While the Boston Bruins were good during the regular season coming back after letting their opponent get the first goal, knowing that they could recapture the game, the playoffs are an entirely different level of hockey. The Bruins didn’t just let the Tampa Bay Lightning have one goal, no within the first 3:19 of the game they were in a two-goal hole.
The first goal was the result of a misplay by Matt Grzelcyk, who fanned on a puck, allowing Tyler Johnson to feed it onto the stick of Ondrej Palat and it’s 1-0 Bolts just 1:47 into the opening period on their first shot on goal. Ninety-two seconds later Palat gets his second of the game, and the Bruins are on their heels. And to get out of such a hole requires a team to tighten up and ensure their passes connect and that they are defending their zone; none of which happened for the Bruins.
Charlie McAvoy and Torey Krug
“I think we didn’t defend well enough, personally. First period, we had a misplay of a puck early on. That happens to anybody. You’d like to be able to put a fire out, defend the two on one better, or get a save, but at the end of the day, they make a good play from it,” said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy after the game.
Throughout much of the first period Boston’s passes didn’t seem to be passes so much as just moving the puck somewhere else on the ice. It wasn’t really clear if they were simply miscommunicating or if they were forcing the pass because Tampa wasn’t giving them much space. The turnovers were certainly a problem and leading the team on Wednesday night was Brad Marchand who has taken to passing—or trying to pass—instead of taking a shot on net in recent games. In Game 3, Marchand had four giveaways and only three shots on net.
“You’ve got to manage the puck first, and then once you don’t have it anymore, you’ve got to have a certain level of structure and urgency to get it back, and we didn’t,” Cassidy continued.
Managing the puck was definitely a struggle for Boston as was staying out of the box. Torey Krug got two penalties, with his second coming at the end of the game with 1:28 remaining in regulation. Such a play cost the Bruins any chance of going six-on-five with an empty net. The one positive that could be taken from the six penalties called on Boston was their ability to prevent Tampa Bay from capitalizing.
The one goal that the Bruins did realize Wednesday night was while on their only power play. Patrice Bergeron managed to get it past Andrei Vasilevskiy 29 seconds into the man advantage, showing that Boston’s special teams continue to function well.
“They score right away again because we’re not hard enough in front of our net – tie up sticks. Now, that’s a problem. It’s two-nothing, we’ve got half of that back, and then again, we’re not hard enough in front of our net, so now it’s two goals again,” Cassidy shared. “I think the second and third goals, to me, are much worse in terms of losing our – what was the word you used? Losing our zip or whatever word you use. Yeah, took the wind out of our sails.”
Tampa’s Anthony Cirelli
And indeed, as Anthony Cirelli got his first playoff goal of the season—becoming the 23rd rookie this season to do so—with 3:17 remaining in the first period, he took the crowd out of it and allowed the Lightning to gain a momentum they never really gave up throughout the rest of the game.
“Yeah, you know, they had a bit of momentum after getting that goal, but you know, we didn’t really back down.,” Cirelli said of his goal. “We just kind of stuck with our game plan and, yeah, I guess it’s pretty important. Whenever we’re scoring goals and going up, it’s always good for us, but at the end of the day, you know, it was a team effort.”
Just as Grzelcyk’s misplay of the puck allowed Tampa to get their first goal, Cirelli’s inability to clear the puck during the Bolts penalty kill allowed Bergeron to cut Tampa’s lead in half. However, Cirelli went out and fought hard to make a solid play shortly after that to regain the extra space in the lead and reverse the momentum Bergeron’s goal had given the Bruins.
“Okay, so we have the good start. Boston gets the power play, we win the draw, we don’t get it out. Cirelli’s got it on his stick even though he doesn’t and they end up scoring. And so here you have a young kid, feet are barely wet in the NHL and now the score is 2-1 and who responded after that?” Tampa Bay’s head coach Jon Cooper said after the game. “He didn’t shy away from the moment or sit back and say ‘Oh, I wish I had gotten that and maybe they wouldn’t have scored.’ He just went out there and said, ‘You know what? I’m going to will my way to score a goal.’ And that right there said everything to me about that kid. You can’t guarantee that he’s going to score, but his attitude and he wants to belong and be a part of this team. He’s been accepted by the team because he does all these little things right and I was so pumped when he scored that goal.”
