By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli is negotiating with Chris Kelly to re-sign the alternate captain. Kelly is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

“He’s a good, versatile player who had a career year,” Chiarelli said. “He’s a veteran who won a Cup. That’s hard to replace. He’s told me he wants to stay.”

Kelly is coming off a four-year, $8.5 million contract. The 31-year-old would require a raise to re-sign with the Bruins. If Kelly reaches the open market, Ottawa might be interested in bringing back the former Senator. Kelly’s primary residence is in Ottawa.

We’ll have more on Chiarelli’s World Championships experience with Team Canada, his efforts to re-sign other UFAs-to-be, and next month's draft in Sunday’s Globe.

@GlobeFluto

The Bruins may be out of the playoffs, but that doesn't mean Globe hockey writer Kevin Paul Dupont is out of the game. He's been Tweeting like crazy throughout the playoffs, so we set up this post to capture his commentary each night as he watches the games unfold.

By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff

Bruins president Cam Neely is among the game’s leaders who want equipment to undergo continual examination in relation to player safety.

“Personally, I’d rather have a player with a separated shoulder than someone with a concussion,” Neely said earlier this month. “I don’t know why it’s that difficult to look at the equipment and say, ‘We really need to do something with the shoulder pads and elbow pads.’”

In the playoffs, the Bruins were without Nathan Horton and Adam McQuaid because of concussions. Marc Savard’s career is most likely over because of his head injuries. It’s difficult to determine whether equipment played a part in each of the player’s concussions.

However, the league, the NHLPA, and equipment manufacturers are regularly examining gear to maximize safety. We’ll have more on equipment in this Sunday’s Globe.

@GlobeFluto

By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff

Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, principal Charlie Jacobs, and president Cam Neely held a season-ending press conference at TD Garden on Thursday.

“I felt, like everybody, we could have gotten through this [first-round] series,” Neely said. “I don’t think we played our best games at all in the games that we lost. Even in the games we won, I don’t think we played our best hockey. That part is difficult to swallow. We all feel we should still be playing.”

Neely gave his approval to the 2011-12 team’s commitment to defense, goaltending, and five-on-five play. Several times, Neely highlighted the club’s inconsistent power play as the primary soft spot. Neely said the team has the personnel to be more successful on the power play.

“We really need to have a philosophical difference of how we look at the power play,” Neely said. “I don’t just look at the percentage of the power play. I look at when we get power plays, what the score of the game is and what the time of the game is. That’s important. Even more so important than what the actual percentages of the power play. I think we have the personnel so we can improve on the power play. There’s some things we’re certainly going to discuss in the offseason on what we can do differently on the power play. I think it’s an area that absolutely needs improving. We will improve on it.”

* Last week, GM Peter Chiarelli said he did not envision a roster makeover. Neely concurred, saying he liked the team’s current makeup.

* Charlie Jacobs said the organization is exploring options for another practice facility. There is one more year remaining on the team’s deal with Ristuccia Arena. The Wilmington facility is among the league’s more pedestrian practice rinks.

* Neither Jeremy nor Charlie Jacobs would comment on labor negotiations and the next collective bargaining agreement.

Patrice Bergeron played through a strained oblique muscle. Bergeron said he first felt the injury in Game 3. Bergeron aggravated the injury in Game 5, when he was limited to three third-period shifts.

Bergeron will not require surgery.

“It was probably 60 percent. I don’t know exactly. I’m not very good at that,” Bergeron said. “It was just hard to battle – reaching out and trying to battle when my arm was extended. I couldn’t get to full speed. It was always there.”

Bergeron had a scoring chance in overtime of Game 7. Based on replays, GM Peter Chiarelli believed that Bergeron’s injury prevented him from stretching out fully to pursue the puck.

Bergeron also had a broken nose.

* Tim Thomas’s no-movement clause will expire on July 1. The same day, Tuukka Rask will become a restricted free agent. The Bruins could move Thomas and allocate part of his $5 million annual cap hit toward Rask’s next contract. Chiarelli, however, downplayed any possibility of trading Thomas.

“I know I’ve seen speculation about moving a goalie and all that stuff,” Chiarelli said. “Certainly, I’m not inclined to do that. Tim didn’t have, statistically, the year he had the year before. But I thought he had a very good year. We have, if not the best, one of the top two or three goalie tandems in the league.”

