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The second week back at Deadspin panned out much nicer than the first. However, there are still a few more loose ends to tie up in trying to secure winning hockey and basketball seasons before it’s on to baseball.
Tonight’s over/under could arguably be considered the main event in all of professional sports — well, at least if you’re a Boston Bruins fan.
That’s because it will involve a showdown between former teammates who happen to share the distinction of being one of the NHL’s top goalie duos in recent history. They also created one of the best signature tandem celebrations, too.
Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark made magic while they were goaltenders “1A” and “1B” in Boston — even helping the organization set a league record for most points by one team in a single season — and this final matchup of the campaign between the Bruins and Senators will see them meet for a second time.
The first meeting that saw the pair of netminders lock horns occurred back on Nov. 9, a 3-2 road victory for Ottawa that also produced a triumph for those who bet the under. The other two matchups featuring these old Northeast Division rivals only had either one or neither of Swayman and Ullmark.
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This rematch between the two will be their most important head-to-head tilt to date given each club’s current positioning in the postseason picture. The Senators are in the first wild-card playoff spot right now by a handful of points, while the Bruins sit two points out of the second and final slot — but with three other Eastern Conference teams ahead of them.
Boston also just underwent a significant fire sale that saw them lose longtime franchise stalwart Brad Marchand — the last person left from their 2011 Stanley Cup championship team, by the way — in addition to Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle and others.
Even despite these impactful subtractions, the Bruins have played inspired as of late, notching consecutive wins against the Lightning and Panthers (against forever friend Marchand in that one) since the trade deadline. Swayman started those games and was terrific in both, but it’s his recent candid words that can lead one to believe his best stretch of the season is still to come.
Swayman told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan after his shutout versus Tampa: “We’re going to miss those guys so much. They led the groundwork, Emily, and it’s never going to be the same without them, but it has to be up to us that have been there with them to continue their legacy and understand that next-man-up mentality and make them proud.”
With a mindset like that, Swayman is a good bet to continue his recent strong play despite maybe not matching the usual lofty expectations he’s set for himself since arriving in the NHL four years ago. I would trust him to consistently perform closer to his standard through the season’s final few weeks.
Ullmark, meanwhile, is continuing his effective work in his inaugural campaign as a Senator. He might not be inching toward another Vezina Trophy like he did two years ago, but he is still having another solid season in line with what he produced during his entire tenure as a Bruin. He probably won’t disappoint either opposite one of his best friends.
Additionally, Boston shed nearly half of its top seven goal scorers, and considering that they’re already second from the bottom in the East in goals per game (2.71), that can’t bode well for the offense in the short term. We’ll just be focused on the offense continuing its slog in Ottawa.
I am opting to tack on a half-goal to the total of 5.5 for what is a reasonable value.
Pick: Under 6 (-155, BetMGM)
NHL betting record: 34-27-3, +0.8 unit
Over/Unders: 20-21-3
Goalie props: 14-6
Each bet graded as if it were to win one unit unless otherwise stated.
Follow me @MattZylbert on Twitter/X for potential additional picks.
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This time, the people marched in resistance to the harsh treatment of immigrants by the Trump administration.
“We descend from Immigrants and Revolutionaries,” read a battle cry beamed onto the side of the brick meeting house Tuesday.
“The society that stops seeing the people at the grocery line or the people that ride the bus with us, as human beings with beating hearts, then it’s not far off before our society devolves into no society at all,” Gilberto Calderin, director of advocacy at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition said to the crowd of hundreds.
The protest was organized by activist groups Boston Indivisible and Mass 50501, and began at the Irish Famine Memorial Plaza, just steps from the meeting house.
The lively crowd held up signs, waved American flags, and chanted during the march along Milk Street and Congress Street to the harbor.
Janet England of Brighton held a sign that read, “Democracy Needs Courage.”
The protesters, she said are “true patriots because we want freedom and democracy.”
“Although protest is a long game, we can’t give up. If you think about women’s suffrage, gay rights, the civil rights movement, it took years, but we just can’t give up,” she said.
Gloria Krusemeyer, from Alrington, used a walker to join the march.
“I’m irritated that I haven’t done more, and I’m just lucky that I can walk fast enough to be doing this,” she said.
Rick Mueller, from Cambridge, was dressed as Uncle Sam and held a large sign that read, “Liberty and Justice For All.”
“We’re fighting for America, so I’m gonna be America,” he said of his costume.
He handed small American flags out to protesters who waved them enthusiastically.
Ice dumping duties was limited to volunteers and select people.
Among them was Sarah, a mother who brought her 4-year-old daughter, Fiona.
Sarah declined to share her last name for her daughter’s safety.
After throwing ice into the harbor, Fiona shyly said that she wanted to come to the protest to “help families stay together.”
Through tears, Sarah said her decision to bring along Fiona came from wanting to teach her daughter to care about people from all walks of life.
“Kindness and compassion are things we learn in kindergarten and she will be in kindergarten so it’s really important for her to be kind and compassionate,” Sarah said, kissing her daughter’s check.
Likewise, Sara Sievers, from Cambridge, brought her parents, sister, her nephews and niece to dump ice.
“I think this is one of the most brutal regimes we’ve had in this country, and I want my niece and nephew to remember that it’s important to protest, and that we in Boston are part of a proud tradition of dumping things into the harbor with which we disagree,” Sievers said.
The family wore costumes of historical figures including Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and King Charles.
As the protest came to a close, Martha Laposata, spokesperson for Boston Indivisible said she wanted protestors to walk away knowing their voices matter.
“We cannot stand down,” Laposata said. “When people rise up against an authoritarian government, if they stay consistent and they keep growing, ultimately an authoritarian government will stand down.”
Camille Bugayong can be reached at camille.bugayong@globe.com.
Crime
An MIT professor was shot and killed in Brookline on Monday night.
Brookline police responded a report of a man shot in his home on Gibbs Street, according to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Nuno F.G. Loureiro, 47, was transported to a local hospital and was pronounced dead on Tuesday morning, the DA says.
Loureiro was the director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center and a professor of nuclear science and engineering and physics. Originally from Portugal, the Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs announced his death in a regulatory hearing before the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Portuguese Communities on Tuesday, according to CNN.
“Sadly, I can confirm that Professor Nuno Loureiro, who died early this morning, was a current MIT faculty member in the departments of Nuclear Science & Engineering and Physics, as well as the Director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Our deepest sympathies are with his family, students, colleagues, and all those who are grieving,” an MIT spokesperson wrote in a statement.
In January, Loureiro was honored as one of nearly 400 scientists and engineers with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from former president Joe Biden.
The investigation into the homicide remains ongoing. No further information was released.
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A man was hospitalized after being shot Monday night in Brookline, Massachusetts.
The shooting happened on Gibbs Street. There was a large police presence at the scene.
The victim was brought to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. His condition was not known.
Police said the victim was shot three times and grazed by another round.
Authorities did not say if any arrests had been made.
No further information was immediately available.
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