Marchand Scored Twice & The Bruins Opened The 2021-22 Season With A 3-1 Win Against The Stars

 

    It was not the most thrilling of season openers but it is tough to argue with the final result as the Bruins beat the Stars (1-1) 3-1 this evening at the TD Garden. Left wing Brad Marchand opened the scoring on a penalty shot and he fittingly wrapped it up with an empty-netter. Between those tallies, Dallas center Luke Glendening and B's left wing Jake DeBrusk traded goals. Boston improved to 4-1 in season openers under head coach Bruce Cassidy and they hardly looked rusty as you might expect since their last preseason game was on October 6. Bruins rookie goaltender Jeremy Swayman made 27 saves as he begins his first full season in Boston as the No. 1 starter and Boston's penalty kill went a perfect 6-for-6. Stars goaltender Braden Holtby (37 saves) apparently lost many of his super powers vs. the Bruins once he left Washington a few years ago because now he is just another good but not great goalie. 

    Marchand used his sneaky speed to gain a step on the Dallas defense and he got hooked then pushed down by Stars defenseman Ryan Suter to earn the penalty shot at 17:38 of the first period. The last time that Boston's first goal of the year came on a penalty shot was in 2013 when now assistant coach Chris Kelly got it done. Oddly enough for the team who had played a game already this season-a 3-2 win at the Rangers on Wednesday-the Stars came out slow except when left wing Roope Hintz's shot hit the post but thankfully stayed out of the net. Still, Boston leading 1-0 after the first period felt like it should have been more since they outshot Dallas by a huge margin (17-5).

    The Stars came alive in the second period and tied it at one at 9:15 as center Luke Glendening snapped a low shot by Swayman. His first goal of the season was assisted by center Tanner Kero. It was tied at one after two periods but the B's did not take too long in the third period to regain the lead. New center Erik Haula looked like he had the puck bounce off his stick but left wing Jake DeBrusk was right there in front of Holtby to quickly knock it in for the go-ahead goal at 4:43. The other newest Bruin on that line-right wing Nick Foligno-notched the secondary helper. Boston clinched the two points at 18:23 as right wing David Pastrnak found Marchand racing to the net where he was able to flip the puck into the empty cage before Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen awkwardly knocked him over. Haha NESN's Jack Edwards was screaming about it being a slew foot until the replay made him (somewhat) eat his crazy words. 

    Boston's practice that was scheduled for tomorrow was cancelled, giving them more time to get ready for Patriots (2-3) vs. Cowboys (4-1) tomorrow afternoon (4:25, CBS). At Warrior Ice Arena on Monday morning, the Bruins will start preparations for a short two-game road trip with stops in Philadelphia (0-0-1) on Wednesday (7:30, TNT) and then in Buffalo (2-0) on Friday (7,  NESN). Those are two clubs that they have owned for years so we'll see if that continues in their first meetings of this season. I figure that Swayman will face the Flyers and perhaps backup goaltender Linus Ullmark will take on his old team-the Sabres-and make his B's debut in the third game of the season. It certainly does not feel like hockey season yet with the warm temperatures outside plus all the other local teams in action but I'm sure once the weather gets worse, it will be time to focus on the Black and Gold a little more closely. 

Bruins Steal Two Points in Detroit With 3-2 Comeback Victory vs. Red Wings

The roller coaster that is the 2014-15 Boston Bruins' season took another enjoyable turn tonight as they rallied for an improbable 3-2 win at Joe Louis Arena vs. Red Wings. Boston (40-25-13) trailed Detroit (40-24-13) 2-0 early in the third period but tied it on goals by Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson before Zach Trotman netted the game-winner (also his first career NHL goal). It was Boston's fourth straight win and it tied them with Detroit for third-place in the Atlantic Division although the Red Wings have one game in hand.

It was a pretty lifeless first period save for two penalties on Zdeno Chara for tripping and interference. The Red Wings scored first in the second period on a bizarre play. Danny DeKeyser's shot hit the end boards then popped back in front where Luke Glendening was there to flip it by Tuukka Rask (35 saves). His 12th goal of the season was also assisted by Stephen Weiss.

