With Corey Crawford‘s second injury this season placing him on the injured reserve, teammates lost a shoulder they’d been leaning on. Crawford, with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage, had saved not just pucks, but a struggling team rather often in his 28 games played.
Coach Joel Quenneville told media, after announcing Crawford’s upper-body injury, that he expected the rest of the team to rally in his absence:
“He means a lot to us. You look around at all the goaltenders in the league, he’s probably had the best year to date. How many goalie wins has he had? More than just a few. So we were talking today, we’re going to need everybody to absorb some responsibility here, do a little more individually, adding up collectively. And that can make us a better team. . . . It’s going to be a great test knowing that this could be our most critical part of the year.”
Against Vancouver Wednesday, in a 5-2 lashing, backup netminder Anton Forsberg‘s NHL career stats fell to a .891 save percentage with just two wins in 22 games played/18 games started, including a 1-5-3 record in nine games started (12 played) this season.
This defeat gave Chicago a chance for a storybook resurgence one night later in Edmonton.
Through the looking ‘Glass’
With Crawford out indefinitely and Forsberg’s lackluster performance against the Canucks, the Blackhawks called upon Jeff Glass (on a plane to Chicago’s AHL team in Rockford, Ill. from celebrating the holidays at home in Calgary) to finally break into the NHL Friday night back in Alberta against the Edmonton Oilers.
According to Chicago media and NHL biographical information, Glass, 32, has played in goal with NHL hopes for 13 years—including four years in the NHL, a seven-season stint with the KHL and a return to the AHL before his call-up Friday.
His parents, wife, and two-month-old daughter watched as Glass faced 45 shots on goal.
Chicago needed this game, though. And, they proved it in overtime. Just 50 seconds in, it was “showtime” in Edmonton.
Set up by Keith and Schmaltz, Patrick Kane juked a defender and shot over Cam Talbot‘s pads to seal Glass’ victory.
Glass called his first NHL win “something he dreamed of, never thought would come true.”
“It was pretty good, a little more exciting than I needed it to be at the end, but unbelievable goal by Kaner there in overtime. In the first period, it felt nice to touch the puck. I’m sure if I didn’t have any shots, I would have been sitting there wondering what’s going on. It kind of felt routine after that.”
He made 42 saves.
Despite his remarkable game-winning goal in overtime, Kane told press that Glass was the story—a perspective that was apparent when he directed his celebration at his goalkeeper:
“For him to kind of be a journeyman, to wait this long for his first career NHL start, to be close to home for him, the way he played tonight, you can’t really write a better script. You got to be ecstatic for him. We were all jacked up after the game. Probably happier than a normal win in the regular season just because he was in net.”
This comes on the heels on Kane’s 300th goal (the Hawks’ lone goal in a 3-1 loss) last Saturday against the New Jersey Devils.
Joining Crawford on the injured reserve is Artem Anisimov, who has had 13 goals and five assists in 38 games this season.
Playing on momentum, Glass is expected to start Sunday in Calgary, the Blackhawks’ last game of 2017.
.@glasswall33 bounced around the minors & KHL since being drafted in 2004, but last night, the 32 year old goaltender put up 42 saves to earn his first career win in overtime, in his @NHL debut with the @NHLBlackhawks.
There is no secret that the Ottawa Senators have been struggling of late. Coming into the first of two games this week against the Boston Bruins—with the first in Boston—they were 3-6-2 in their December games, and had lost their last three games, though got a point in overtime out of one of them. Meanwhile, the Bruins, who had struggled at the beginning of their season, went into the three-day holiday break on a happy note, riding a four-game winning streak.
The opening twenty looked a bit like two teams that had just had three days off; feeling each other out and having limited shots on net in the beginning. When Kevan Miller sniped the puck past Craig Anderson at 5:22 of the period, it was only the Bruins’ third shot on net. The previous two had been off the stick of David Backes, so it seemed only fitting they he had the primary assist on Miller’s first goal of the season. The secondary assist was credited to Riley Nash, whose name the Senators would likely get sick of hearing as the game progressed.
Danton Heinen
Three minutes later Danton Heinen would get the Bruins a two-goal lead as he tapped the puck into a wide-open back door. And once again the younger players were getting on the scoresheet and the secondary scoring was rolling for the Bruins.
“A balanced scoring, secondary scoring – it’s something we were searching for. Nice to see the D get involved tonight. Nash’s line has chipped in on a fairly regular basis. Spooner’s group certainly has the ability to do it. You saw that with Anders [Bjork] tonight, found his legs,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said after the game. “It’s a big plus for us, takes a lot of load off of those guys. They’re going to want to score every night; it’s how they play. I think they had drive tonight – [Patrice Bergeron’s] line – it just didn’t go in for them, or maybe one too many passes or however you want to analyze it, so for us to be able to do that is a good sign.”
Cassidy mentioned the Nash line, and for Nash himself it was a three-point night, with two goals and the assist on that first goal. His first goal, which came 1:25 into the second period, was unassisted.
