Bruins Spank Sens 4-1 In Road Trip Finale As Bergeron Line Racks Up Eight Points
After snagging just a point in the first two games of their Canadian road trip, the Bruins finished it off strong with a convincing 4-1 win over the frisky Ottawa Senators last night. The 63-37-88 line combined for three goals and five assists and though Brad Marchand only contributed one assist, his primary helper on David Pastrnak’s second goal of the night was the highlight of the game.
He was a goal shy of a Gordie Howe Hat-trick as he also took on Zack Smith after Smith buried Matt Grzelcyk into the boards. Love to see him sticking up for his teammate there and do it without getting the extra two.
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1st star Tuukka Rask was very good in stopping 38 of 39 shots, surrendering only Thomas Chabot’s fluttering power play tally. It was a marked improvement from his first game on the trip in Calgary, where the goalie just didn’t look mentally ready to play.
The Bs were playing without defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Kevan Miller and forward David Backes, who all flew back to Boston at some point on the trip. Head Coach Bruce Cassidy said McAvoy was “not feeling right” (that’s vague enough to cause some concern) while Miller took a shot off the hand. But there has to be real worry that Backes suffered yet another concussion after taking this thunderous hit from Edmonton’s Matt Benning.
His 2017-18 season ended with a concussion that made the veteran take a long look at things and make a calculated decision about his future after discussing it with his family and doctors. He acknowledged the risks, his lengthy history with concussions, and returned. Another one five months later is the last thing the 34-year-old forward needed. It won’t be a surprise at all if he gets placed on the IR given how he looked after the hit. After another knock like that, you gotta think he’s asking himself how many more of these can he afford to take.
Speaking of concussions, the Bs also lost rookie defenseman Urho Vaakanainen, playing in just his second NHL game, when Mark Borowiecki concussed him with this dirty-as-hell elbow right to the fucking mug. You’d think a guy who just went through concussion hell would be reluctant to pass that agony along to one of his peers. Alas.
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If Mike Matheson got two games for pushing Elias Pettersson towards the ice after checking him into the boards, then what will Borowiecki get for that deliberate horseshit where he sees the guy coming and decides to feed him an elbow? Considering the principal and only point of contact was to Vaakanainen’s cranium and that he left the game concussed, Borowiecki should be looking at least four games. But given what we’ve seen from the DOPS over the years, I wouldn’t hold your breath. Either way, what a shitty way for the kid’s career to start.
Alright, I need to lighten the mood after all that conky talk. So here’s Sid the Kid putting on a show in OT.
And John Gibson does his best son of Jor-El imitation with this sick save on Pat Kane.
The Bs ended up taking four out of eight points on the roadie and their 12 points has them tied for first in the Atlantic (though Montreal has a game in hand). They’re back at it tomorrow when Gritty and the Flyers come to town (Gritty, call me on the Bat-phone this time).