There was some anxious moments for Bruins fans since Patrice Bergeron left in the second period with a mysterious injury and never returned in that frame. It happened during a faceoff when his body got twisted around so who could tell? Thankfully, he was out there to start the third with a face shield after he received 30 stitches for a nasty cut on his face. His tripping penalty cost the B's as Weiss was able to make it 2-0 at 2:52 of the third with a power-play goal. He did a give-and-go with Riley Sheahan (yes, they do those in hockey too) and beat Rask from in tight. Marek Zidlicky had the second assist on the power play goal and Weiss' ninth tally of the season.

At that point, it certainly didn't look good for the Bruins but we should have remembered that this is a team that they own (they were 3-1 coming into tonight this season vs. Red Wings). Soderberg got the comeback started with a power-play goal at 5:05. After Petr Mrazek (22 saves) left a juicy rebound of Reilly Smith's shot, Soderberg was able to roof it from close range. Brett Connolly had the second assist for his first point in his first game as a Bruin.

2:14 after that, Eriksson tied it thanks to a nifty backhand pass through traffic and behind the net from Smith. Soderberg had the second helper on Eriksson's 21st goal of the season. Honestly, Trotman's goal was pretty weak on Mrazek's part not that any of the Bruins or their fans were complaining about it. His first shot from the point was blocked so he got more aggressive and drove to the net before his shot somehow squeezed past Mrazek. Ryan Spooner and Connolly had the assists on the game-winner which occurred with 2:08 left in regulation.

Boston wasn't able to gain any ground on Washington (who beat Montreal 5-4 in a shootout) or Florida (who blitzed Carolina 6-1) since they both won tonight as well. The B's host the Maple Leafs (29-43-6) on Saturday night (7, NESN) in their regular season home finale. The Bruins are finally in a nice groove during the stretch run so they should take care of Toronto (who have absolutely nothing to play for but draft position) no problem.

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The Bruins Used Four Special Teams (2 SH & 2 PP) Goals to Beat the Red Wings 5-3

To beat a quality team like Detroit (36-17-11), especially in the second leg of a back-to-back, Boston (33-22-10) needed its vaunted depth to show up in a big way. Luckily for the B's it did as they beat the Red Wings 5-3 at TD Garden for their second win in as many afternoons (they rallied for a 3-2 overtime win vs. Flyers yesterday). A four-point weekend against two Eastern Conference foes should give them plenty of confidence with 17 games left in the regular season.

Perhaps most importantly, Niklas Svedberg (36 saves) started and he was pretty decent in picking up his first regulation and non-shutout win of the season. 10 Bruins had points and their special teams were money with two power-play goals and two shorthanded goals against the No. 1 power-play unit in the NHL. Daniel Paille was scratched for two games a few weeks ago but he has responded like the professional that he is with four goals in his last six games, including two today vs. Detroit.

With Red Wings backup goaltender Jonas Gustavsson also getting the start, you had a feeling that it would be far from a 1-0 game. Brad Marchand continued his excellent weekend with his third goal in a row going back to yesterday's contest vs. Philadelphia. To change it up, this one was a shorthanded tally just 4:15 into the first period. Stephen Weiss turned the puck over in Boston's zone, Marchand went in on a breakaway and deked Gustavsson out of his hockey pants. His team-leading 22nd goal of the season was unassisted. Marchand has a four-game point-streak (5 goals, 1 assist) along with 10 points (7 goals, 3 assists) in the last 10 games.

University of Maine product Gustav Nyquist tied it at 7:01 with a wrist shot. His 22nd goal of the season was assisted by Kyle Quincey. Adam McQuaid had a game-high five blocks but he missed that out on that one and screened his own goalie in the process. No worries though, Boston answered with a power-play goal by David Pastrnak less than two minutes later for a 2-1 lead. His snipe from the left face-off circle was a bit of skill that you rarely if ever see from these B's. Pastrnak's eighth goal of the season was assisted by Milan Lucic and Reilly Smith.

