In one hell of a hockey game, the Bruins grabbed two more points tonight in a 3-2 shootout victory over the Florida Panthers at the BankAtlantic Center.
Patrice Bergeron had two goals and Tuukka Rask (11-4-1) made 38 saves as the Bruins improved to 29-12-1 on the season. David Krejci and Bergeron scored in the shootout to give Boston two important points, as they won their first game in a six game in nine days stretch.
Selke Smooth Bergeron got the scoring started early in the contest and netted his 13th of the year thanks to a great back check by Benoit Pouliot. Pouliot and Tyler Seguin did a nice job corralling a loose puck in the neutral zone before finding Selke Smooth Bergeron in the high slot for a beautiful wrister.
After getting outplayed down the stretch in the first, the Bruins really came out on fire in the second, peppering Panthers (21-14-9) goalie Scott Clemmensen (33 saves) with shot after shot to open up the frame.
Jason Garrison answered for the Panthers midway through the second, blasting a slapper through traffic that beat Rask and knotted the game at one a piece. Garrison (12th of the year) leads all NHL defenseman in goals, though this particular shot took a tough bounce off of Dennis Seidenberg.
Bergeron tallied his 14th of the season at 14:40 of the second thanks to a nice play by Seguin. It was a 5-on-3 power play and the speedy winger carried the puck through the Panthers' zone before finding Bergeron down low for his second of the night.
Florida showed a ton of resiliency tonight and tied the game at two with less than five minutes to play in the second. Early in the first, Shawn Matthias had a great chance to score on Rask but the Finnish netminder robbed him on the breakaway attempt. Rask wouldn't be so lucky the second time around, as Matthias made the most of his second chance, burying his eighth of the year.
The third period had a furious pace, as the previously dead crowd started cheering for their respective teams (there were tons of Bruins fans in Sunrise as always). Both teams pushed the pace and fought hard, however both Rask and Clemmenson saw to it that this game was going to extra frames.
Overtime, as it usually is in the regular season, was short and sweet. Bergeron got whistled for a hooking penalty early on but the Bruins did a fantastic job killing off the 4-on-3 opportunity. Rask saved the game with 12 seconds left by stoning Kris Versteeg on a breakaway.
Bergeron and Krejci (who saw his 11-game point streak come to an end) scored for the Bruins in the shootout to escape Sunrise with the hard-fought W.
The B's make the trip to Tampa Bay tomorrow night for a date with the Lightning. The last time these two teams met was way back on October 8th, with the Bruins getting the win 4-1. Tampa Bay (except for Steven Stamkos) is in disarray and this is very much a winnable game for Boston, even considering the back to back.
*Game Notes*
* Brad Marchand may still be suspended for one more game but damn the second line is still legit without him. We know what we are going to get from Seguin and Selke Smooth but Benoit Pouliot is thriving in his new role on the Bruins' most explosive line. It's great to see the Bruins depth at every position keep paying off for them. When Marchand gets back into the lineup, it will be interesting to see how Pouliot affects his linemates on the third line.
* Speaking of the third line, Rich Peverley missed tonight's game and will presumably miss tomorrow as well for a family issue. Jordan Caron and Zach Hamill played on the wings with Chris Kelly and I think they did a decent job as a line. Both Caron and Hamill should relish this opportunity, as they both are key pieces to the Bruins future.
* Daniel Paille locked horns with Ed Jovanovski (still in the league!) in a hard-fought brawl in the first. Paille took exception to a Jovonovski hit and dropped the gloves for only the second time in his career. Gotta give the judge's decision to big Ed although he left the game for good after that since he reportedly broke his hand.
* NESN's camera's caught Shawn Thornton trying to jump in and fight Jovanovski before getting dismissed. Paille is a tough bastard but I don't really want to see him fighting, given his face and head injury history.
* Boston fans showed up big time once again in Florida. Cheering got a little more even later in the game, but still, what is it with Boston fans in Florida? Every Dolphins, Rays and Panthers game it seems like the crowd is split 50/50, if not 60/40 in favor of Boston. Clean that shit up Florida, you can't let the snowbirds take over like that.
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