Dougie Hamilton News

That's what some Boston Bruins fans are wondering after the defenseman logged his second straight game of 35+ minutes on Thursday night, playing 38:02 in Boston's 4-3 overtime win over the New York Rangers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Brad Marchand scored with 4:20 left in the first overtime and the Boston Bruins beat the New York Rangers 3-2 in the first playoff game in 40 years between the Original Six teams.

With the defense-first system of Claude Julien and the Boston Bruins, you might think a rookie defenseman with just three games of NHL experience who was called up to play his first-ever postseason game would be kept to a strict set of rules.

With the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers set to begin their playoff series, B's legend Ray Bourque joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Gresh and Zo on Thursday to preview the series.

It's an unwritten rule in hockey that for a referee to call a penalty in overtime, the transgression must be on the level of felony assault, or at the very least, it must unfairly prevent what would have been a bona fide scoring chance for the opposition.

After the Rangers failed on a 3-on-2, Bergeron flew up the right wing with the puck and from the goal line fed Marchand in front.

Officials awaited daybreak to fully assess the scope of the destruction left in the wake of a deadly tornado in Granbury.

A pair of Original Six rivals will battle in the playoffs for the first time in 40 years on Thursday, as the Boston Bruins host the New York Rangers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

By now, the image of Patrice Bergeron scoring the game-winning goal in overtime has been etched permanently on all Bruins' fans minds, an unforgettable moment in franchise history.

With Andrew Ference and Wade Redden out, the Bruins defense was already hurting when coach Claude Julien inserted the two rookies into his Game7 lineup Monday against Toronto.

Whether or not the news changes tomorrow night remains to be seen, but the Bruins held their one and only practice in preparation for their second-round matchup against the New York Rangers and they were missing the three regular defensemen who were banged up in the Toronto series - Dennis Seidenberg , Andrew Ference and Wade Redden .

By the time the Bruins take the ice for Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New York Rangers tomorrow night, their defense corps might look even more different than it did for the Game 7 win against Toronto on Monday night.

From his perch on the ninth floor, Peter Chiarelli looked down on the ice at what he feared were the last few minutes of the Bruins' season.

The elation of the Bruins' improbable Game 7 comeback victory was tempered with the loss of Dennis Seidenberg , the shutdown defenseman who suffered a leg injury on the first shift of the game in a collision with the Toronto Maple Leafs' Matt Frattin.

News: Kessel scored the game-winning goal Sunday in a 2-1 victory over Boston. The goal came at even strength.

May 12, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic scores on Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender James Reimer during the third period in game six of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Air Canada Centre.

For those of you who were looking for a return to 2011, when the Bruins roared through the springtime en route to their first Stanley Cup championship in 39 years, we may have a not-so-pleasant change in plans for you.

Toronto Maple Leafs' Nazem Kadri takes to the ice for a practice session at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Saturday May 11, 2013 ahead of their Stanley Cup playoff game 6 against the Boston Bruins.

It's amazing that the Bruins find themselves one game away from clinching their first-round playoff series with virtually no production from Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand, their top two goal-scorers during the regular season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, on the brink of elimination after a stunning home overtime loss in Game 4, stayed alive in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins Friday night.