It's no secret that the Bruins haven't been themselves lately, they have suffered a rash of injuries and forgot how to put the puck in the net with any regularity. For one night at least, Boston had plenty of reason to be happy since the B's (20-6-3) won 2-1 against the Senators (16-9-6) at Scotiabank Place.
Dennis Seidenberg prevented overtime by scoring a clutch goal, his first of the season, with 1:04 left in regulation. His slap shot from the point was assisted by Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron. Ottawa goaltender Robin Lehner (27 saves) played well but all we'll remember is that he didn't make the timely stops when he needed to.
Anton Khudobin (6-2-0) continued to solidify his role on the team with 27 saves. He's won four of his last five starts and this victory helped snap Boston's two-game losing streak which doesn't sound like a big deal to most clubs but the B's were pressing a bit this past week or so.
Props to David Krejci for playing through what had to be immense pain. He only missed one game after taking Johnny Boychuk's slap shot right off his knee on Sunday. I didn't know he was that tough, this proves plenty to me and all the other doubters. No Euroweenie in there Felger. Rich Peverley was a healthy scratch for the first time in his Black and Gold career as head coach Claude Julien tried to shake things up with his team that had scored one goal in each of the last two contests. Ryan Spooner started in Peverley's place on the third line.
The Senators broke the boring deadlock at 4:55 of the second period when Kaspars Daugavins wristed a shot over Khudobin's glove. Daniel Paille responded with a much needed goal (his 6th of the season) for the Bruins before the period expired. Boychuk and Gregory Campbell had assists on Paille's wrister that trickled over the line after it ate Lehner up like you read about.
This was the third time that Ottawa has lost by one goal to Boston this season, at least this version didn't include overtime or a shootout (both of which they've tasted before). These Northeast Division "rivals" will meet twice more, April 2 & 15 at TD Garden.
The B's close their four-game road trip (that has felt like a month) on Saturday (7 p.m., NESN) at Air Canada Centre against the Leafs (16-12-3). Toronto is 0-2-0 against Boston in 2013.
UPDATE 3/22: Matt Bartkowski was called up from Providence on an emergency basis, for Boychuk.
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