* Tyler Seguin will most likely require surgery on his left hand. Seguin was injured on March 15 against Florida. Two days later, Seguin was a game-time decision against Philadelphia, but was able to play. Seguin said the injury didn’t affect his game too much.

* Brian Rolston has not decided on whether he will play again next season. Rolston will reach UFA status on July 1. Rolston said if he doesn't retire, he'd like to be back with the Bruins.

By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff

Bruins captain Zdeno Chara has been named one of the three finalists for the Norris Trophy. Nashville's Shea Weber and Ottawa's Erik Karlsson are the other two finalists. The award goes to the defenseman who demonstrates the best all-around ability during the regular season.

This is the fourth time in the last five years Chara has been named a finalist. Chara won the Norris Trophy for the first time in 2009. Chara finished third in the voting last year, when Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom won the award.

Chara scored 12 goals and had 40 assists for a career-high 52 points. Chara averaged 25:00 of ice time per game. Chara’s primary responsibility was to serve as a shutdown defenseman against opponents’ top forwards.

The winner will be announced on June 20 in Las Vegas.

By Gary Dzen, Globe Staff

With all seven games in the series decided by one goal, it would be dishonest to pick apart the Bruins shortly after their Game 7 loss to the Capitals. The Bruins certainly could have won the series, and a bounce of the puck -- whether squarely onto Patrice Bergeron's stick or deftly away from Mike Knuble -- could have given the Bruins the win. But there are some reasons why the Bruins, the defending Stanley Cup champions and the conference's No. 2 seed, never took control of the series. Here's a glance at what went wrong, and some things the Bruins might be able to improve in the offseason.

1. The Capitals:

Give Washington credit. They didn't play like a No. 7 seed. The Bruins knew the Capitals were going to throw top-line talent at them, and for the most part they held Alexander Ovechkin (2 goals, 3 assists) in check. Where Washington excelled was making it difficult for the Bruins to get quality shots. You can blame the Bruins for not getting more chances in front of the net, but the Capitals had a lot to do with it.

2. Tim Thomas wasn't perfect:

Expecting Thomas to replicate his 1.98 goals against average and .940 save percentage from last postseason was unrealistic, but some Bruins fans probably still expected Thomas to bail them out. The Bruins goalie let in some "bad" shots during this seven-game series, something we didn't see last year. Thomas wasn't bad (.923, 2.14), but he didn't steal any games, either.

3. The power play:

This again? The Bruins were 0 for 3 on the power play Wednesday night, including one at the end of regulation that should have given them a chance to win. Instead, the Bruins proved what many fans were thinking: they'd rather see the team go 5 on 5. The Bruins went 2 for 23 on the power play in the series, a dismal 8.7 percent.

"Somehow it doesn’t seem good enough," Bruins coach Claude Julien said of his power play. "There’s a lot of things that have to be worked out."

4. Bergeron's injury:

Bergeron didn't get a good stick on the puck in the first scoring chance of overtime, and the Bruins gave up the winning goal a short time later. Bergeron usually makes that play. He also usually takes faceoffs, but he wasn't able to with his undisclosed injury. The Bruins won 46 percent of faceoffs without Bergeron in Game 7.

5. The Stanley Cup hangover:

Throw out the theories about the Bruins playing so many games last season and having tired legs this year. They had plenty of time to get healthy physically. But the mental toll of winning the Stanley Cup -- and three Game 7s -- was a factor this season.

"Even getting into these playoffs, it seems like just yesterday we'd gone through it," said Julien. "The whole year has been a mental challenge for our guys."

6. Losing on home ice:

This is a pretty simple one. The Bruins went 1-3 on their home ice in the series, which isn't going to get it done against any opponent. They showed grit to win Game 6 on the road, but they could have avoided the stress of later in the series had they won more at home.

7. They needed more from their best players:

Tyler Seguin showed unbelievable grit with his goal in the second period of Game 7. Seguin did his best Trot Nixon impression, scuffing and scratching his way to the puck to put home a rebound through two defensemen. Seguin also won Game 6 with a goal. But the rest of the Bruins' big guns came up short in the series. Bergeron's injury was undoubtedly a factor. David Krejci and Milan Lucic finished with three points each in the series, while Brad Marchand finished with two. If your stars aren't stars, it's difficult to beat a good team.