The Senators would get one back 3:49 into the second, off the stick of Thomas Chabot, and the teams would go to the locker rooms at the second intermission with the Bruins still up by two goals. However, it was clear that the Senators were beginning to push back, as they outshot the Bruins in that period. Perhaps it was the three-goal lead, or perhaps it was over-passing as Cassidy suggested, but Tuukka Rask was again having an impressive and confident night between the pipes for the Black and Gold.
The score would remain 3-1 until Nash got his second of the game, off a pass from Bjork, at 14:43 of the third.
Riley Nash
“I kind of saw someone coming back door, so I was waiting. If that D man slid across I was going to try and feather it back door to… not even sure who it was. I think it might have been Heinen,” Nash shared on the thoughts he had on that second goal. “But that D man there kind of committed to me, so I started running out of room, and usually that goalie starts to loop off that post, and he waited a lot longer than I thought, and eventually there was just a little gap, so that’s nice.”
Backes would seal the game with a nice little goal right on the blue paint at 18:40 of the final frame. He was assisted by Matt Grzelcyk and Heinen. For Grzelcyk, that was his second point of the game.
Despite still not having David Krejci or Adam McQuaid on the ice for games, this Bruins team continues to find ways to win. For Coach Cassidy, when McQuaid is cleared to play, it will mean making a difficult decision as to who he sits if he dresses McQuaid.
Those who perhaps questioned some of the acquisitions through the NHL Drafts over the last few years, should really be rethinking their complaints. These young players are buying into the system and working to remain in the lineup. And that only means good things for the future of the Bruins.
Boston has a quick turnaround as they will be playing the Washington Capitals on Thursday night in D.C. The Capitals were on the road in New York City Wednesday night, where they lost to the New York Rangers. So both teams are traveling to D.C.
Thursday night’s game against the Capitals will be a real test for the Bruins. The Capitals have beaten Boston in their last 11 matches. It will be interesting to see if this new found confidence, and the ability to get secondary scoring, makes a difference.
The Bruins will then have a rematch with the Senators–this time in Ottawa, on Saturday.
Saturday afternoon the Boston Bruins played their last game before getting three days off to spend with their families for the holidays. They had much to be pleased with having won their previous three games, and having a 7-2-1 record in the month of December. They also were happy for their team mate, David Backes, who became a father for the second time. His wife had given birth to a son in the wee hours of Saturday morning. And yet, he was back in the lineup, despite a lack of sleep.
We welcomed our new addition this morning at 1:12am. Dawson Michael Backes. 8 lbs 9 oz. Mom is an absolute warrior and I have never been more proud of someone. By far the toughest in the family. pic.twitter.com/s4fkkb0Lpg
The game against the Detroit Red Wings was the second meeting of these two teams in December, with the previous game played in Detroit’s new arena amidst a heavy snow storm, that resulted in the Bruins with one of their wins, though it took overtime. Obviously, the Red Wings, who have been struggling, were hoping for a different outcome while in Boston.
The first period saw Brad Marchand notch his 15th goal, a power play goal, with assists from Backes and David Pastrnak. The Bruins happiness over getting the first goal was short lived, as the Red Wings Franz Nielsen tied things up with a shorthanded goal. And that is where the score would stay through the remainder of the first, all of the second and a bit over six minutes into the third.
Patrice Bergeron would break the tie at 6:11 of the final twenty, with assists from Marchand and Pastrnak. The even strength goal was the result of the communication of that line. The passes were tape to tape and their confidence put the puck behind Jimmy Howard.
Not surprisingly the Red Wings were doing everything they could after they had tied the game to be the team to get the next one. They were outshooting the Bruins and at one point, if it hadn’t been for Zdeno Chara who got his stick on a puck that was behind Tuukka Rask it could have been a completely different game. In fact, Chara would be important in a few plays.
The Bruins defense has been improving, including their young players like Charlie McAvoy.
Charlie McAvoy
“Playing good, I mean, we’re a confident group back there. Some of our strengths are probably moving the puck. We have a lot of puck-movers back there, guys who can skate and move it,” McAvoy shared. “It helps a lot when you have goalies like [Anton Khudobin] and [Rask] playing great hockey. Playing really good hockey as of late, full team effort. On the back end we try and minimize opportunities and make sure we’re doing our jobs as far as breaking pucks out pretty easily. That’s what we hope, it’s not always like that. Great overall effort tonight again, we’re really excited going into the break like this.”
Of course, even with the greatest defense, if a team isn’t scoring goals, they will not win a game. And while the games have all been close, including Saturday’s win over the Red Wings, the Bruins have found a couple of scoring lines. The Bergeron line’s consistency is well known.
Patrice Bergeron in front of Jimmy Howard
“I’m glad they’re on our team. That’s a matchup I wouldn’t want to play against. They’re all so skilled, they all think the game very well. They’re always in the right position, they’re always making plays happen. I think their hockey IQs is what allows them to have the success they have,” McAvoy said about the Bruins’ top line. “[Bergeron] as a center man, he’s always in the middle. He’s always that kind of safety valve. When he’s out there I’m confident we’re going to be alright and we’re going to be playing in their zone.”
