Through this lengthy stretch of fine play, the B's have often outworked and frankly dominated their overmatched opponents. That wasn't the case against the Devils who were blanked 4-0 at home on Monday vs. Detroit (19-20-8) but showed plenty of pride as they outshot the Bruins 39-24 overall. As you would expect with the final result, Boston's goaltender Tuukka Rask (37 saves in his 18th win of the season) was their best player as he extended his personal point streak to 17 games (15-0-2). New Jersey scored first which apparently means nothing to the Black and Gold since they have now allowed the first goal in six straight games while they became the first team in over eight years to earn at least a point in six contests in a row when they allow the first tally (Minnesota from Nov. 25-Dec. 5, 2009).
After a scoreless first period where New Jersey blitzed Boston with 11 more shots on goal (20-9), Manchester-By-The-Sea native and BC alum Miles Wood made it 1-0 Devils at 2:05 of the second with his 13th goal of the season. He tipped in a shot by rookie defenseman Will Butcher with the second assist going to No. 1 overall pick from last summer Nico Hischier. Riley Nash (7th goal of the season) tied it up less than five minutes later as only he can: his shot deflected off Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen and lost almost all its speed, allowing the puck to knuckle past Cory Schneider. The teams continued to trade goals as Damon Severson jumped up on a 3-on-2 and slammed in a sweet shot by Rask two minutes later. Marcus Johansson and Pavel Zacha assisted on Severson's seventh goal of the season. Patrice Bergeron knotted it at two with a power play goal at 12:53: his patented one-timer from the slot, his 20th goal of the season (joining linemates Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak as the Bruins became the 1st team with a trio of 20-goal scorers), from Marchand and Torey Krug. Finally, Marchand scored a filthy goal with 32.8 seconds left in the frame as he fooled Schneider on a 2-on-1 and used his backhander to shovel it in for his 21st goal of the season, assisted by Pastrnak.
Star forward Taylor Hall is out with a hand injury and New Jersey is predictably fading (2-6-2 in last 10 games) after an unexpectedly great start to this campaign. Oh and the Metropolitan Division is insanely tight with eight points currently separating seven quality clubs. It didn't help matters that Schneider (17 saves, 3 goals allowed) left after the second with a lower-body injury, perhaps caused by Marchand basically undressing him before the Garden crowd and a TV audience around the world. Down 3-2 heading into the third and playing in the second part of a back-to-back, you would have expected the Devils to continue to fall apart but instead they outshot the B's 12-4. They just couldn't solve Rask who stopped Severson on a breakaway. Marchand nearly scored on a shorthanded bid but good old Ken Appleby (making his 2nd NHL appearance) was equal to the task. Marcus Johansson left after that play as Marchand caught him with an elbow right to the face, oops!
Bergeron missed an empty-netter in the final minute (his 1st mistake in weeks) which caused an icing call on Boston but it hardly mattered. Marchand appeared to score on the vacant net in the closing seconds but the refs correctly ruled that it hadn't crossed the line before time expired. Sorry degenerate gamblers that had the Bruins winning by two goals! It's been a spectacular first half for Boston and they can put a final bow on it with a win against the hopeless Senators on Thursday in Canada's capital. After that, the team will split for a few days with Marchand going to the All-Star festivities in Tampa Bay while the rest of his teammates travel around the globe for some well-earned rest and relaxation. They return to action next week on Tuesday vs. Anaheim (22-17-9) at the Garden, the start of a tough three-game homestand as they meet the Blues (29-18-3) next Thursday (7, NESN) and Maple Leafs (26-18-5) the night (7, NESN) before the Super Bowl-next Saturday.
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