Tampa Bay is a fast team and the Bruins will need to limit their ability to skate into the offensive end. Boston needs to get back to playing the game that allowed them to advance to the second round. They can’t let Tampa get in their head. Puck management is going to be critical as is better defensive decisions in front of Tuukka Rask. If they can get back to what they were doing in the first game of this series, they will take Game 4.
Photo: Marcus Vilson
SHL Awards was held on Sunday evening as Swedish hockey players were rewarded for their efforts on the ice. One player in particular hit the jackpot.
Växjö Lakers and Vancouver Canucks draftee Elias Pettersson won three awards and was the big winner Sunday evening: Rookie of the Year, Best Forward and MVP. Awards that were well earned by the young player.
The 6’2″ and 165 pound young forward had an amazing first year in SHL. Not only did he win the gold medal with Växjö Lakers, he also had a lot of success during his debut season in SHL as he broke Kent “The Magic Man” Nilsson’s record of Most Points by Junior. Pettersson was named Forward of the Year, was first in the league in scoring, honored as Most Valuable Player, was Playoffs MVP (Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy), was Rookie of the Year, had the best plus/minus, and finally he won a Silver Medal at U20 World Junior Championships with Team Sweden.
Pettersson’s performance has not only paid off in awards, he also earned a spot on Team Sweden’s preliminary roster for the IIHF World Championships in Denmark which will be played between May 4th and May 20th.
The future is very bright for the 19 year old super talent. The big question is, how big can he get? Sweden has delivered a lot of great players such as Börje Salming, Niklas Lidström, Mats Sundin, Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin, Peter Forsberg and now Elias Pettersson. There’s obviously many more players who could be mentioned, but these are some of the greatest and I dare say that Pettersson is going to join them, regardless of his age.
Photo: Marcus Vilson/Swe Press Photo
Between 2012 and 2015 Skellefteå AIK was the dominating team in Swedish Hockey League as they won the regular season in four straight years. Also, Skellefteå won the Trophy Le Mat twice in a row and the team has been in seven playoff finals in the past eight years. But now another team has entered the scene, Växjö Lakers.
Växjö Lakers won the Swedish Hockey League’s regular season in a superior way as they ended up 21 points ahead of Djurgården Hockey in second place. In 52 games Växjö only lost ten games after full time. The team from Småland County was, during the whole regular season, amazingly consistent and really didn’t show any weaknesses. Even if they were trailing, the team most of the time found ways to win games.
Växjö has won SHL regular season two years in a row (2016/17 and 2017/18). In 2014/15 Växjö won their first trophy Le Mat as they defeated Skellefteå AIK in Final Game 6. This season they copied their achievement. After only having lost one game in the playoffs (against Brynäs IF), Växjö once again defeated Skellefteå. But this time in four straight games. Although Skellefteå have dominated Swedish Hockey for several years, there seems to be a new team in town.
Do we get to see a new era in Swedish Hockey? Another dominating team? Some of the experts seem to think so and I’m prepared to agree with them. I’ve been following Växjö Lakers for the past four years and it was only a matter of time before the organisation was going to be one of Sweden’s strongest organisations. Since Växjö Lakers Head Coach Sam Hallam stepped in as a leading coach, the team has taken enormous steps. A head coach who has the ability to get the players together. Sam Hallam is an extraordinary thorough trainer with a hawk-eye for details. But he’s not alone. General Manager, Henrik Evertsson has had an amazing eye for talent and a strong ability to put a team together.
But it’s not only the staff who lead the Swedish Champions all the way. Most of us know the goalie Viktor Fasth, but not many know who Viktor Andrén is. In the fourth semifinal game, Fasth was injured with a concussion and Andrén stepped in. From being a backup-goalie, he stole the whole show and became one of the main key players. Växjös’ defensive lineup was not really tested during the whole playoffs . Defenders such as Eric Martinsson, Daniel Rahimi, Martin Lundberg and Joel Persson just to name a few, played with a big confidence and didn’t make many mistakes. A complete set up.
Elias Pettersson, Robert Rosén, Tuomas Kiiskinen, Dennis Rasmussen, Brendan Shinnimin, Erik Josefsson, Linus Fröberg and Liam Reddox. These are the guys who led the team on the ice. They were hard working, fast skating, physical, smart, sacrificing and constantly worrying the opponents. Especially the superior talent of Pettersson. A young player who was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2017 Round 1 as number five overall. Petterson sometimes had a look of ignorance and didn’t seem to know what to do. So wrong we were. Experts, teammates, fans, media and the whole Canucks organisation was thrilled by his method of playing.
