Thursday, March 8, 2012
In This Episode, The Bruins Recall What It's Like To Win Two Straight Games
It only took almost two months (Jan. 10 & 12) but the Boston Bruins have won two straight games. So when do the Duck Boats come out of hibernation?
I'd like to say there was some magical secret to their success tonight as the B's (40-23-3) beat the Buffalo Sabres (31-29-8) 3-1 at TD Garden, but the truth is that they simply went back to basics.
Three different players scored goals (Gregory Campbell, Johnny Boychuk and David Krejci) and Tim Thomas (19 saves; 29-15-0) made the big stops when he had to.
The best aspect of the win is that the Sabres actually scored first. Jason Pominville (25th of the season) made it 1-0 Buffalo at 16:39 of the first period when he ripped a shot over Thomas' glove. Thomas Vanek had the lone assist.
Campbell (7th of the season) answered as he broke a 20-game scoreless stretch at 18:09 in the second period. Shawn Thornton intercepted a bad pass in the Sabres' defensive zone and his shot on Jhonas Enroth (25 saves) was tipped in by Campbell.
Boychuk capped off a monster shift by scoring his fourth goal of the season at 12:56 in the third period. He had a great body check earlier and then he was able to blast the loose puck over Enroth's shoulder, hitting his water bottle. Jordan Caron had the assist.
Krejci (18th of the season) is playing his best hockey of the season at the perfect time since Boston is currently missing three forwards (Nathan Horton, Daniel Paille, Rich Peverley). Zdeno Chara started the breakout in his own end by skating past a couple Sabres. He got it to Tyler Seguin who then fed Milan Lucic. Looch found Krejci who was able to wait out Enroth, while fighting off a Sabre, and roof it over his leg pads. A highlight reel goal that is probably only possible for him or Seguin.
These teams meet one last time, fittingly on April 7-the final game of the regular season. In the meantime, Boston hosts the Washington Capitals on Saturday afternoon. The Caps are in a serious battle to win their division (Southeast). They're two points behind Florida but tied with Winnipeg; if the playoffs started today, Washington would be the No. 8 seed. The B's and Capitals have split two games so far and including Saturday they have two more.
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