Why do you think the Bruins fell short? Leave a comment.

@GlobeGaryDzen

By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff

It's not surprising that the Bruins locker room was quiet after a loss to the Washington Capitals in Game 7 knocked the Bruins out of the playoffs.

Johnny Boychuk, Dennis Seidenberg, and Zdeno Chara -- the defensive rocks of the team for most of the season -- stood in and took questions for what must have seemed like an agonizingly long time. With only those three players available for most of the open locker room period, the players were left to answer questions for about 15 minutes each.

At one point, Boychuk took a break during one of his answers and let the moment settle in.

"We didn't underestimate them at all," Boychuk said of the Capitals, before trailing off and neglecting to finish his answer to a reporter's question. Asked about whether the loss had sunk in, Boychuk said, "We're used to going all the way. To be done now, it's kind of hard."

Patrice Bergeron, who missed a chance early in overtime that could have given the Bruins the win, still had his skates on as he answered questions first in French, then in English. Bergeron had a chance in front of the net in OT, but he couldn't quite get his stick on the puck.

"It kind of exploded," said Bergeron. "Just rolled on my stick and the puck was bouncing. I just tried to go quick because obviously there wasn’t a lot of time, and the puck wouldn’t settle.

Both Bergeron and Claude Julien refused to comment on the extent of Bergeron's injury.

@GlobeGaryDzen

By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff

The Bruins saw their Stanley Cup title defense come to an end Wednesday night with a 2-1, overtime loss to the Washington Capitals in Game 7 of a first-round playoff series at TD Garden.

A bad line change by the Bruins proved to be the difference, as Washington's Mike Knuble intercepted a clearing pass from Benoit Pouliout and raced up the ice with the puck early in the overtime period. Knuble put a shot on net, and the rebound was put home by Washington's Joel Ward just 2:57 into the extra frame. The Capitals celebrated along the side boards, while a stunned Bruins crowd was forced to contemplate the end of their team's season.

Matt Hendricks scored the game's first goal for Washington, and Tyler Seguin scored a gritty goal in the second period for the Bruins.

--------------

17:03: And a turnover kills the Bruins. Joel Ward gets the game-winner. The defending Stanley Cup champions are eliminated.

19:06: Patrice Bergeron with a great chance in front, but his rebound attempt is blocked. Crowd thought they had a game-winner.

OVERTIME:

End regulation: Bruins were outshot, 12-6, in the third period. We've got sudden-death hockey in a Game 7.

2:26: Jason Chimera takes down Johnny Boychuk from behind. Two minutes for holding. Bruins power play with a chance to win.

3:58: Four minutes left in a Game 7. Both teams gassed after a furious rush. A minute to relax here.

6:44: Bruins kill it off and even get a 2-on-1 rush the other way. Great penalty kill. Building goes from hear a pin drop to loud.

9:00: Bergeron called for hooking. Two minutes. Going to be a nervous building.

9:45: Hard slap shot by Troy Brouwer is stopped by Thomas. One of his 17 saves.

13:00: Shots on goal now 27-15 in favor of the Bruins. It takes guts for the Capitals defensemen to keep getting in the way of these Boychuk shots.

15:38: A minute late on this, but no luck on the power play. Bruins now 2 for 22.

18:42: Former Whaler Roman Hamrlik called for holding the stick of Milan Lucic. Bruins power play.

THIRD PERIOD:

END second: Much better period for the Bruins in terms of quality chances. Rich Peverley again gets in Braden Holtby's face as time expires. Both teams trying to do the little things to gain an edge.

1:06: Fans behind the Capitals net now taunting Braden Holtby after Holtby pushes Rich Peverley in the back after the play. Peverley fakes a slash back at Holtby.

5:33, Bruins 1, Capitals 1: Tyler Seguin evens the score. Seguin worked hard in front to get free of Karl Alzner and tip the puck in after Johnny Boychuk's shot absolutely ate up Braden Holtby. Tremendous effort from Seguin, and a great shot by Boychuk.

12:41: Benoit Pouliot feeds Chris Kelly in front of the net, but Pouliot leads Kelly a bit too much and can't connect with Kelly's stick. Fans wanted a penalty on the Capitals' defenseman on the play.