Another strong line for the Bruins has now become the one of Backes, Riley Nash and Danton Heinen. Backes, though only in his second year with the Bruins, is a veteran of the NHL and his input on the ice and on the bench is becoming more evident each game. The chemistry between this line was clear when Nash was out on Thursday from illness, and Backes and Heinen weren’t as strong. Backes added two assists to his points total in Saturday’s game.
The team gets to go on the holiday break with four wins. They can relax and spend time with their families. But they will be back at it and focused on Wednesday, when the Edmonton Oilers come to Boston.
The game between the Boston Bruins and the Winnipeg Jets went 48:16 before either team got on the board. Torey Krug notched the first goal of the game 8:16 of the third unassisted, managing to get the puck top shelf on Connor Hellebuyck. However, before the Bruins could truly appreciate the lead, the Jets responded. It was just 57 seconds later that Patrik Laine put the Jets on the score board. Given how long it took for either team to score, it was not too surprising that the game required extra time, ultimately going to the shootout.
For Tuukka Rask, he would face 38 shots, saving 37. On the opposite end of the ice, Hellebuyck would deny 32 of 33 shots. It was a night for the goalies, to be sure. And for Hellebuyck, it was a homecoming of sorts, having spent two years with the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, including the first year UML won the Hockey East Championship in 2014, which is played at TD Garden.
Connor Hellebuyck
“I like this arena. The ice is a little bit soft and it’s kind of good for my edges and I don’t know, I seem to find a liking here,” Hellebuyck shared after the game.
While the Jets took a point, which is always a good thing, the 24-year-old netminder doesn’t want it to become a habit.
“We always feel good about a point, but it’s happening a little too much to my liking, especially in the shootout,” he stated. “I take shootouts personally and I don’t like losing them so we got a point but we want more.”
And indeed, Hellebuyck did take losing the shootout personally.
“Well I could have made two saves but that’s being hard on myself,” he continued. “You know I want those and I’ve been working hard at it and I’ve been practicing pretty hard on my breakaways and sometimes they make a good shot and sometimes they get a little bit of luck.”
When the game came down to the shootout, that is when goalies needed to be at their best. The Jets Bryan Little got his shot past Rask in the first round, while Hellebuyck denied Brad Marchand’s wrist shot. Laine was second up for the Jets, but he lost the puck off his stick. David Pastrnak got his past the Jets goaltender and just like everything else in the game, the shootout would not be solved in three rounds. As they went to the fourth, Rask stopped Nikolaj Ehlers, however, Charlie McAvoy—celebrating his 20th birthday—would thread the puck between Hellebuyck’s blocker and pad to give the Bruins the win.
“Cherry on top of a great effort by our team,” McAvoy modestly said about his winning goal on his birthday. “You know, no matter who’s in the lineup we look at our chart and we say that’s the winning lineup. Regardless of who’s hurt or who’s sick or what’s happening in our room, we always feel like we can win if we play the right way, and tonight we did for 65 minutes and played good, and we were trying to stick to our identity there and, you know, it goes all the way there, the distance, and we were able to come out on top.”
The Bruins have now put three wins together and have a 7-2-1 in their last ten games. They have one more on Saturday as the Detroit Red Wings come to Boston before the Christmas break. Obviously they would like to take a win into that break.
Monday night the Boston Bruins played host to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Both had played on Saturday and both lost, though the Blue Jackets lost by just one goal. The Bruins were clearly not pleased with their game on Saturday and were determined to bring a better full-team effort from the first puck drop against Columbus.
The Bruins were certainly motivated on Monday, outshooting the Blue Jackets 45-18 by the end of the game. The final score of 7-2 showed the effort that Boston brought to the game, but perhaps the number of players who had a hand in those goals speaks to a team in which everyone brought their A game.
The momentum was set when Brad Marchand scored 14:48 into the first period. The chemistry that he and Patrice Bergeron have is often on display, but Bergeron patiently waited below the goal line and fed Marchand the puck, who put it in the net to give the Bruins the first goal of the game. Not playing from behind was an important factor in the game. But having the veterans working hard is also important to the young players.
“We want to do that at home. We’ve talked about that. I mean, obviously we’d love to do that on the road as well but certainly in this building we want to make it difficult for teams to come in and establish any sort of control or pace to the game,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said after the game.
Of those in Black and Gold, seven different players notched a goal on the evening: Marchand (EV), David Backes (PP), Charlie McAvoy (PP), Danton Heinen (EV), Torey Krug (EV) Bergeron (EV), and Jake DeBrusk.
Ten Bruins players had assists, with three having two assists. Heinen and DeBrusk had three-point nights with a goal and two assists each. And McAvoy had a goal, an assist and his first NHL career fight for his first Gordie Howe Hat Trick.
Charlie McAvoy and Zdeno Chara
“I know I try to play the game with a lot of passion, and that’s something [Pierre-Luc DuBois] was doing too. Stuff like that is going to happen. It happened really quick and I felt like I was able to protect myself pretty well,” McAvoy said about his fight. “I came from college hockey, so there was no fighting, nothing like that. I knew that the way I play, the way I try and play hard, and I play on the physical side, so I knew that sometimes you’re going to have to kind of answer the bell I guess.”
