Tuesday night’s game with the NHL’s newest team, the Seattle Kraken, started out well with the Bruins jumping off to a two-goal lead. A first period strike by the Bruins’ red-hot scoring machine, David Pastrnak, who put up a power play goal midway through the first period, his 21st of the season, as he rolls along, having put the puck in the back of the net 14 times in his last 15 games. The assists coming from Taylor Hall and Brad Marchand, The favor was returned as Hall was on the receiving end of a nice pass from Tomas Nosek. Hall, with the help of a deflection, was able to deposit the disc behind Kraken goalie Chris Driedger – for a two-goal lead. For Hall his two points on the night gave him 15 points in his last 17 games, including 10 goals. His response following the game: “Last game I’m on for two goals against, tonight I’m on for two goals against, so those are the things I want to get rid of in my game and really be a reliable two-way guy for the rest of the year, earn more playing time that way and continue to be a guy offensively that can produce in the role that I’m in. That’s why I signed here. I believe I have another level to get to as a two-way player and hopefully after the break I can continue that.”
The start of the third period had Boston playing like they were auditioning for a part in a movie called “Sleepless in Seattle,” as just 42-seconds after the drop of the puck, Joonas Donskoi picked up a loose puck and scored unassisted to cut the margin in half to 2-1. Less than seven-minutes later, the Kraken surfaced with a goal from Mason Appleton, tying the game at 2-2. A decisive Boston timeout called by coach Bruce Cassidy was an attempt to calm things down, and stop Seattle’s momentum. His words did not fall on deaf ears, as his 911 tone was met ironically with just 9:11 remaining in the game, when Pastrnak netted his second power play goal (22) of the game to give Boston a 3-2 lead they did not relinquish.
Cassidy, while not very happy with his team’s performance stated: “It’s about recognizing where you are in the game. No team’s going to be perfect for 60 minutes. You’re going to have situations where playmakers are going to make plays that don’t work out, but that’s an area we have to fix with certain guys…time and score, when to manage it, when to keep the momentum, and play winning hockey. What I liked about us, we were resilient. We stuck with it. We got down. We bounced back. I liked our special teams tonight. They were the difference in the game. I liked Ullmark’s game…so, there’s certainly some positives there.” Linus Ullmark turned in a solid performance, allowing two goals in the win, while improving his record to 15-6-1. As he continues to carry the goaltending workload while the Bruins wait for the smoke to clear concerning the playing status of Tuukka Rask.
The upcoming All-Star break will offer some healing time for Bruins defenseman Urho Vaakanainen who left the game in the second period, following a questionable hit from behind by Seattle’s Yanni Gourde. Also missing from Tuesday night’s lineup was winger Erik Haula, currently out due to the Covid-19 protocol. Patrice Bergeron will represent the Bruins in the 2022 NHL All-Star Game. Following the All-Star break Boston will return to TD Garden ice on Tuesday, February 8 @ 7:00pm to host the Pittsburgh Penguins, and will continue their brief two-game homestand facing the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, February 10 @ 7:00pm.