Bruins Playing the Right Way
Six games into the 2019-20 regular season and things are looking pretty solid for the Bruins right now, especially coming off their 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday. With the exception of the second period, which coach Bruce Cassidy labeled – “An exceptionally poor second period, we sort of lost our urgency all over the ice,” the game was an impressive shootout, with the main gunslinger being David Pastrnak – who put more four notches on his stick, with a four goal game and a 4-1 victory, bringing his total to six goals in six games.
Boston’s first line continues to live up to the name of the ‘Perfection Line,’ as they continue to be the offensive power needed to give the locals a record of 5-1-0 through six games. Pastrnak’s 6 goals/4 assists = 10 points, leads the trio, followed closely by Brad Marchand’s 4-5 = 9 points, and Patrice Bergeron with 1-4 = 5 points. For the 23-year-old Pastrnak, his four goals on Monday included his fifth career hat trick.
As was the case last season, the high-powered trio still cannot be expected to provide the offense each and every night, prompting Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy to point out the need for secondary scoring. Of the 16 goals scored thus far this season, the ‘Perfection Line’ has scored 11 of them. The Bruins have certainly lived up to coach Cassidy’s oft-used description of “They played the right way.” Not to be lost in the team’s scoring success is the impressive work performed by what many consider to be the NHL’s best goaltending tandem of Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak. Both have posted a shutout and have shown midseason form, with Rask a perfect 3-0-0, a strong 1.33 goals-against-average and a .957 save percentage. Halak closely mirrors the work of Rask, boasting a 2-1-0 record, his only loss to Colorado Avalanche (4-2) last week – with a 1.69 goals-against-average, and a save percentage of .951.
Bruins center David Krejci hit the ice for less than five minutes in the Anaheim game, following a crosscheck from the Ducks’ Ryan Getzlaf in the first period; Krejci made an attempt to return, but left the game, and remains questionable for Thursday’s game at the Garden. Boston’s next three games will feature Atlantic Division opponents, beginning with tonight’s (Thursday at 7:00pm) game as they host the Tampa Bay Lightning (2-2-1). The Toronto Maple Leafs (3-2-1) will host the Bs on Saturday at 7:00pm to begin a home-and-home series that will culminate on Tuesday at 7:00pm on TD Garden ice.