McAvoy doesn’t seem phased much being in the NHL, and in fact had four hits on the night. And while he may not have had much experience with fighting at the college level, he did get a bit of coaching during his brief stint with the Providence Bruins.
“My first day in Providence I worked with Tyler Randell for about 15 minutes after practice and he just kind of taught me how to protect myself. It’s a good guy to learn from,” he shared.
McAvoy, Heinen and DeBrusk are strong examples of what can be accomplished when the rookies are working and listening to the veterans. For DeBrusk—who was a healthy scratch for a few games—he has been given the chance to prove himself again. He’s hungry, but he admires the veterans, and watches them in practice. And Monday night it paid off, with his helpers on the Bruins’ two power play goals.
“Well the first one was kind of a weird play to be honest. I just came up and took the puck and it was pretty much a two on one, so I just kind of tried to make a play, so that one was different than usual because usually they’re in their set,” DeBrusk described. “And then the other one was just, you know, a play I’ve seen [Marchand] do, you know, a thousand times and I saw a seam open and [McAvoy] finished it pretty good.”
Jake DeBrusk
It is clear that DeBrusk idolizes Marchand, but it is also clear that DeBrusk watches him in practice and is learning from him. Showing effort at practice is important for the rookies to see. It is one of the things that all of the core leadership exhibit, and it is sinking in for the younger players.
“I think it’s key to being a pro and we have a lot of good veteran leadership that came before us—they all worked that way in practice and you learn from those guys,” Marchand said after the game. “And you know, we need that from everyone. It’s how you improve your game when you practice how you play, and you know, it’s good that we practice as hard as we do every day and it’s transferring over to the games right now.”
Heinen plays on a line with Backes and Riley Nash, which could be a bit intimidating. For many youngsters they may feel they need to pass the puck to the more experienced players. And some of the veterans may feel that is the role of a young rookie. Backes sees things differently.
Scott Harrington and Danton Heinen
“I think I’ve always liked [Heinen]. I think he’s starting to feel a little more comfortable. Trying to tell him that, don’t think of [Nash] and I as older guys and him as a younger guy,” Backes said about Heinen’s game. “You don’t have to force pucks for us. We’re three equal parts. We go out there, we play our butts off and try to make hockey plays and score goals and help our team win, and just kind of give him that confidence that he belongs and he’s part of what we’re going to do as a whole. And he’s certainly showed he belongs and he can make plays at a high level and finish well and does that again tonight, and had three points tonight which you know they’re not flukey things he’s doing out there and it’s great to see.”
The veterans recognize the contributions of the rookies and the rookies recognize the leadership and examples they have in the veterans. With a mix of both on each line, the Bruins can become a powerful team. Monday night’s win was an example of that.
Whether it has something to do with the outstanding play of Braden Holtby in net, the way the Washington Capitals play, the fact that this time the Boston Bruins were playing the second of back to back games, or the black cat theory voiced by Anton Khudobin, the Bruins just can’t seem to solve the Capitals. The loss on Thursday night marked the 11th straight for Boston against Washington. They are now 0-9-2 against the Capitals. The last win against this team for the Bruins came at the Verizon Center in D.C. on March 29, 2014.
Anton Khudobin
Before getting into some of the other possible reasons, perhaps the most interesting was Khudobin’s.
“We shot a lot of pucks and some things didn’t go our way,” he shared. “When the black cat crosses the road, it’s just a black cat across the road.”
Not surprisingly, those hearing this answer—aka, The Media—needed a bit more on this answer and what it meant.
“That mean we shot it how many time, 35? Hit how many crossbars? [The Capitals] played pretty well offensively,” Khudobin elaborated. “Even that third goal, kind of puck on the backdoor. I stopped it and it just crawled over my pad. That’s what it means.”
Certainly, the Capitals played a high-tempo, offensive game. And the Bruins are not out looking for a black cat to blame the loss on. To a man they stepped up and pointed the finger at their game.
“We knew we had to keep things simple early and stay disciplined, and we didn’t do that in the first period.” Patrice Bergeron said after the game. “Somewhat got a little better in the second.”
Discipline was a problem for the Bruins in the first period. They took their first penalty at 2:57, when Bergeron was called for a delay of game after sending the puck over the glass. They killed that penalty and three and a half minutes later, Anders Bjork was in the box for a hold. Once again, the Bruins kept the Capitals from scoring. As Charlie McAvoy found himself sitting eight minutes later for a holding the stick penalty, you couldn’t help wondering if this might not be poking at a hornets’ nest. Fortunately for the Bruins it was a shortened power play for Washington, as their Niklas Backstrom was whistled for a tripping penalty.
Those weren’t the only penalties of the evening, but they certainly made it difficult for the Bruins to play their game as they were often relying on their penalty killing units. And while they did kill off those three penalties, the excessive need to use the special teams can wreak havoc when the teams are back to full strength, which may have been a contributing factor when the Capitals’ scored their first goal off the stick of Jakub Vrana.
While it was the second game in two nights, and the Bruins had arrived home in the wee hours of Thursday morning after squeaking out their overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night, they refused to use that as an excuse.
