Bruins Brief: Home At Last; Former Cup Champ Makes Triumphant NHL Return

Good morning, my name is Andrew Fantucchio. It’s Saturday, December 21, and here are the top stories, news items, and highlights surrounding the Boston Bruins and from across the NHL today.

Bruins News:

Bruins Terminate Johnson: The Tyler Johnson experiment in Boston didn’t last long, as the Bruins terminated the veteran forward’s contract after just nine games. Johnson first joined the team on a professional tryout contract prior to the start of training camp. But even after patiently waiting to get his opportunity to play, he never found a way to fit in with the Bruins.

Out of Gas in Overtime at End of Trip: Perhaps it was the nearly two weeks of travel through Western Canada that caught up to them, or maybe it was the difficult task of having to keep pace with the Edmonton Oilers. Either way, the Boston Bruins ran out of gas in the final game of their lengthy road trip.

Soft Goals Spoil Swayman’s Strong Start: The OT loss in Edmonton was even more disheartening because it was a game the Bruins deserved to win. They likely would’ve if Jeremy Swayman hadn’t allowed a few soft goals along the way.

Former Stanley Cup Champ Returns to NHL:

What a fall from grace it was for Matt Murray.

Seven years ago, he helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win back-to-back Stanley Cups as a rookie goaltender, only for his career to quickly go awry due to injuries and poor performance.

The last anyone saw of him in the NHL was nearly two years ago.

But after 21 months down in the minors, Murray was in the crease of an NHL net last night, making 24 saves for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres.

Yesterday’s Scoreboard:

Maple Leafs: 6, Sabres: 3

Canadiens: 4, Red Wings: 3

Panthers: 2, Blues: 1 (OT)

Capitals: 3, Hurricanes: 1

Rangers: 3, Stars: 1

Utah Hockey Club: 2, Wild: 1

Avalanche: 4, Ducks: 2

Today’s Schedule:

All Times EST

Buffalo Sabres v. Boston Bruins, 7 p.m.

Los Angeles Kings v. Nashville Predators, 1:30 p.m.

Chicago Blackhawks v. Calgary Flames, 4 p.m.

San Jose Sharks v. Edmonton Oilers, 4 p.m.

New York Islanders v. Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m.

Detroit Red Wings v. Montreal Canadiens, 7 p.m.

Pittsburgh Penguins v. New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m.

Columbus Blue Jackets v. Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m.

Minnesota Wild v. Winnipeg Jets, 7 p.m.

Ottawa Senators v. Vancouver Canucks, 10 p.m.

Seattle Kraken v. Vegas Golden Knights, 1o p.m.

More From National Hockey Now:

Detroit: Even the things that seem so simple are becoming difficult for the Detroit Red Wings.

Montreal:  The Montreal Canadiens will have to learn to adapt after trading away one of their up-and-coming defensemen earlier this week.

New Jersey: New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald gave an honest evaluation of one of the team’s prospects and didn’t hold back.

New York: From lacking secondary scoring to a dreadful penalty and an inability to close out games late, there is a lot that needs to change for the New York Islanders.

Pittsburgh: After they seemed headed straight for a long, dark rebuild, the Pittsburgh Penguins have suddenly found the light and some wins.

FOLLOW ANDREW FANTUCCHIO ON 𝕏: @A_FANTUCCHIO

FOLLOW BOSTON HOCKEY NOW ON 𝕏 AND FACEBOOK