In the end, Växjö Lakers couldn’t be where they are today if it wasn’t for the love of the organisation. Each and everyone, both on and off the ice is supporting the team. Växjö Lakers have begun an era and I’m pretty certain that we will continue to see great things from them in the future.
Canada was and still is effected by what happened about three weeks ago when the Humboldt Broncos team bus was involved a collision with a semi that saw the loss of 16 lives. As a small community mourned the loss of those they had brought into their homes and their hearts, the hockey community across the globe looked for ways to help in a situation in which few could truly do anything.
We, as Canadians, stick together in the eye of tragedy. It was not surprising that fundraising efforts began immediately, raising money for the fallen and helping those who survived the horrible tragedy. Even now Canadians across the country are still feeling the aftershock, and still saddened. One doesn’t have to play hockey though to be affected by this tragedy and feel a sense of loss and grief. We understand the loss of these young lives and of all the futures that will now never be. We try to understand the emptiness the families, the town and the billet families are struggling with. And we try to make sense of out of it all; perhaps grasping at the fact that the team was on their way to play the game they love, a game they never got to play, as a solace.
Fundraising efforts, such as Funds for Humboldt Broncos that set their goal at $4 million dollars and saw people generously donate more than $15 million in 22 days. Other GoFundMe pages were created for specific families who lost loved ones. Many NHL teams used their 50/50 Raffles to raise and send funds to help Humboldt as well.
One campaign that allowed many to show their solidarity was the #SticksOutforHumboldt which saw so many people all over the world putting hockey sticks on their porches in case one of the players up in heaven was in need of a twig to keep on playing. Even Canadian soldiers serving in Iraq made sure their sticks were available.
This campaign was something that everyone could do, from the smallest mite to the oldest senior and everyone in between, male and female. It is not surprising that it quickly went global and offered a way to show Humboldt how deeply the world wanted to help support them in their most trying of times.
Campaigns such as this and the Go Fund Me help the families with everything from arranging funerals for those who were lost and also offers funds for therapy and rehab for the ones who survived. Those funds are going a long way, and also coming from all over the world. There have been tributes coming from not only the hockey world, but also NASCAR, NBA, and the MLB to mention a few. There was even one tribute from a team in Sweden, showing how small the hockey community truly is.
This was and still is a tragedy which continues to touch so many as people struggle to pick up the pieces and keep moving forward. I would only like to say this – stay strong Humboldt you and the team will rise again.
And as Humboldt continued to grapple with their tragedy, Toronto was rocked on April 23rd when the van attack saw ten people killed and others injured. It was the next day that cartoonist Michael de Adder showed the world the love and support that comes from hockey communities. His cartoon seems a most fitting way to end this.
To be fair, through much of the first two periods of Game 7 between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs it did look like perhaps the Leafs would advance. However, that was an outsider’s look. The players in the Bruins locker room knew they could come back from being down one goal as the puck dropped on the third period. There is a determination within those who don the Spoked-B that almost thrives on having their backs against the wall while simultaneously taking years off the lives of their fans.
Perhaps if the first two games of the series hadn’t been such absolute blowouts in favor of the Bruins, people might have realized how tight a series it really was. While Frederik Andersen struggled in games 1 and 2, Tuukka Rask had his moment in Game 5 where he just couldn’t seem to stop the puck—although the players in front of him weren’t helping him much.
The Bruins top line was stymied after the first two games and it showed on the score sheet. But it is at those times that a player truly proves his worth. He moves past that and gets back to doing what worked. Such was the case for Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak who all got goals in the seventh game. Bergeron’s at the end of the first was important because it was the first time in the game where Boston led. It was short-lived as Toronto tied it 2:07 into the second and then Kasperi Kapanen won a puck battle against Marchand, froze Rask and put the Leafs up 4-3 with a shorthander at 6:05 of that middle twenty. And that’s where the score stood as the buzzer signaled the end of that period.
“That was asked this morning: Are they getting frustrated?” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said of his top line after the game. “I think there’s always a certain level of that when you’re used to getting production, and they got it back tonight. [Bergeron] got a big goal there to get us going again, and obviously, [Pastrnak’s] was just a great forecheck, smart hockey play behind their D when you have a lead. A goal that they can score and sometimes a skilled group will get away from, they won’t want to chip and chase it and win a puck on the forecheck, they’ll want to make plays. I think that’s where they got away from their game a little bit. They wanted to make plays; they got back to their nuts and bolts and how they can play.”