15:23: Bruins are out-shooting the Caps, 13-8, but it sure doesn't feel like it.

SECOND PERIOD:

END first: The Bruins frittered away all but 10 seconds of their power play without success. They're down a goal as we head to the second period. The Bruins are 1-0 this postseason when trailing after the first period. They were 8-19-1 on the season.

1:50: Jeff Schultz trips up Brad Marchand, who was skating 1 on 3. Bruins get their first power play of the game. They're for 2 for 20 so far in the series.

8:37, 1-0, Capitals: Milan Lucic turns it over, and John Carlson puts a shot on net that appeared to be deflected, though it may have been off a Bruin. Tough break for Lucic on a puck that hopped his stick. Tough break for Thomas on the deflection. Jason Chimera gets the assist.

10:38: Bruins are really working it now. A Rajon Rondo-esque pass by David Krejci behind his back finds a cutting Tyler Seguin, but Seguin makes one too many passes. A blast from Chara eats up Holtby, but he's able to make the save.

14:32: Some good work by the Bruins on that last shift sending bodies to the net. Shots are 4-2, Boston, and they've had some decent chances. It's a positive sign that the shots aren't being taken from the blue line.

19:20: Bruins fans chanting "Hooooltby" in an attempt to get the young Capitals goalie off his game.

FIRST PERIOD

Pregame: Bruins flags flying on pickup trucks in the Tip O'Neill Tunnel. Packed house at TD Garden. Game 7 starts shortly.

Mike Motteau and Jordan Caron are in the lineup for the Bruins. That means Joe Corvo and Shawn Thornton are out.

Based on pregame warmups:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Tyler Seguin
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Rich Peverley
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Brian Rolston
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Jordan Caron

Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk
Greg Zanon-Mike Mottau

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Based on pregame warmups:

Alex Ovechkin-Brooks Laich-Troy Brouwer
Marcus Johansson-Nicklas Backstrom-Alexander Semin
Jason Chimera-Jay Beagle-Matt Hendricks
Mike Knuble-Keith Aucoin-Joel Ward

Karl Alzner-John Carlson
Roman Hamrlik-Mike Green
Jeff Schultz-Dennis Wideman

Braden Holtby
Michal Neuvirth

Go behind the scenes for a closer look at Rene Rancourt, the Bruins' national anthem singer for more than 30 years.

Good morning from TD Garden, where the Bruins will attempt to advance to the second round by beating the Capitals tonight.

This will be the fifth Game 7 in the last seven series for the Bruins. As colleague Kevin Dupont wrote in today’s Globe, there will be handshakes tonight.

Puck drop: 7:30 p.m.

TV/radio info: NESN (Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama),98.5 The Sports Hub (Dave Goucher, Bob Beers)

Records: Capitals 3-3, Bruins 3-3

Projected Bruins lineup:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Tyler Seguin
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Rich Peverley
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Brian Rolston
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk
Greg Zanon-Mike Mottau

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Healthy scratches: Jordan Caron, Joe Corvo, Andrew Bodnarchuk

Projected Capitals lineup:

Alex Ovechkin-Brooks Laich-Marcus Johansson
Jason Chimera-Nicklas Backstrom-Alexander Semin
Matt Hendricks-Jay Beagle-Troy Brouwer
Mike Knuble-Keith Aucoin-Joel Ward

Karl Alzner-John Carlson
Roman Hamrlik-Mike Green
Jeff Schultz-Dennis Wideman

Braden Holtby
Michal Neuvirth

Healthy scratches: Mathieu Perreault, Dmitry Orlov, John Erskine

Storylines: There could be a game-time decision on the 12th forward spot. Jordan Caron and Shawn Thornton alternated shifts on the fourth line during the morning skate… Patrice Bergeron missed Tuesday’s practice, but participated in today’s morning skate. Bergeron might be limited on faceoffs once more. If so, Rich Peverley will take the draws… If the Bruins win tonight, they will have to wait until tomorrow’s results to determine their second-round opponent. They cannot play New Jersey… Stephen Walkom and Eric Furlatt will be the referees. Greg Devorski and Steve Barton will be the linesmen.

@GlobeFluto

No surprise here – Patrice Bergeron will play in Game 7. Bergeron didn’t practice today but will be in the Game 7 lineup between Brad Marchand and Rich Peverley.