Paille's pair of goals in the second period really opened things up for the home team. First, he had a breakaway and nothing went wrong for once. His fourth goal of the season was unassisted at 11:44 and it represented the first time in nearly two years (April 10, 2013 at NJ) that Boston scored two shorthanded goals in the same game. The Bruins are now tied with Toronto, Tampa Bay and Winnipeg for the third-most shorthanded goals in the league (7). After that highlight, Paille one-timed a pass from Max Talbot (game-high 7 hits) from in close for another goal at 18:39. Gregory Campbell had the second assist on Paille's seventh career two-goal game (1st since Dec. 14, 2011).

Jimmy Howard replaced Gustavsson (4 goals allowed, 19 saves) to start the third period and the blowout got interesting for a few seconds as Luke Glendening's routine shot found its way past Svedberg at 1:24. His ninth goal of the season was assisted by the magical Pavel Datsyuk. Boston's second power-play goal, this time from Loui Eriksson at 4:03 gave them back their three-goal cushion (5-2). Patrice Bergeron and Ryan Spooner (5-game point-streak) assisted on Eriksson's 16th goal of the season.

To conclude the special teams explosion, Detroit added their only power play goal of the affair. Newly acquired defenseman Marek Zidlicky scored his second goal in three games as a Red Wing. His shot from the point went top shelf on Svedberg; it was his sixth goal of the season with assists to Tomas Tatar and Datsyuk.

This good stretch (5-1-1 in their last 7 games) couldn't come at a better time for the Bruins with three of their next four games on the road: they are at Ottawa (29-23-11) on Tuesday (7:30, NESN) before hosting Tampa Bay (41-20-6) on Thursday (7, NESN). Then they have a back-to-back next weekend at Pittsburgh (38-18-9) on Saturday (1, NESN) followed by a game in Washington (36-21-10) the following night (7:30, NBCSN). With the Senators hosting the Flames tonight, Boston is currently seven points ahead of Ottawa which means that a win there could really bury them from the playoff discussion.

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Bruins Even Series with Convincing 4-1 Win in Game 2

It only took one period (or more accurately half of one) for the Bruins to show that Friday was probably a mirage and they more closely resemble the squad that rolled to a 4-1 win over the Red Wings on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden. Boston evened the series at one heading back to dumpy Detroit for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday (7:30, NESN) and Thursday (8, NESN) respectively. The B's depth, top notch goaltending and superb special teams all added up to a relatively easy victory.

Just like the real Bruins appeared in Game 2, the true Jimmy Howard (25 saves) also made his presence felt. His brutal pass in a Detroit defenseman's skates led to an easy goal for Boston rookie Justin Florek at 7:28 of the first period. Fellow rookie Reilly Smith scored 3:07 after that on a power play (the first of two for Boston). He was on the doorstep and was able to sweep in a rebound, assisted by Loui Eriksson and Patrice Bergeron on his first career NHL postseason goal.

The normally stoic Red Wings clearly lost their cool, capped off by Brendan Smith (Reilly's brother) yapping with Zdeno Chara to end the first. Haha what was he thinking? He's just likely the linesman stepped in before Chara made like a National Geographic movie and destroyed him. All he could do was smile and laugh. Detroit cut it to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period as Tuukka Rask's (34 saves) rebound deflected in the net off of Luke Glendening's body.

No worries, Boston bounced right back with a very timely goal by Milan Lucic at 18:16 to regain their two-goal advantage. He finished a pretty passing sequence with Jarome Iginla and Torey Krug. Zdeno Chara's power play goal at 2:27 gave the B's a nice cushion in the third period. Iginla and Krug each picked up their second assists on Chara's goal that came after the captain parked right outside the paint vs. Howard and knocked in a loose puck. Boston's penalty kill is a perfect six-for-six this series including four-for-four in Game 2.

We know that there will be a Game 5 back at the Garden on Saturday, the question is if either team will be trying to eliminate the other that day. Rask has only allowed two total goals so he has to be feeling pretty good about himself. Kevan Miller returned for Game 2 and he definitely brings another physical dimension to Boston. Game 3 is another important one that could go a long way towards determining who takes this series and in how many games.

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