The Bruins (27-17-7) fell to the Flyers (22-23-6) 3-2 in overtime on Thursday night for their second straight post-regulation loss (shootout loss to Winnipeg on Tuesday night).

Philadelphia's win marked their sixth in a row.

In their last eight games dating back to January 10, Boston is now just 2-3-3.

For the second straight game, the Bruins entered the third period with a lead, but couldn't finish the job and get the two points.

At the 11:14 mark in the third, forward Sean Kuraly received a holding-the-stick penalty against the Flyers' Sean Couturier. With 10 seconds left on the power-play, Flyers forward Oskar Lindblom scored his seventh goal of the year on feeds from Jakub Voracek and Travis Sanheim.

Tied at two in overtime, Brad Marchand got called for a tripping penalty against Travis Konecny just 57 seconds in. Just as Boston's penalty kill was coming to a close, Sanheim delivered the game-winning goal on this wicked wrist shot with 2:04 remaining:

Couturier and Konecny assisted on Sandheim's game-winner, which came in his 100th career game.

David Pastrnak scored both goals (one PPG) for the B's, who's now up to 30 on the season.

​For Boston, the late penalties taken by Kuraly and Marchand were the team's only two of the evening. Obviously, both ended up to be costly, and that's what sucks about this loss. The Bruins may have gotten a point, but you want two, especially in a situation like tonight. You wanna really rebound after the other night, and you should be able to get it done against the Flyers despite their current mini win streak. But you gotta settle for one point again. And guess what? The schedule's about to get a bit tough, and it begins with a trip to D.C. on Sunday to play the Stanley Cup Champs...

Time to see how tough this Bruins team is!

Several sources on Thursday reported that Red Sox pitcher David Price will wear a No. 10 jersey this season, ditching the No. 24 he wore for his first three seasons in Boston.

There's no specific reason why Price will be wearing a different number in 2019—we can only speculate. Could it be to symbolize his 10 strikeouts in two World Series starts this past fall? Or to honor Barstool Sports' Section 10 Podcast?

Whatever the reason is, it shouldn't stop Price from going out there this year and getting it done once again. He's finally a World Champ—he finally got the postseason monkey off his back. Why not get a new number?

​New year, new man, new number. 10 is a solid number. I like it!

12 days until pitchers and catchers report...

Bruins forward Joakim Nordstrom will be back in the lineup tonight against the Flyers after missing the last 10 games.

Nordstrom suffered a fractured fibula in the team's Winter Classic matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks; it's not clear at what point in the game the injury occurred. Nevertheless, Nordstrom finished: 

Playing in the first of a two-year, $2 million deal, Nordstrom is averaging 14:33 of ice time with five goals and two assists in 39 games.

Also returning to the lineup tonight is defenseman John Moore, who's missed four out of the last five games; Moore signed a five-year, $13.75 million deal with the Bruins on July 1 (the same day that Nordstrom signed).

Matt Grzelcyk and Noel Acciari are healthy scratches tonight for Boston.

On the ice practicing with his Bruins teammates Wednesday morning was goalie Tuukka Rask, who hadn't done so since suffering a concussion from this scary play on January 19 with New York Rangers forward Filip Chytil:

Fortunately for Rask and the Bruins, the incident occurred in the final game before the team's nine-day mid-season break, giving the 31-year old backstop plenty of time to rest up from it.

After practice, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said there's a "good chance" that Rask will start in goal on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden.

"(Wednesday) was his first full practice. We wanted to make sure there was no fatigue and what not. He'd missed some time. So assuming he's ready to go and feels good about everything, then like I said, good chance he'll get it (on Thursday), then if not, it'd certainly be Sunday."

The Celtics won their seventh game in eight tries Wednesday night, blowing out the Charlotte Hornets 126-94 at the TD Garden.

Boston improved to 32-19 (fifth in East), while Charlotte dropped to 24-26 (eighth in East).

Jaylen Brown led the way for the C's, scoring a game-high 24 points to go along with 10 rebounds. It was Brown's first double-double of the season, and fourth of his career (all since last season).

Terry Rozier also recorded a double-double (first of season) for Boston with 17 points and 10 assists, while Jayson Tatum racked up 20 points and five boards.

For Charlotte, Kemba Walker scored a team-high 21 points; he was also held to just one rebound for the third time this season.

Boston begins their February schedule with games on the 1st (@ NYK), 3rd (vs OKC), 5th (@ CLE), 7th (vs LAL), 9th (vs LAC), and 12th (@ PHI). As you can see, four of those games should be extremely competitive. Three against good teams in the West, and one at Philly. The Cavs and Knicks are dead last in the East, blowing them out should be no problem.

Currently, one full game separates the Celtics from the 76ers in the East, as both teams have played 51 games up to this point in the season. Philly's got the three-seed right now, while Boston is number five. The game on the 12th will be huge—we already know it'll be a nationally televised game at 8 on TNT, so that's gonna be a must-watch.

#CUsRise...

Celtics guard Jabari Bird pleaded not guilty in Brighton Municipal Court on Wednesday afternoon to two charges related to a recent domestic violence incident.