Brad Marchand
“We’re professionals. We’re all in good shape. We can play in back-to-backs,” Brad Marchand said. “I mean, it’s never fun getting in at 3 a.m. and playing the next day, but it is what it is and we gave ourselves every opportunity to win. We just didn’t capitalize on the opportunities.”
The Bruins had talked about not having to play from behind like they did against Detroit on Wednesday. They had a plan before that first puck dropped.
“The first thing is we wanted to be more physical, more assertive against the Caps,” Bruins Head Coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We seem to wait around to see what would happen and then get behind and then react to it, so we were hoping we could set the tempo and try to be physical, more assertive, control the play early against a team that was sitting here, waiting for us.”
Unfortunately, that wasn’t how the game began. The Bruins certainly didn’t look like a team that was tired from playing the night before and traveling. The second period was their best of the night, with Bergeron getting Boston their first goal of the game to tie things up at that point. The Bruins also limited the Capitals to just three shots on net in the middle frame. Unfortunately, one of those shots was on the power play and it found the back of the net giving the Capitals the lead again.
The one attribute that was clear as Alex Chiasson got two goals in the third period to put the Capitals up 4-1 over Boston, was that the Bruins never backed down. They never stopped trying. David Krejci would get the Bruins second goal of the night as the clock ticked under four minutes remaining in regulation. Even after the Capitals tallied an empty net goal to go up 5-2, the Bruins pulled another back on the power play with 27 seconds left in the game—Bergeron’s second goal of the game.
Patrice Bergeron
For the younger players in black and gold, the loss against the Capitals will need to be a learning experience—especially for Bjork who spent more time on the bench than on the ice as the game went along. Bjork had the penalty in the first and was on the ice for two of the Capitals goals. He was limited to 11 shifts and just 6:47 in time on ice.
“You’re going to see that during the season, especially for young guys,” Bergeron offered. “I think it’s about going back to what you do best. I think when you move your feet and you stop and start in the right position, things fall back into place. He’s right there and the plays are going to come back to him. I think it’s part of being a professional and being a young guy and learning, so I’m not worried about it.”
While the Bruins once again didn’t beat the Capitals, there were positives to be taken from the game. They have Friday to refocus before they take on the New York Rangers on Saturday night. In the meantime, there really isn’t a reason to panic over the loss. The Bruins know what they need to address, and they will.
As the temperatures get colder and the hockey gets hotter, the holiday season descends and adds a bit of spice. Many teams from juniors to the NHL do special things around this time of year—usually to bring smiles to those children who may not get the opportunity to spend the holidays at home.
One thing is for sure, hockey players are good sports when it comes to dancing, singing, lip syncing, and more in videos that will be around long after they have moved on to their next level of hockey or to other avenues of their life. Perhaps it is simply just another way for them to share with their fans; which is something they are all so willing to do.
In addition to the great holiday videos, perhaps the best festivity of the season is when a team hosts a Teddy Bear Toss. There is nothing more fun than seeing the home team pot that first goal of the game and watching it snow teddies! From the colleges of the NCAA to Major Juniors in Canada to the Elite Ice Hockey League in Great Britain to the professional ranks in the states, there have been many teddy tosses.
Perhaps no one will ever outdo the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League. When they have a teddy toss, a blizzard of stuffed animals fly onto the ice. This year’s Teddy Toss amassed 24,605 stuffed animals and took 40 minutes to clear, compliments of the goal scored by Vladisclav Yeryomenko.
The stuffed animals from such events are then taken and shared with children at hospitals to hopefully brighten their time in a place that isn’t the most fun to be during the holidays.
At the NHL level, the teams usually visit the hospitals bringing a variety of items representative of their team. The players usually are contented to wear all manner of hats to help bring some laughs, and happily take photos and sign autographs. The Boston Bruins annually go shopping for toys that they then deliver to the many area hospitals. Teams also often donate food to local shelters or host a large meal for the homeless among other events.
The B's set out yesterday to deliver toys to 600 children at local hospitals.
Hockey players recognize that they can bring a smile by acting a bit goofy and bringing some stuffed animals, thrown with love by hockey fans, to those who are not home for the festivities. So if your local hockey team offers a Teddy Toss, be sure to throw a couple of and know that they will find the loving arms of a small person.
The Boston Bruins were coming off a heady win over the Arizona Coyotes that saw them with an impressive 6-1 score on Thursday when they welcomed the New York Islanders to town for a Saturday evening tilt. On paper before the game, the teams looked remarkably similar in many ways. The Bruins brought a 7-3-0 record from their last ten games while the Islanders showed a 6-3-1. Netminders Tuukka Rask brought a 2.52 GAA and a save percentage of ,908 while Jaroslav Halak came in with a 2.99 GAA and save percentage of ,903.
Perhaps the biggest difference was the outcome of their previous games, as the Islanders took an overtime loss to the Penguins on Thursday before traveling to Boston. And the Islanders would be without former Bruin Johnny Boychuk on the blue line, as he missed his second straight game from injury. However, another former Bruin, Dennis Seidenberg was in the lineup.
