn’t come as a major surprise at this point, but the Boston Bruins continue to clearly demonstrate they have “the stuff” to be a playoff team this spring. It remains to be seen how it’s going to play out for them and Tuesday night’s home loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs was as unimpressive as it gets for the Black and Gold, but it was more than offset by the B’s shaking off some third period troubles to knock off the Sabres in overtime in a 4-3 comeback road victory at the KeyBank Center on Wednesday night. The win allowed the B’s to open up a three-point cushion on the top wild card playoff spot and pulled them into a tie with the Montreal Canadiens for the third playoff spot in the Atlantic Division, though the Habs hold two games in hand on the Black and Gold entering Thursday.
Haggerty: Bruins make the right call passing at deadline
The Bruins promised to be uncharacteristically cautious headed into the NHL trade deadline, and they lived up to that with an eerily quiet Friday as most of the rest of the league was conducting a flurry of business. The B’s were obviously heavy into the trade talks for defenseman Rasmus Andersson prior to the Olympic break only to watch the Vegas Golden Knights complete the deal, but that willingness to wheel and deal changed coming out of the Olympic break. Some if it was perhaps the way the Bruins have not been able to generate the same high level of play that they did prior to the Olympics, but another major aspect of the inactive trade deadline was the seller’s market where prices were exceedingly high to make a trade.
NHL Notes: Bruins players appreciate 'trust' in current group
The Bruins players went out and played arguably their best game since the Olympic break after the NHL trade deadline had come and done, and perhaps that wasn’t a coincidence for the Black and Gold. There was no big additions to a group that’s already played their way into a wild card playoff spot this season, but there were also no subtractions to a group of players that have shown character, resilience and toughness that wasn’t there a year ago. It didn't mean that the Bruins didn't try to make moves, of course, as they finished as the runner-ups for the services of Rasmus Andersson prior to the Olympic break, and they were definitely in the running for forward Connor Garland before he ended up getting moved to a Columbus Blue Jackets team chasing them in the standings.
BSJ Live Q&A: Haggerty on Bruins stretch run, playoff hopes -- 11 a.m. Thursday 03.12.26
With the Bruins entering a stretch of home games after a tough back-to-back last weekend against the Capitals and Penguins, Haggs is here for all of your B's and NHL-related questions. So get them ready!
Haggerty: McAvoy stepping up as tough leader Bruins need
This season has not been fun for Charlie McAvoy in a lot of respects, and it has undoubtedly come at a personal cost given the hits he has taken to his mouth and chin. But those moments of discomfort and painful adversity have also come amidst some tremendous high points in perhaps the biggest season of personal growth in McAvoy’s NHL career. There was another high point, and low moment, for McAvoy on Tuesday night as he scored the overtime game-winner in a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at TD Garden and lost more teeth after taking another puck to the mouth.
Haggerty: Bruins lagging offensively with 'best players' struggling
It’s getting to the time of year when the best players for the Boston Bruins need to step it up if they’re going to crash the Stanley Cup playoff party. The B’s could only scratch for a pair of goals in the third period in a 4-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night where they outshot the Sharks, but couldn’t finish off enough plays against a San Jose goalie in Alex Nedeljkovic that admittedly played very well while making 39 saves for the Sharks. “We were just looking for that one goal, and it just didn’t happen for maybe too long,” said Marco Sturm. “We know once we get one going, we get the crowd going and we can change the game. But for some reason it was a little off today and we weren’t sharp. We had early chances and couldn’t score, and that was the hockey game.”