Second period quick hits

After a ho hum first period, the Bruins and Senators piked up the pace in the second period. A key 5-on-3 penalty kill, followed by a lapse in judgement by a reigning Vezina winner and a power play tally of their own have the B’s and Sens tied 1-1 after 40.

The Patrice Bergeron line set the tone at the start of the second period when the unit fired four shots on Craig Anderson during their first shift of the middle 20. None of those, went in, however.

Tuukka Rask was an absolute beast as the Bruins were on a 5-on-3 for 1:42 during the middle of the period and made two crucial stops on Bobby Ryan and Kyle Turris. Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg were on the ice for a majority of that time but they took up space and gave Tuukka some room to make the stops.

Rask, however, would like to have the goal he gave up on Kyle Turris back. The Finnish goalie allowed the goal on a short side post. At a time where they had a little momentum going, that lapse in judgement was the last thing that Rask, and the Black and Gold, needed.

After killing the first three power plays, the Bruins went on a man advantage the next two times. That is where Torey Krug shines the most and he tied the game at 1-1 with a bullet of a one-timer at 16:22 of the second.

Records when tied after two periods: Bruins – 3-2-3, Sens – 4-4-4.

First period quick hits

In his first game back, Adam McQuaid isn’t looking like a guy who’s missed 18 games with a broken thumb. “Darth Quaider”, paired with Dennis Seidenberg, was not afraid to throw his weight around and is looking quite comfortable out there. The Bruins’ back end needed some muscle and McQuaid has been able to do that so far.

There’s no denying that the fourth line has the biggest identity crisis on a team still looking for its identity. Still, Craig Cunningham is standing out among the trio of Daniel Paille and Gregory Campbell. Not only does he add speed, but he’s not shy getting in peoples faces and is displaying a good physical game. With Paille and Campbell’s future uncertain after this season, Cunningham could be the face of the new look fourth line for the forseeable future.

We’ll end the quick hits from the first 20 with some interesting insight from Hockey Buzz’s Ty Anderson.

First time since 2005-06 that Bruins have started new year out of playoff position.

— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) January 3, 2015

And for your positive stat of the day: Bruins are 5-0-1 in first game of new year under Claude Julien.

— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) January 3, 2015

Pregame quick hits

Good afternoon from the TD Garden where the Boston Bruins look to bounce back from their disappointing shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on New Year’s Eve and start 2015 off right when they host the Ottawa Senators at the TD Garden.

2014 was full of ups and downs for the Black and Gold, and certainly Milan Lucic is happy to turn the page.

“It wasn’t a good 2014,” the eighth year power forward said after the loss to the Leafs. “I’m happy it’s over. I’m looking forward to 2015 and hopefully we can turn things around.”

On Boston.com: Lucic happy 2014 is over, looking forward to 2015

The one bit of good news for the Bruins is Adam McQuaid has been cleared to play and took part in warmups. The veteran defenseman shared duties with Matt Bartkowski during line rushes skating alongside Dennis Seidenberg on the B’s second defensive paring. If McQuaid is in, it will be his first game since breaking his thumb on November 18th in a 2-0 win over the St. Louis Blues.

Head coach Claude Julien will roll out the same forwards from Wednesday’s game against the Leafs. Here is a look at the Bruins lineup per warmups.

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Seth Griffith
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Reilly Smith
Chris Kelly-Carl Soderberg-Loui Eriksson
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Craig Cunningham

Zdeno Chara-Dougie Hamilton
Dennis Seidenberg-Adam McQuaid/Matt Bartkowski
Torey Krug-Kevan Miller

Tuukka Rask
Niklas Svedberg

Keep it here on Bruins Daily throughout today’s Bruins-Senators matinee. You can also follow us on Twitter for live updates @BruinsDaily.