Let me just say it now: what.a.game. I'm pretty sure yesterday night's game was one of the best game's of hockey the Bruins have played all season. And it was absolutely fantastic.
Despite the fact that Shawn Thornton was a healthy scratch and Adam McQuaid is still out with a lower body injury, the Bruins managed to fill the gaps with Reilly Smith and Jordan Caron. Reilly Smith showed his potential tonight but is still very reminiscent of Tyler Seguin; he has a tendency to try and do fancy things with the puck rather than just play his game. But I think with a little bit more ice time with the Bruins he can be broken of that habit and become a great piece of our game.
Despite the fact that Shawn Thornton was a healthy scratch and Adam McQuaid is still out with a lower body injury, the Bruins managed to fill the gaps with Reilly Smith and Jordan Caron. Reilly Smith showed his potential tonight but is still very reminiscent of Tyler Seguin; he has a tendency to try and do fancy things with the puck rather than just play his game. But I think with a little bit more ice time with the Bruins he can be broken of that habit and become a great piece of our game.
The most important factor that went into tonight's win was our drive. We went after those pucks, we kept moving and we kept up that energy that helps us make plays. Our defense and offense had much better positioning this game (as shown by the umbrella formation that led to the first goal of the game) and this allowed them not only to score goals but to make plays and prevent the Hurricanes for creating scoring opportunities.
Which, speaking of scoring opportunities, we had a lot of. We created traffic in front of the net and screened the goalie, opening up chances for goals left and right. We also got that lateral goalie movement that we were lacking last game and that resulted in all four goals this game. The Bruins were lifting pucks and weren't firing at Ward's chest nearly as often as they fired at Craig Anderson's. It also helped that the amount of passing we did was much lower. Most of our passes were short, powerful and directed, which made play making easier since we weren't passing to our imaginary friend on the boards constantly. Overall our offense looked fantastic this game; They were almost like a whole new group after Friday's Game.
Which, speaking of scoring opportunities, we had a lot of. We created traffic in front of the net and screened the goalie, opening up chances for goals left and right. We also got that lateral goalie movement that we were lacking last game and that resulted in all four goals this game. The Bruins were lifting pucks and weren't firing at Ward's chest nearly as often as they fired at Craig Anderson's. It also helped that the amount of passing we did was much lower. Most of our passes were short, powerful and directed, which made play making easier since we weren't passing to our imaginary friend on the boards constantly. Overall our offense looked fantastic this game; They were almost like a whole new group after Friday's Game.
And then there was Tuukka "I'm a God" Rask, who came up big several times for the Bruins this game, making key, timely saves to keep us in the game. Tuukka faced 24 shots against and allowed one goal for a .958 SV% this game and a .944 SV% overall. So basically, Rask is still a scary Finnish brick wall (and we're totally okay with that).
And the icing on the cake for this game were the four beautiful goals scored. What I find most impressive about this number is that two of them (count 'em, two) came from members of our third line, which was basically invisible last year. It looks like we might keep seeing some life out of this line with Smith and Soderberg creating some definite on-ice chemistry that can only bode well for the team.
But let's relive these goals, shall we?
And the icing on the cake for this game were the four beautiful goals scored. What I find most impressive about this number is that two of them (count 'em, two) came from members of our third line, which was basically invisible last year. It looks like we might keep seeing some life out of this line with Smith and Soderberg creating some definite on-ice chemistry that can only bode well for the team.
But let's relive these goals, shall we?
- Power play goal from Reilly Smith: Smith gets some great looks on this goal and manages to take advantage of Ward's lateral movement to bury the puck in the back of the net. But you can't overlook the great set-up Bergeron, Hamilton, Eriksson and Soderberg created for him. Overall it was a well thought out, well executed play resulting in Smith's 3rd goal of the season.
- Soderberg's 2nd period goal: Soderberg's deflection of Seidenberg's long range drive with 9:36 left in the second period gave him his second goal of the season and his career.
- Johnny Boychuk in the third: This goal came as both a surprise and a delight. This is the first goal of the season for Boychuk and it was a beaut at that: he literally just wound up and fired right into the open net. That was great hockey sense on his part; He didn't fire at the chest and he lifted the puck. His goal gave the Bruins the 2 goal lead back.
- Milan Lucic's empty netter: And of course Milan Lucic has to get in on the action, just to remind everyone who ever called him lazy that he is in fact, still a very important part of the team. This goal is Looch's 9th goal of the season and another notch in the bedpost for the KIL line, which has been crazy productive for the Bruins this year.
Our penalty kill is also out of this world right now. We are on a 32 penalty killing streak, topping it off with a huge kill in the second period after Marchand got called for that ridiculous 200 ft delay of game penalty. That 5-3 kill kept the Bruins ahead, which was crucial in the period where our leads sometimes tend to slip. If we keep this up, these games might get a lot less stressful due to those damn penalties. But that's another upside: there were far fewer useless penalties this game than we saw with the Senators (and what do you know we played a much better game!)
But alas, no game is ever perfect. Here's a few things we need to focus on:
- We still need to avoid those useless penalties (like slashing, which seems to be the bane of our existence) despite our epic penalty kill.
- We can't stand back and watch as the other team dances around us; We need to get in their way and make it difficult for them to create opportunities. Be aware of what's going on around you (and hey Marchy, stay on your skates huh?)
- We need to keep setting up those great goals. That umbrella formation we had going was very effective. If we keep seeing set-ups like this, guaranteed we will be seeing more goals.
- Capitalizing on rebounds. Ward had a big problem tonight controlling his rebounds and we definitely would have capitalized on them had we been more prepared and better positioned.
- Keep working on the turnovers and our puck control. Although it wasn't a huge problem tonight because the Hurricanes weren't where they needed to be to capitalize on it doesn't mean it won't be in the future.
So until tonight's game day preview,
Keep calm and Bergeron!
Keep calm and Bergeron!