Danton Heinen (Photo: Alan Sullivan)
As the game got underway, it was clear that the Bruins were bringing the energy and jump they had found in the third period of the Arizona game right into the first puck drop. Once again the line of Danton Heinen, Riley Nash and David Backes looked to be clicking. At 3:39 of the first period, Nash made a strong steal of the puck which he dished to Heinen, who fired from the right circle and Halak had to make a quick stop. Twelve seconds later it was Backes with a wrist shot right on Halak’s doorstep.
“I think we’re all on the same page simplicity wise and winning pucks. It was kind of fits and starts in there,” Backes suggested as to his line’s recent good fortune. “But when we’re out there, we have to keep it simple.”
And while the Islanders registered the first shot on net in the game, they would experience a drought of 12:43 playing time between their second and third shots on goal—which included two minutes on the man advantage when the Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was whistled for a slashing penalty. During those almost thirteen minutes, the Bruins notched eight shots on Halak. And while the teams went into their respective dressing rooms at the first intermission with nothing to show on the scoreboard, it was clear that Boston had dominated much of the opening twenty.
As things began in the second, there was a lot of trading of hits, shots on net, blocked shots, and takeaways. That all changed when Casey Cizikas caved in Charlie McAvoy along the half wall and Jake DeBrusk invited Cizikas to square off.
“Yeah, I think it was a clean hit, it was just a really hard one and I didn’t like it and I verbally asked [Cizikas] if he wanted to go and he said yes and he dropped his gloves,” DeBrusk shared on his first career fight.
“[DeBrusk] stook up for his teammate there. You got to tip your cap off to him. It’s definitely not easy,” Cizikas offered.
When the dust settled though DeBrusk received a 2-5-10, for a total of 17 minutes of penalty time: two for instigating, five for fighting and the automatic ten-minute misconduct that is attached to an instigator penalty. Cizikas sat for five minutes for fighting. The Islanders had their second power play of the game, and it tilted the ice in their favor despite the fact that they failed to capitalize. Rask—who clearly felt solid in his net—came up big for his team keeping the Islanders from getting on the board. And when the Islanders were caught with too many men on the ice, Brad Marchand would get the Bruins on the scoreboard as his wrist shot went five-hole on Halak 41 seconds into the Bruins first power play of the game. As the second period came to an end, the Bruins had a goal and had picked up their pace with the shots on net making the statistics looked a little more even than the play actually had been.
The third period found the physicality ramped up to a completely new level and saw the Bruins handed two five-minute majors. The first was the result of a hit by Marchand on John Tavares in the corner that was ruled an interference call just 26 seconds into the final twenty. However, Ryan Pulock, in an effort to stand up for his captain would get a roughing call, negating two minutes of the major penalty as the teams played four-on-four. Twelve seconds before Pulock was due to exit the box, Calvin De Haan got whistled for a trip on David Krejci, which meant that in the end the Islanders really only had 1:12 of actual man-advantage time.
DeBrusk, after missing most of the second period and the start of the third, was back on the ice when he found himself with an opportunity. It required a spin on his part to get around and put the wrister on Halak, top shelf, but it worked and the Bruins found themselves up 2-1 with a little more than 13 minutes remaining in regulation.
“Those are the types of penalties I think you’ll end up killing generally. The guys dig in a little more. They don’t want him to feel bad for doing those things, sticking up for a teammate, so you dig in. And then getting the goal, I think it was written that there was a certain play drafted ahead of him, so I think he took it upon himself to maybe show that he’s here for a reason, he’s he’s a good player in his own right, and he was pretty excited about it,” Coach Cassidy said.
Cassidy was alluding to many articles and comments that surfaced before the game questioning the Bruins decision not to select Mathew Barzal with any of their three picks, when they had the number 13, 14, and 15 picks overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. DeBrusk was chosen 14th overall by the Bruins and then the Islanders selected Barzal with the 16th overall pick. And while Barzal has been a point getting machine, with 27 points (8G, 19A) in 28 games, he had been limited to just two shots on net during the first forty minutes of the game against the Bruins.
Barzal would add another assist to his totals, as the clock ticked under four minutes, when he got the secondary assist on Anders Lee’s goal which put the Islanders on the board and cut the Bruins lead in half.
Before the Barzal goal though, there would be the Bruins’ second five-minute major penalty to get through after Backes was called for a head butt and given a game misconduct. Alan Ladd would get two for roughing, so in the end the Bruins only had three minutes to kill of Backes’ penalty.
When the Bruins iced the puck with 1:31 remaining in the third, the Islanders used their time out, pulled their goalie and did their best to get the equalizer. Heinen, though would give the Bruins a little breathing room when he saw his sixth of the season go in the empty net with 42 seconds still on the clock.
While the Bruins were clearly pleased with the score and the two points, there are still questions as to whether or not Marchand, Backes or both will end up with supplemental discipline. If either of them does get a suspension of one or more games, that would make the player ineligible to dress against the Detroit Red Wings on the road Wednesday, and could also perhaps keep the player out against the Washington Capitals back in Boston on Thursday.
With Saturday’s win, the Bruins had just gotten above .500 for the first time since they won their first game of the season. And the loss of one or both of these players could see the team struggling as it did when both were out due to injuries and surgery.