Jake DeBrusk
Just 1:10 into the third during a four-on-four, Torey Krug tied things up and TD Garden erupted in a deafening cheer that even Bergeron said rivals other times in his memory. However, it was Jake DeBrusk with his second of the game, despite losing an edge and being hounded from behind as he shot the puck, who got the Bruins the lead again and they showed that determination by not letting the Leafs back into the game.
Throughout the series, whether it was giving hits, taking hits, or getting goals, DeBrusk showed that though just a rookie, he wasn’t fazed by the playoff atmosphere. It was clear that he knew he had a job to do. You could see it on his face on every shift. And that made the smile on his face all the better after each of his five goals in that first-round series. While some will still suggest otherwise, his effort shows what a valuable draft pick he was back in 2015.
“No, and he scored going to the net, dirty areas,” Cassidy said of DeBrusk’s not looking like a rookie. “He had some chances tonight. He didn’t score on going there. So, that’s always the first thing: get into the inside, play inside, be willing to get hit, fight for your space, and that’s playoff hockey. It’s a little more difficult to get there. So, they weren’t freebies, all of his goals. He’s around the net. He got a shot through the other night in Toronto, but the other ones here, he’s been real greasy, as advertised. And he had his legs the whole series.”
Perhaps one of the biggest hurdles that the team overcame in that third period was not allowing Toronto to regain the momentum. Too frequently in the previous three games, just after Boston scored a goal, the Maple Leafs would respond in kind. The most recent example of that being in Game 6 in Toronto, when it took all of 35 seconds for Toronto to score and tilt the ice in their favor.
For today the Bruins can rest and decompress, but then it will be off to Tampa Bay on Friday in preparation for their 3:00pm game on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, when the fight to command another best of seven series moves on—one game at a time.
The National Hockey League has released the schedule for Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Check it out below!
For the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs it is once again coming down to a Game 7 match at TD Garden. The most recent time these two met in a Game 7 was in 2013, a miracle game that saw the Bruins come back from being down by three in the third period only to tie it and take it in overtime. Wednesday night’s game between the two Original Six teams is only their fourth Game seven match, with Boston having a 2-1 edge over Toronto in the previous three (2013 (Bruins), 1959 (Leafs), and 1941 (Bruins)).
Boston had an opportunity to close out the series in Game 5, but somehow seemed to lack the energy and commitment necessary. Tuukka Rask struggled in that game, ultimately being replaced by Anton Khudobin in the second period, but by that time the Bruins were down 4-1 in the second period with Toronto controlling much of the play.
It looked like the Bruins would take it in Game 6 in Toronto, as up to that point in the series the team who scored first had won the game. That was not to be the case on Monday night. The Bruins Jake DeBrusk got Boston on the scoreboard first, 1:02 into the second period, but the Maple Leafs responded 35 seconds later off the stick of William Nylander. Toronto thought they were up 2-1 about a minute later, but the goal was overturned due to goaltender interference after Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy challenged. Mitch Marner gave the Maple Leafs the lead 13:25 into the middle frame, which was the first team lead change in a game in the series. And from that point on the Bruins seemed to be on their heels, especially in the third period when Boston didn’t register their first shot on goal of the period until 10:11.
Obviously the previous six games don’t matter at this point because it is a do or die situation for both teams. Someone’s season is coming to an end. The only question to be answered is who truly wants this more—Boston or Toronto?
When asked about Game 7, Charlie McAvoy said “This is the NHL Playoffs. This is what you grow up as a kid dreaming, playing in that Game 7 and making a difference, having an impact. It’s my goal tomorrow to go out there and enjoy it. It’s gonna be fun. We’ve got the crowd with us. It’s gonna be loud. It’s gonna be energetic. We’re gonna have to feed off that. It’s gonna be an unbelievable experience.”
McAvoy has been struggling to stay upright on the ice with some questioning if he has an injury or if there is something wrong with his skates. He has been seen going to the equipment guys and getting them looked at. No one doubts his motivation. And players like DeBrusk and Sean Kuraly have stepped up.
The Bruins need their top line to produce—something they have struggled at since the two blow outs in Games 1 and 2. If Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak can start clicking again, then Toronto will likely be facing a team with four scoring lines and that is difficult to shut down. Rask needs to back his team as though he is ten feet tall and eight feet wide and made of bricks. He’s kept the team in a lot of the games, but none of that matters now.
