B's Stage Another Huge Rally, Beat Flyers 4-3 In OT On Bergy's PPG After A Hat Trick By Pastrnak

 

    It's only 10 games into the season but it feels like the Bruins (7-2-1) have done something remarkable in basically every win so far. Tonight at the Wells Fargo Center, it was another epic comeback as Boston trailed 3-1 more than halfway through the third period yet somehow rallied to tie it up very late then win it in overtime thanks to David Pastrnak's ninth career hat trick, three straight power play goals and captain Patrice Bergeron's (3 assists) overtime game-winner. Philadelphia (7-2-2) fell out of first place in the East Division after its third loss in a row against the B's. The Flyers must be wondering what they have to do to beat them, apparently they didn't catch any of Boston's weekend series in DC where the Black and Gold came back from down three goals in each contest.

    Pasta is a freak since he followed up Monday's two goal effort with a hat trick. He's only played three games this season but he already has piled up seven points (5 goals, 2 assists). His fingerprints were all over this win since he scored 12 seconds into the game, cut it to 3-2 with a power play goal then tied it with goaltender Tuukka Rask (22 saves, 4-1-1) off for an extra skater with 15 seconds left in regulation. If that wasn't enough, he had the primary assist on Bergeron's goal 31 seconds into overtime that sealed another incredible victory for the Bruins. 

    Philly is a good team but they are clearly shook by the B's. Between losing two games in Boston two weekends ago and this evening, they had regained their balance and reeled off four straight wins. Outside of the Bruins, they are 7-1-0 against everyone else thus far in 2021. It's silly to rank losses but I would venture a guess that this was the toughest one to swallow since when you lead 3-1 in the third period at home (even if there are no fans), that has to be a win no matter what. BC's Kevin Hayes continues to play well against his hometown team as he tied it at one with a one-timer at 15:29 of the second period. His sixth goal of the season was assisted by defensemen Travis Sanheim and Philippe Myers. 

    Tied 1-1 going into the third period, the Flyers were by far the better team to start the frame as right wing Jakub Voracek put Philadelphia up 2-1 at 1:03. His third goal of the season was assisted by Sanheim and UNH's James van Riemsdyk (who has also been a Bruins killer for years now). BU's Joel Farabee was coming off his first career NHL hat trick and he gave Philly a two-goal lead with a thunderous one-timer on a two-on-one with center Scott Laughton at 8:41. JVR had the second assist on Farabee's sixth goal of the season. Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (31 saves, 4-2-2) has been in net for each of these losses against the B's but you can't pin this one on him. Blame his stupid teammates who took three penalties in the third period alone which when you are facing one of the top power plays in the league, is simply a recipe for disaster. 

    Pasta's first goal looked like a set play as he took a stretch pass from defenseman Charlie McAvoy then went around Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and drove to the net before jamming the puck in. Bergeron's had the secondary assist on the second fastest goal in the NHL this season to start a game. His second goal was a thing of beauty as left wing Nick Ritchie did a touch pass to Bergeron in front of the net and Bergy made the unselfish decision to slide it to Pasta who roofed it at 12:05. The hat trick was more about a lucky bounce that enabled the puck to get to him but he still had to have the magic hands to bat it out of the air and into the goal with a bunch of other bodies around him. Left wing Brad Marchand and Bergeron had the assists on the tying tally. The Flyers have nobody but themselves to blame as Laughton was called for interference with less than eight seconds left in the third period.

    These teams meet again on Friday (7, NESN) in Philly and thanks to Buffalo's Covid-19 outbreak (they would have played in Boston on Saturday and Monday), it'll be the Bruins' last game until next Wednesday at the Rangers (3-4-2). The Flyers have lost in a shootout, in a blowout and in overtime vs. the Bruins this season so what's next on their bingo card? Perhaps losing a one-goal game in regulation? We'll see if they have the mental toughness to respond to another brutal loss to their East Division rivals. Goaltender Jaroslav Halak (3-0-1) should get the start for Boston and maybe Philadelphia will see if its backup goalie Brian Elliott (3-0-0) can give them a spark. I'm guessing that Hart could use a day off against the B's but hey, what do I know?