The Boston Bruins looked like they were serious about winning their game on Thursday night as Brad Marchand netted the first goal of the game a mere 15 seconds into the opening period. However, after that their inability to connect on passes, and an abundance of turnovers offered the Arizona Coyotes a chance to get back into the game. The Yotes were outshooting the Bruins and it was just a matter of time before they were able to capitalize. Christian Dvorak corralled a puck that Brandon Carlo failed to get out of the Bruins’ end and with 2:37 remaining in the first the game was tied.
“I thought we were loose with the puck. I though our legs were there early. We were trying to attack. Just we were going through the neutral zone, they had bodies back,” Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said after the game. “I think [we were] a little disrespectful to what was in front of us.”
And while a discussion was had during the first intermission about getting back to playing their game, it was the Coyotes who appeared to come out determined to take advantage of a team that was turning over too many pucks and missing connections on the long stretch passes. In fact the Coyotes would prevent the Bruins from making a single shot on net in the middle frame until the 10:50 mark.
Tuukka Rask
“I just thought we executed poorly. And have to give credit, some of it for them. Some of it was on us. But we got through it,” Cassidy continued. “That’s where Tuukka [Rask] deserves some credit tonight in those games. It’s 6-1, you don’t ever look at the goalie, but it was 1-1, he needed to be there. He needed to be there for us because we don’t know we are going to get six. Good for him for stepping up in the second.”
While Arizona wasn’t exactly firing tons of shots at Rask, each one that he did stop kept his team from going down a goal. Three minutes after the Bruins got their first shot on net, they would get the go-ahead goal. Matt Grzelcyk, playing down along the half wall, put the puck on the stick of Riley Nash up at the blue line, who fired a rocket at the goal and David Backes was in front to tip it home.
Backes, who was in a hospital bed after having surgery to remove ten inches of his colon just 35 days ago, gave the Bruins what they needed most in his fourth game back. The 33-year-old, signed by the Bruins during the offseason before the 2016-17 season, showed not only that he can put points on the score sheet, but how important he is to the team both on and off the ice.
“Yeah, he’s a huge leader for our team. He steps up all over the place—in the room, on the ice, on the bench,” Marchand shared. “He’s a big void when he’s not on the … when he’s not playing. So we’re very lucky to have him back. He stepped up big tonight and you know, really turned that game around for us.”
Backes wasn’t done just getting the Bruins what would ultimately be the game-winning goal. With 54 seconds remaining in the second period—and showing some amazing hand-eye coordination—he managed to intercept the puck, the lone Bruin in the offensive zone, and get the Bruins their third goal of the game. His goals completely changed the momentum of the game, and by the final buzzer the Bruins would see a 6-1 win that belied how truly close the game was for the opening 30 minutes.
“It was a good team win, put a crooked number up on the board. Playing the right way—forced to play the right way against a team that was clogging up the neutral zone and turning pucks down our throat,” Backes said. “Kind of a teeter-totter game there for the first half then I think we got to our ideals and what our identity has been for winning games.”
That identity, in many ways, is a checking line that can score goals. And that begins with Backes. Fortunately, his line mates are buying into what he is selling.
“I think David [Backes] is the leader in that—in terms of how he wants that style of line to play. I think we talked about that at the start of the year; build a line around him. That’s the type of line he wants and now we have the pieces in-house here that are now starting to fit,” Cassidy said of his third line. “I think the other guys are willing to do that as well. It’s one thing for him to tell—ask to play a certain way if the players aren’t receptive to it. I think Danton Heinen wants to stay in this league. He’ll stay any way he can. He’s certainly a good student, and [Riley] Nash, that’s his game. It complements [Backes] as well.”
If the Bruins can keep their players healthy they have a chance of having some powerful line combinations that will stymy other teams. It was evident from puck drop Thursday night with the Marchand goal. And having a checking line that is offensive brings the team to another level.
While many questioned the signing of Backes, especially when he had some issues in the first year of his contract, it is games such as the one he played Thursday night that show how important he is to the Black and Gold. He embraces the Bruins identity and he is vocal when necessary. The younger players, if willing, can learn much from him, just as Heinen appears to be doing.
The Bruins saw five players have a two-point night, and eleven players got on the score sheet–including Backes’ line mate Heinen. If not for Backes and Rask though it could easily have been an entirely different outcome.
The Boston Bruins—who had David Backes, Brad Marchand and Ryan Spooner back—started the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning as though they had been the ones charged by lightning. From the first puck drop the team in black and gold executed their game plan.
Many had worried about Bruins’ Head Coach Bruce Cassidy’s decision to start Tuukka Rask again after his loss on Sunday against the Edmonton Oilers. Rask’s confidence may be a bit shaky, but the only way for him to improve is to get some wins. At the beginning of the game, as the players in front of him played hard, fast and with determination, it did look like he may have been struggling to get his rhythm back. He also wasn’t seeing much rubber as the Bruins kept the Lightning from getting many opportunities.