If the Bruins win, their series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday at 3pm ET in Florida. If Toronto wins, then the series against Tampa Bay will begin Saturday night at 8pm ET in Florida.
So who do you think wants this one more?
A casual fan might look at the New Jersey Devils – Tampa Bay Lightning series and not be surprised. The #1 seed is up 2-0 on the #8 seed and they have won by a combined score of 10-5. But after watching the Devils all season, I’m surprised. And I’m optimistic that these Devils aren’t done yet.
Neither of the first two games of the series have been the Devils best. And by all means, Tampa is an incredible offensive team who may be just too much for this young New Jersey group to handle. But the Devils have out shot Tampa by 17 over the first two games and have been able to pin the Lightning in their end of the ice on numerous occasions. A couple tweaks to their game, and a reversal of some unlikely trends – the Devils can easily flip this series. As the saying goes, you aren’t out of a series until you lose a game at home. Which brings us to Game 3 in New Jersey.
A quick glance at some of the aforementioned abnormal activity from Games 1 & 2 shows that this series could be a lot closer than the scoreboard says:
- The Lightning are currently shooting at 20%. They averaged 10% in the regular season.
- The Devils are currently shooting at 6%, they also averaged 10% in the regular season.
- The Lightning PP is 3 for 4 but the Devils PK was 8th in the NHL at almost 82% during the regular season. The
- Devils know they can’t take penalties against this team, but even if they do they’ve proven they should have the ability to kill it off.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy has a .934 save percentage – since Jan 1 he was only at .903.
If any of these trends swing back in the Devils favor, I’d expect games much more reminiscent of the three wins New Jersey had over Tampa Bay during the regular season. Additionally, with the series shifting north, the Devils’ Head Coach John Hynes will have the ability to get more favorable matchups – specifically getting the Zajac–Noeson–Coleman line out against what has proven to be Tampa’s most effective line of Point–Palat–Johnson. None of these factors alone may make the difference, but if the Devils bring their best, the Lightning know they are susceptible.
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The one big question mark for Game 3 is going to be the starting Devils goaltender. Keith Kinkaid is the only reason the Devils are in the postseason, going 11-2-1 in his last 14 games, while Cory Schneider hasn’t won a start since December 2017. That said, 10 goals against is a lot in two games – even if only 1 or 2 can really be held against Kinkaid. Schneider looked a lot more composed in the final period of Game 2 than he has in months, but in what is a must win game, does Coach Hynes have the guts to make that change? I’m not even going to try and guess. Hynes has pushed a lot of the right buttons this year and I’ll leave this one up to him as well.
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Two players the Devils need more from are Pavel Zacha and Kyle Palmieri. While the Devils offense hasn’t been firing on all cylinders, the big players have gotten on the score sheet – Hall, Hischier, Zajac, Butcher. Palmieri was the third leading scorer for New Jersey in the regular season and so far his only contribution in the postseason has been a bad penalty in Game 2 that led to a Lightning goal. Meanwhile, Zacha didn’t light up the score sheet for the Devils this season, but in the back half of the season, he was a key player with timely goals, great tw0-way play and was relied on to help break the puck out of the defensive zone. The latter is something the Devils can struggle with mightily. If they are going to come back in this series, Zacha and Palmieri will be part of the reason why.
It’s the time of year that all hockey fans have been waiting for, The Stanley Cup Playoffs! Sixteen teams are now vying for one of the greatest trophies in all of sports, The Stanley Cup.
One team that no one expected to be in this year’s playoffs was the Vegas Golden Knights. Expansion teams are supposed to be bad and look like they have never played together before. With the expansion draft idea that was used it changed the way expansion teams are built for the first year. In the past it was players that teams no longer wanted that were exposed in the draft. This time teams were only allowed to protect a certain number of players from the draft. This model left a lot of good players exposed for drafting by the expansion team to fill their roster for the upcoming season.
I don’t think anyone expected the team Vegas fielded to be any good and that they would finish near the bottom of the standings. That wasn’t the case to start the season but some of that success was probably attributed to the horrible incident in Las Vegas on October 1st to which the team responded with entertainment and the #VegasStrong hashtag.