Bruins Sweep The Flyers Behind A 6-1 Blowout, Easily Their Best Performance Of The Early Season

 

    Who said that the Bruins (3-1-1) had any offensive struggles whatsoever? Those seem like a distant memory as Boston dispatched Philadelphia (3-2-1) for the second straight game, this time much more decisively to the tune of a 6-1 laugher tonight at TD Garden. After scoring three combined goals in their first three contests, the B's scored four in Thursday's 5-4 shootout victory vs. Philly then topped that with a six-pack of goals this evening led by the incomparable center Patrice Bergeron (2 power play goals, assist) and left wing Brad Marchand (2 goals-1 PPG, assist). Goaltender Jaroslav Halak (1-0-1) got the start for the Bruins but he didn't have to do much of anything beyond staying awake since the Flyers only landed 17 total shots on him. 

  B's defenseman Matt Grzelcyk was out with a lower-body injury but the usually reliable Connor Clifton (plus-1, 4 hits, blocked shot in 18:12) filled in well for him in his season debut. As usual, Bergy and Marchy earned the majority of the headlines with plenty of highlights of their own but there were some notable achievements by other Bruins as well: rookie forward Trent Frederic (plus-2, 3 shots on goal, 2 hits and takeaway in 14:31) and rookie defenseman Jakub Zboril (2 shots on goal, hit and blocked shot in 19:41) each earned their first NHL points/assists while winger Craig Smith (assist, plus-2, 2 shots on goal in 15:00) scored his first goal for the Spoked B. BU's Charlie Coyle found the back of the net for the second straight game, helping Boston win two games in a row for the first time in 2021. 

    Rather than being down by two goals heading into the third period (like they did on Thursday), the B's took a new and much easier approach as they scored first and then closed things out with five unanswered goals. Bergeron got the fun started with a power play goal (his 2nd goal of the season) at 8:09 of the first period. Winger Nick Ritchie (2 assists) and center David Krejci had the helpers as Boston created plenty of traffic in front of Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (20 saves, 2-2-1) which allowed Bergy to brush a tough-angle backhander by him. Up 1-0 after the first period, the only real adversity that the Bruins faced all night-if you can even call it that-was when BC's Kevin Hayes tipped in a shot by right wing Jakub Voracek 1:14 into the second period for his third goal of the season. Just 1:16 after that, Smith nabbed his first tally in the Black and Gold thanks to a sweet spin-around pass from Coyle that left him with a wide open net to shoot at. Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon had the second assist on Smith's goal, his first point of the season. Coyle was repaid for his great feed with an equally beautiful look from Frederic. The pride of Weymouth tipped it in for a 3-1 advantage at 17:50 of the second period with Smith notching the other helper. 

    After a few days in Boston where they probably couldn't do much of anything besides play hockey (because of the pandemic and freezing temperatures) and sit alone in their hotel rooms, I'm sure that Philadelphia was understandably ready to get home by the time that the third period came around. Truthfully, they played like a club that was halfway on the bus to the airport for much of that extended garbage time. Marchand made sure of it as he potted his pair of goals 3:46 apart in the frame. First he was the recipient of a ferocious forecheck by Bergeron that led to an easy tap-in at 4:13 for his second goal of the season. The top line's latest right wing-Jake DeBrusk-got the second assist. The wheels completely fell off at that point for the Flyers as they continued to take penalties and the Bruins were more than happy to pay for them. Marchand ripped in a wrist shot at 7:59 for a power-play goal, assisted by Ritchie and Zboril. Bergeron fittingly wrapped it up with a very similar goal to his first one except this time-at 13:33, assisted by Marchand and Charlie McAvoy-it came on the man advantage. 

    As you probably guessed, Boston earned a day off from practice tomorrow so they'll be back to work on Monday morning at Warrior Ice Arena for their first practice ahead of two games at home vs. Pittsburgh (3-2-0). The B's host the Penguins on Tuesday (7, NESN) and Thursday (7, NESN), their first two matchups of the season with superstar Sidney Crosby and his team who are temporarily in the same division (East) as the Bruins. After losing their first two games of the year vs. Philly, the Penguins have rattled off three straight wins. They still score plenty of goals (18) but they also allow even more (21) so expect some high-scoring tilts when these sneaky rivals meet once again in Boston.