Bird, 24, was hit with several charges--including kidnapping and strangulation—back in early September; he plead not guilty to all charges.

The case is pretty ugly. Here's a portion from a Boston.com article written about it:

According to the police report, Bird was arrested Friday night in Brighton for a domestic incident in which he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend, a student at a local college, over a period of four hours in his residence. The victim told police Bird choked her, threw her against a wall, and kicked her multiple times in the stomach. The victim said she lost consciousness at one point and found herself on the floor under Bird’s bed when she awoke.

“She stated that he had strangled her approximately a dozen times, where he had a pattern of when she began to go ‘limp,’ he would stop and allow her to regain her breath, and then continuing to strangle her again,” the police report said.

Bird prevented the victim from leaving his home and, at one point, dragged her away from the door by the ankles, according to the report. The victim said Bird locked her in the bathroom and he was passed out when she finally emerged after an extended period of time. The victim told police Bird displayed “seizure-like” symptoms.

“She stated that she then picked him off the ground and managed to put him on the bed where he was asleep,” the police report said. “Victim stated that she then left the apartment, and took custody of Bird’s friend’s vehicle and drove back to her dorm.”

The victim was treated for injuries sustained at Boston Children’s Hospital. An officer observed cut marks on the victim’s neck and a bruise on her left ear, according to the report. The victim told the officer she also had multiple bumps on her head. The doctor who treated the victim confirmed the aforementioned injuries and also observed internal bleeding behind the victim’s ear.

Bird was taken 56th overall by the Celtics in the 2017 NBA draft. In 13 games during the 2017-18 season, he averaged 8.8 minutes and 3.0 points in 13 games.

Right-handed reliever Jenrry Mejia is getting another shot at the big leagues...

And it's coming courtesy of a Minor League deal thanks to your World Champion Boston Red Sox.

Mejia, 29, hasn't pitched in a MLB game since 2015. That year, he appeared in just seven games—thanks to two suspensions for performance-enhancing drugs.

In 2014, Mejia saved 28 games in 31 chances for the New York Mets as their up-and-coming closer. He was suspended for the first 80 games of 2015 due to a failed PED test, and was caught again in July of that year. Following a third failed test in February 2016, Mejia was banned from baseball.

Mejia was reinstated by the league last July, and officially released by the Mets in November.

Under MLB's joint drug agreement, players are allowed to reapply for reinstatement after two years of being banned.

At the time of Mejia's reinstatement, Commissioner Rob Manfred said the following:

"Upon receiving Mr. Mejia's application for reinstatement last year, I invited him to New York to meet with me. During our meeting, Mr. Mejia expressed regret for poor choices he made in the past and assured me that, if reinstated, he would adhere to the terms of the Program going forward. In light of Mr. Mejia's contrition, his commitment to comply with the Program in the future, and the fact that he will have already spent almost four consecutive years suspended without pay, I have decided to grant Mr. Mejia a final chance to resume his professional career."

Having pitched his entire career as a Met (2010, 2012-15), Mejia owns a 9-14 record with a 3.68 ERA in 113 games (18 starts).

A few players around the league displayed their annoyance at Mejia's return:

​

If you ask me, I'm with the players. What happened to three strikes you're out? When you eliminate that, it only encourages and enables more cheating. It's not a good look for the league. Aren't they trying to clean up the game? Apparently not, because the first player ever to be banned for multiple PED tests is allowed to come back for some reason.

That joint drug agreement needs some reform. It's three strikes you're out, not three strikes and talk to me again in a couple years. Screw that. Shouldn't be how it works, in my opinion. If you fail three tests you shouldn't be allowed to return. Again—three strikes you're out.

Not counting the projected five in the starting rotation, the Red Sox currently have 16 additional pitchers on the 40-man roster--five of whom haven't made their Major League debut yet (Hernandez, Lakins, Reyes, Shepherd, Taylor). Mejia's signing provides them with additional depth, especially considering that the team is yet to re-sign Craig Kimbrel.

If Mejia can get it done in the minors and an opportunity presents itself where he can contribute to the big club, then I hope he succeeds. I disagree with him being allowed to compete for a spot on a Major League roster, but I don't make the rules there. Not my call. I can only hope he pitches well for the Red Sox when and if it matters. If he has a chance and fails, the fans will let him hear it. That I can guarantee.

Pitchers and catchers report in 13 days. Here. We. Go.

The Bruins ended their 10-day mid-season break Tuesday night, hosting the Winnipeg Jets and falling 4-3 in the shootout.

Winnipeg improved to 32-16-2 (second in West), while Boston fell to 27-17-6 (fifth in East).

For the Bruins, it was a new face making an impression in the one-point effort—20-year old Trent Frederic, playing in his first NHL game. 

Despite logging a game-low 8:29 of ice time, it was what Frederic did to Brandon Tanev in the second period that had everybody hyped up:

That's definitely one quick way to become a fan favorite!

Frederic, listed as 6'2'' and 203 pounds on his NHL player profile,  was selected in the first round (29th overall) by the Bruins in 2016.

In related Bruins news, forwards Ryan Donato and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson were optioned to Providence prior to the team's game against Winnipeg, being replaced on the roster by Frederic and Peter Cehlarik.