The main question, however, is whether Shawn Thornton or Jordan Caron will dress as the 12th forward. After warmups on Monday, Claude Julien told Thornton that he would sit and Caron would make his playoff debut.

The Bruins needed Caron’s flexibility in case Bergeron couldn’t fulfill all his duties. Had Bergeron been limited in Game 6, Peverley would have moved to center, while Caron skated as the No. 2 right wing. In that position, Caron would have been a better fit than Thornton.

“I don’t give a [expletive] this time of year,” Thornton said of being scratched. “Whatever helps the team. Me and Claude had a good talk about it. It was a decision that was made. I fully support it. It’s not about me at this time of year. It’s about wins and losses. I joked that I wish he would have told me before I had my six coffees and two Sudafeds. It’s tough to watch a game when I get that wired. I was OK with it. Whatever it takes.”

The bet here is that Thornton will be back in the lineup for Game 7. Assuming Bergeron hasn’t had any setbacks since Game 6, he should be expected to take regular shifts, although he might be limited on faceoffs. Peverley would remain on Bergeron’s right side.

Thornton, Daniel Paille, and Gregory Campbell played critical roles in the last Game 7. While their teammates were struggling to find their legs in the first period against the Canucks, the fourth line held the fort.

* Mike Mottau took most of the shifts in practice alongside Greg Zanon. Mottau could be in the lineup for the second straight game in place of Joe Corvo.

WILMINGTON – Good morning from Ristuccia Arena, where the Bruins have started their practice in preparation for Game 7 against the Capitals.

This is the fifth time in the last six playoff series in which the Bruins have gone to a Game 7. The only time they didn’t go seven games in their last six rounds was against Philadelphia last season.

Game time has been set at 7:30 p.m. The league had been waiting for the Chicago-Phoenix result last night before announcing the time.

Patrice Bergeron is the only player not practicing.

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Tyler Seguin
Brad Marchand-Rich Peverley-Jordan Caron
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Brian Rolston
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk
Greg Zanon-Mike Mottau
Andrew Bodnarchuk-Joe Corvo

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask
Anton Khudobin

Game 7 of the Bruins-Capitals series will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the NHL announced.

It will be televised nationally on NBC Sports and on NESN in the Boston market.

Former Bruins great Ray Bourque held a chat session to talk some hockey with Boston.com readers. Review the conversation in the panel below.

Bourque is raffling the opportunity to watch Game 7 of the the Bruins-Capitals playoff series at TD Garden with him through the Celebrities for Charity NetRaffle.org web site. The prize pack includes four tickets to join Bourque in his suite at TD Garden for Wednesday's game. Tickets are $2 each (minimum 5) and the deadline is noon Wednesday.

Bourque recorded a message for our readers in the video embedded here.

By Gary Dzen and Julian Benbow, Globe Staff

Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron is one of three finalists for the 2011-12 Frank J. Selke Trophy, given to the forward who "best excels in the defensive aspects of the game."

"It’s a huge honor. I’m flattered by it," Bergeron said. "To be named with two great players like [David] Backes and [Pavel] Datsyuk like I said, I’m very happy with it. But still I think it goes for all my teammates and I really believe that."

Bergeron had 42 assists and finished with 64 points this season. This is the first time Bergeron has been nominated for the award in his eight-year career. St. Louis’s David Backes and Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk are the other two nominees.

"In my mind , there’s no doubt that Patrice deserves this," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. " The way he’s played this year, the things he’s done to be nominated, as good as it gets defensively, he’s got two young players on each side, he’s played against top players all year long, he’s the best plus player of that group. Faceoff-wise, he’s been utilized in every situation -- offensively, defensively, key situations. He’s done everything to deserve that. To be honest with you I’d be very disappointed if he didn’t win."

The winner will be announced Wednesday, June 20.

"I take pride in playing on both sides of the rink and doing the little details in order to help the team win as much as I can. I think this award is somewhat compensating the guys that play on both sides of the ice. But I don’t really believe in individual awards as much as team efforts. Every time you’re nominated for an award like that it’s because of your teammates and the help of all of them," Bergeron said.

WASHINGTON - It's a final here. The Bruins will face the Capitals in the seventh game of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinals on Wednesday to decide who moves on.
Tyler Seguin scored at 3:17 of overtime to lift the Bruins to a 4-3 victory.