As the first period ended the Bruins were on the board with two goals on 19 shots, while Tampa had been denied on the five shots they managed to get on Rask. The Bruins had limited Steven Stamkos to a single shot in the opening frame and had only one penalty—a slashing call on Marchand that actually negated a power play the Bruins had been on.
The first goal was originally waved off on the ice, as the referee believed there had been goaltender interference. However, after Coach Cassidy used his challenge, the call on the ice was overturned and the goal was awarded. It was Charlie McAvoy’s third goal of the season, with assists from David Pastrnak and Marchand.
Andrei Vasilevskiy
The second goal was the result of some strong play at the other end of the ice that resulted in Marchand getting the puck to Danton Heinen, who made a beautiful pass right on the stick of Riley Nash. ash sent his wrist shot glove side high getting it past Andrei Vasilevskiy—who really was giving Tampa a chance to stay in the game.
Despite having been out for six games with injury, it was evident that Marchand was back and determined to do whatever he could for the team. In that opening period he had the secondary assist on both of the Bruins’ goals. And he contributed two shots on net in the first twenty minutes. During his twelve shifts on the ice he accumulated 7:15 of ice time to start the game, which was third on the team behind McAvoy (9:20) and Zdeno Chara (7:18).
As the second period got underway, the physicality between the two teams increased, some by choice and some perhaps by accident. At the 2:26 mark of the period, Tampa’s Cedric Paquette slammed Krug into the boards. As Krug crumpled, Frank Vatrano took exception and headed toward Paquette. The two tussled, additional bodies tried to get involved, and as the men in stripes put a stop to it, Vatrano was down on the ice. Both Paquette and Vatrano were assessed two penalties each. Paquette got two for the boarding of Krug and two for roughing. Vatrano was given two for tripping Paquette and two for roughing.
Torey Krug
Two minutes and four seconds later, Mikhail Sergachev and Marchand joined them in their respective sin bins. Sergachev was given two for interference and Marchand received two minutes for embellishment. It was while the teams were playing four-on-four at this time that Boston would get their third, and final, goal of the game. Down in Tampa’s end, Spooner worked hard to keep the puck on his stick until he could make a saucer pass to Krug, who fired off a one-timer that Vasilevskiy just couldn’t stop. Five minutes later Tampa would finally find the net behind Rask, as Andrej Sustr got his first goal of the season, assisted by Braydon Coburn and Chris Kunitz.
“Obviously it was a big goal, the way the game turned out. But as far as momentum swings in the game, I think Frankie [Frank Vatrano] did a great job stepping in there,” Krug said of his game-winning goal. “Sticking up for his teammates, doing his thing. We were able to get out there and get one for him, and I give him a lot of credit for that.”
Going into the second intermission the score remained 3-1 in favor of Boston and the Bruins had again outshot Tampa, this time 13-7, for a two-period total of 32-12. It became unquestionable that Sustr’s goal gave the Lightning some life and determination to get back in the game. And that life would continue to grow as the game went on.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, just 46 seconds into the third period, Brandon Carlo was whistled for interference—a penalty he has taken a few times this season—and it would end up being a costly penalty as Steven Stamkos notched his eighth power play goal of the season, cutting the Bruins lead to just a single goal. A one-goal game and almost a full 18 minutes of game time remaining? Tampa began their push.
“We didn’t have near the desperation that [the Bruins] had in the first period,” Tampa’s head coach Jon Cooper shared postgame. “We were a step behind which was obvious and it was unfortunate because it ended up costing us the game. But, you know, as the game slowly went on, we slowly tilted the ice and you know, by the time we got to the third period we were doing all the right things.”
The third period saw Tampa outshoot the Bruins 9-4. As the period continued it would be the Bruins who would be icing the puck trying to break Tampa’s focus, especially during the last minute and a half after Vasilevskiy was pulled and the Lightning had the extra attacker on the ice.
Tuukka Rask
In the end Rask would make some key saves to keep the Bruins on the winning side maintaining the one-goal lead until the final buzzer sounded. Some felt that the Bruins had once again not brought a full 60 minutes of effort. However, when looking at the statistics of the two teams heading into Wednesday night’s game, the Bruins were sitting in 11th place in the Eastern Conference. They were taking on the league-leading Lightning. The Lightning were bound to bring a better effort as the game continued, and this did not mean that the Bruins weren’t.
“They obviously were going to make their push at some point,” Krug said about the third period. “They’re a great team with a very deep lineup. We felt that we were getting chances, and we didn’t stick to our game, and that was a big part of it.”
In fact, as they went up 3-0, it perhaps gave them a feeling that they could perhaps spend a bit more time trying to find that pretty goal, instead of continuing to hammer the shots on net and deny the Lightning the same opportunity at the other end. This didn’t mean they weren’t playing a full 60 minutes. It just meant that they may have subconsciously believed that they had the time and space to try and make those prettier goals. It was that getting away from their game plan that almost cost them the win.
The Bruins do not play again until Saturday, when they will again be on the road. They will head to Philadelphia to meet the Flyers before going west to the land of country music, where they will play the Predators on Monday. Their next home game will be Thursday, December 7th, when they play host to the Arizona Coyotes.
The first period saw 
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