by Bob Morello
BRUINS look to extend win streak
When the Bruins’ current five-game road trip was about to begin, many of the comments heard were – this trip will tell us what this Boston hockey team is made of. The terrible start to the trip produced two quick losses, the first versus Winnipeg 8-1, with Jeremy Swayman in net for all eight Jets scores. Two nights later in Seattle versus the Kraken, Joonas Korpisalo didn’t fare much better in goal, as he allowed five pucks to get past him in another brutal 5-1 loss. In fairness though, it wasn’t solely the performance of the Bruins’ goaltenders, as the team itself played poorly, with a lack of discipline, offense, and just overall play. Next up, Vancouver, with Swayman back in net, the locals were able to turn the final score around by dominating the Canucks and posting a 5-1 win for themselves, while showing a strong offensive attack. Tuesday’s trip to Calgary would give the Bruins a chance to equal their road trip to 2-2 with a win. Following a scoreless first period, the Flames came out flying in the second period, scoring three goals, with the first two coming a mere 27-seconds apart from Matt Coronato and Nazem Kadri early in the period. Despite being down a pair of goals, Boston seemed to pick up their game, and the unassisted goal (4) by former Flames player Elias Lindholm appeared to breathe some life for the Bs, and cut the deficit to 2-1 before the end of the second period. Late in the period, Ryan Lomberg netted his first goal of the season, giving the Flames back their two-goal margin 3-1.
Boston came out for the third period with a spark, posting 15 shots on goal, which ignited a pair of goals, one by Morgan Geekie (6), cutting the deficit to 3-2, and less than three-minutes later, Marc McLaughlin tied up the game with his second goal in two games, and the need for overtime. The attack carried into the extra period as they put four more shots on the Calgary net, with David Pastrnak’s goal (12) at 4:22, coming at the end of a long shift, provided the game-winner, and Boston with two well-deserved points on the night. It appeared that interim coach Joe Sacco’s request earlier, for better-disciplined play was heeded, as one of the stats to come out of the heavily contested game was the lone penalty called in the game was against Calgary’s Joel Hanley for tripping Lindholm in the third period. With no penalties assessed against Boston, there was no wasted energy needed for penalty kills, and Sacco was able to utilize his line changes without interruption. Swayman faced 23 shots, stopping 20, in a somewhat steady effort, where he came up big on some excellent Flames scoring chances. Dustin Wolf in goal for Calgary faced a barrage of 35 shots on the night, turning back 31. The victory kept the Bs in third place of the Atlantic Division, and in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Next up for the Bruins is their final road trip game in Edmonton tonight (Thursday at 9:00pm), where they will take on the Oilers, and try to increase their current 17-13-3 record, and extend their win streak to three games. Followed by a return to TD Garden for a brief two-game home stand that will feature the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday 7:00pm, and a Tuesday 7:00pm matchup with the Washington Capitals. Top four Bruins point leaders: Pastrnak 12 goals/21 assists for 33 points in 33 games; Brad Marchand 13/12=25 points; Pavel Zacha 8/8=16 points; and Elias Lindholm 4/12=16 points. Goaltending records: Swayman 11-10-0-2, goals-against-average 3.14, save-percentage .887. Korpisalo 6-3-0-1, goals-against-average 2.56, save percentage .901.