The team started out hot and really never seemed to cool down for more than a few games. The fans flocked to the arena but even though they never had sell outs the arena was always filled. A lot of the local stores that carried Golden Knights gear always seemed to have empty spots where the gear had sold out. The town has embraced the team and thrown their support around it.
The Golden Knights have struggled with injuries, especially towards the end of the regular season. How these injuries will affect them during the playoffs remains to be seen.
We can say that they have had a very successful first season and exceeded expectations beyond what most of us imagined. For now they are a healthy franchise that has the support of a community who has never had a top level sports team before. The amount of merchandise I see around town is proof of the team’s success. I may even be getting a jersey down the road. At this point if they don’t go far in the playoffs the team has still had great success.
The Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs were back at it in Game Two of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Saturday night. The Leafs were certainly looking to try and split the wins while in Boston to go back to Toronto tied at one game apiece, but that wasn’t how things wound up.
Toronto certainly came out with jump from the first puck drop. And they were doing a great job of keeping the Bruins from getting a shot on Frederik Andersen throughout the first five minutes. David Pastrnak showed some patience waiting for Andersen to bite and then backhanded the puck into the net to give the Bruins the first goal of the game at 5:26 with their first shot on net.
One of the issues that the Leafs had said they needed to address for the second game was staying disciplined and out of the penalty box, so it must have been even more frustrating when their first penalty of the game came at 8:24 of the first period for a bench minor—too many men on the ice. And just as they had on Thursday, the Bruins made them pay. Jake DeBrusk got his first goal of the postseason with 38 seconds remaining on the man advantage; his tip in the result of his placement in front of Andersen. The Bruins were up 2-0 while Torey Krug and Patrice Bergeron each had two assists.
The pucks just kept finding the back of the Leafs’ net. Kevan Miller would be the next player to notch his first postseason goal at 12:13, assisted by Pastrnak and Brad Marchand. And with that one, Andersen would spend the rest of the game watching from the sidelines as Curtis McElhinney was brought in to replace him.
Once again, a hit on Mitch Marner—this time by Tim Schaller—resulted in retribution as Ron Hainsey dropped the gloves with Schaller. While both Hainsey and Schaller would be escorted to their respective sin bins, Hainsey would put his team down a man by earning a double minor for roughing. Eleven seconds into the power play, Rick Nash would get his first goal of the playoffs giving the Bruins their fourth of the game and the period, assisted by Pastrnak and Krug.
By the time the first period was over the Bruins had four goals and had kept the Leafs off the scoreboard. Pastrnak already had a goal and two assists. Krug had three assists and Bergeron had two.
Krejci’s tip-in on McElhinney
Marner would get the Leafs their first goal 1:22 into the second period, putting his wrist shot through the wide open back door on Tuukka Rask. It was clear the Leafs weren’t going to give up despite being in a four-goal hole at the top of the middle frame. A little more than two minutes later, David Krejci restored the four-goal lead for the Bruins with a tip-in assisted by Pastrnak and Marchand. Tyler Bozak’s wrist shot at almost the halfway mark of the game would again get Toronto within three goals of tying things up. And as the buzzer signaled the end of the second the Leafs were outshooting the Bruins and had improved their penalty kill as they kept the Bruins from increasing their lead during the two penalties Toronto took in that period.
With less than eight minutes remaining in regulation, and despite Toronto’s barrage of shots on Rask, Pastrnak would get his second of the game, once again assisted by his linemates Bergeron and Marchand. James van Riemsdyk would capitalize 33 seconds into Krejci’s tripping penalty, as the Leafs continued to dominate on the chances in the third. Pastrnak wasn’t finished though, getting his third goal with 1:32 left on the clock. The hat trick signaled the throwing of the black and gold hats and while the ice crew collected all the hats, tabulations were being calculated for the impressive and unstoppable first line for the Bruins. Pastrnak’s third goal had again been assisted by Marchand and Bergeron.
Once again, the Bruins got the win, leading the series 2-0 as the teams will travel to Toronto for Game Three on Monday. For Pastrnak, Saturday was a six-point night (3 goals, 3 assists). Bergeron had four assists and so did Marchand. That one line for the Bruins combined for 14 points on the night and a two-game total of 20 points.
There are certainly some things the Bruins need to work on going into Game Three—especially in regard to their gap control and the amount of zone time they allowed the Leafs as the second period continued and throughout most of the third. The Leafs will draw energy from their home crowd, and the Bruins will need to temper that energy by removing the fans from the game.
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