After Two More Lifeless Periods, B's Wake Up Just In Time For A Wild 5-4 Shootout Win Vs. Flyers

    When they trailed 2-0 after two periods tonight in their pandemic home opener at TD Garden vs. the Flyers (3-1-1), I had little hope that the Bruins (2-1-1) would actually score a single goal, let alone rally for an incredibly entertaining 5-4 shootout victory. Somehow a team that hadn't scored an even-strength goal in its first three games (plus 2 periods) exploded with three of them in the third period along with a power play goal. Of course, they blew a late 4-3 lead but nobody will remember that after goaltender Tuukka Rask (22 saves) was spectacular in overtime and struggling winger Jake DeBrusk scored the lone shootout goal as Boston won its second shootout of the young season. Please note how wretched they were in shootouts last season: 0-7. 

    For a long time, this had all the trappings of another frustrating loss, which would have been the third in a row for the Bruins. They dominated the first period (outshooting the Flyers 14-3) but they had nothing to show for it thanks to Philly's promising goaltender Carter Hart (39 saves). Philadelphia woke up in the second period with a pair of goals from center Claude Giroux and UNH product James van Riemsdyk. Setting up on the power play, Giroux whipped a snap shot over Rask's blocker shoulder at 6:17, a beautiful first goal of the game and his season that was assisted by Ivan Provorov (who played a game-high 30:46 after fellow defenseman Mark Friedman left early with a facial injury and never returned). van Riemsdyk's was almost a power play goal as well since it came a few seconds after another Boston penalty had expired. The B's were running around a bit and JVR was stationed in front to re-direct a pass from right wing Jakub Voracek (3 assists). BC's Kevin Hayes had the other helper that gave Philadelphia a 2-0 lead at 17:31. 

    A highly-touted rookie got the comeback started for the B's when forward Jack Studnicka went to the net and put in his own rebound 57 seconds into the third period for his first career NHL goal. Center David Krejci and left wing Nick Ritchie had the assists on the goal that finally kickstarted some life into Boston. Only 1:09 after that, it was tied at two as center Charlie Coyle got to a rebound and cleverly spun around his defender to screen Hart. His low shot was his first goal of the season and it all started with a great play by Craig Smith (1st assist/point as a Bruin) to keep the puck in the offensive zone and fire it on Hart. Defenseman Kevan Miller added his first helper of the season and it was also his first point in ages after back-to-back lost years due to injuries. The Flyers responded with a fluky play that resulted in a temporary go-ahead goal: defenseman Travis Sanheim accidently deflected Voracek's pass off his skate and somehow it found its way past Rask. His first goal of the season was also assisted by center Nolan Patrick at 7:13. 

    Take a breath, this is where things got extra weird on a Thursday night in an empty and silent building. Boston got another quick flurry of goals to regain the lead: Ritchie one-timed a nifty pass from center Patrice Bergeron to tie it at three. Krejci had the second assist on Ritchie's second goal of the season that came on the power play. If that was surprising to say the least, the next tally was doubly shocking as defenseman Brandon Carlo (not known for his offensive prowess either) blasted a rocket for a 4-3 lead and what should have been the game-winning goal. Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and left wing Brad Marchand had the assists on his first goal of the season. van Riemsdyk scored the last goal as Rask stopped Voracek's one-timer but JVR was on the doorstep to poke in the loose puck. Hayes had the second assist at 16:28.  

    As you can guess-since they outshot the Flyers 22-10-the Bruins controlled the third but credit Philly for bouncing back in overtime and honestly, they should have won it multiple times if not for some top-notch saves by Rask. Smith and Voracek's shots were both saved in round one of the shootout. Coyle and center Travis Konecny each missed the net in round two. Finally, DeBrusk broke the deadlock with a beautiful deke then shot that settled just under the crossbar. Giroux went last to try to extend it for the Flyers but Rask denied him. What a great win for the Bruins after such a pitiful start, again. These teams will meet again on Saturday night (7, NESN) for what will likely not come close to measuring up to this thriller. Even after tonight's results, Philadelphia remains in first-place in the East Division. Rask earned a rest so expect Jaroslav Halak (0-0-1) to get the start likely against Philly's backup goaltender Brian Elliott (1-0-0) who is a decent journeyman. There's no playoff football on Saturday so that tilt should be on your radar while you're flipping around to different games and shows.