"That’s the dream -- to get those big goals and keep your team alive," Seguin said.

Seguin earned the chain after the win. Seguin also assisted on Andrew Ference's third-period goal. Seguin entered Game 6 without a point.

Overtime
3:17 - Boston 4, Washington 3 - The Bruins kept their playoff hopes alive on Tyler Seguin's goal in overtime, giving Boston the 4-3 victory.

Third period
20:00 - Boston 3, Washington 3 - The Bruins and Capitals are heading to overtime. Patrice Bergeron took a faceoff in the waning seconds of the period, his first of the game, and he won it.

15:08 - Boston 3, Washington 3 - The Capitals have tied the game for the third time today. Nicklas Backstrom won a faceoff cleanly in the right circle, beating Bruins' forward Rich Peverley. He won it to Alex Ovechkin, who beat goalie Tim Thomas on a shot through the pads. It has hurt the Bruins a lot that top faceoff center Patrice Bergeron has an undisclosed ailment that is preventing him from taking draws.

11:57 - Boston 3, Washington 2 - The Bruins have taken the lead for the third time in the game on a goal by defenseman Andrew Ference.

10:50 - Boston 2, Washington 2 - The Bruins killed off the Benoit Pouliot penalty.

8:50 - Boston 2, Washington 2 - The Bruins will be shorthanded because Benoit Pouliot was sent to the penalty box.

Second period
19:38 - Boston 2, Washington 2 - The Bruins go on the power play (four-on-three) when Matt Hendricks is whistled off for tripping.

19:22 - Boston 2, Washington 2 - Matching minors to Bruins' Benoit Pouliot (slashing) and Capitals' Troy Brouwer (roughing). Teams skating four a side.

19:18 - Boston 2, Washington 2 - Jason Chimera has tied the game. Nicklas Backstrom made a terrific backhand feed from the right circle into the slot for Chimera, who fired a shot past goaltender Tim Thomas and it's all square.

15:44 - Boston 2, Washington 1 - Patrice Bergeron was called for high sticking giving the Capitals a power play. However, the Capitals should've been called for having seven men on the ice but the officials missed it somehow.

5:57 - Boston 2, Washington 1 - The Capitals did an excellent job killing off the double minor penalty on Alex Ovechkin. The Bruins had just one shot on goal during the four-minute man advantage.

1:57 - Boston 2, Washington 1 - The Bruins are on a four-minute power play because of a high stick on Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin clipped Bruins' captain Zdeno Chara in the nose, cutting him.

First period

17:18 - Boston 2, Washington 1 - Chris Kelly has been whistled off for holding the stick. The Capitals are going on the power play.

16:48 - Boston 2, Washington 1 - David Krejci has given the Bruins the lead again with a power-play goal. Krejci directed Milan Lucic's pass past goalie Braden Holtby.

16:02 - Boston 1, Washington 1 - Alex Semin has been called for hooking. The Bruins are going back on the power play.

14:54 - Boston 1, Washington 1 - A couple of really terrific chances during the man advantage but the Bruins can't convert.

12:54 - Boston 1, Washington 1 - The Bruins are going on the power play as a result of a hooking call on Jason Chimera.

10:01 - Boston 1, Washington 1 - Patrice Bergeron is heading to the penalty box. Washington goes on the power play.

9:47 - Boston 1, Washington 1 - Mike Green's slapper from the left point glanced off the leg of Bruins' defenseman Greg Zanon in front of the net and beat goalie Tim Thomas to tie the game.

5:56 - Boston 1, Washington 0 - The Bruins have struck first. Andrew Ference fired the puck on net and Rich Peverley redirected it in front, beating goaltender Braden Holtby for the early lead.

3:00 - Boston 0, Washington 0 - Gregory Campbell had a scoring bid but goaltender Braden Holtby made the stop and defenseman Mike Green cleared the rebound.

1:22 - Boston 0, Washington 0 - Tyler Seguin had a strong scoring chance when he raced down the slot, beating defenseman Mike Green in the process, and backhanded a shot on net. But goaltender Braden Holtby gloved it.

Game 6 is underway here at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. The Bruins must win today to keep their season alive.

Based on pregame warmups:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Tyler Seguin
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Rich Peverley
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Brian Rolston
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk
Greg Zanon-Joe Corvo

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask