10/4 Bruins 4 – Sabres 0
In their second game of the season, looking to bounce back after a horrible start to the season, the Bruins went up to Buffalo to take on a young, up and coming Sabres team led by new captain Jack Eichel.
With Jaroslav Halak getting the nod to start after coming into the game in relief of Tuukka Rask against the Capitals, he was great. Halak messed around and had a 32 save shutout. Bruins fans should be very excited to see this from a backup. Yes, Tuukka had a very rough start to the season but he will be fine, and be thankful that Halak is performing like he has in the past.
The scoring was opened up with the captain Zdeno Chara skating down the slot inside the left circle, taking a nice pass from Brad Marchand and burying the wrist shot past the Sabres’ Carter Hutton. With about 5 minutes to go in the first the Bruins went on the power play and oh boy does the B’s power play look dangerous. Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and Ryan Donato passed the puck amongst each other in a triangle with Marchand dishing it to Donato who one timed it past Hutton for a 2-0 lead. Late in the 2nd Marchand again getting involved on the score sheet found David Krejci who slid the puck across the front of the net to David Pastrnak and he buried the shot for a 3-0 lead. Late in the third period when the game was all but wrapped up, Bergeron broke free and buried the shorthanded empty netter to make it 4-0 and close out the Sabres.
All-in-all it was a great win for the B’s who needed to make a statement after their opening night loss to the Capitals. Brad Marchand led the way with 4 points, all assists and 6 other guys getting on the scoresheet.
10/8 Bruins 6 – 3 Senators
The TD Garden was rocking once again as the Bruins opened up at home in front of a bunch of fans ready for Bruins hockey and some Red Sox – Yankees playoff baseball. What better way to open at home than with Patrice Bergeron netting a hat trick. This was the first time a Bruin player scored a hat trick in the home opener since Cam Neely in 1995. That is some very, very, good company and Bergeron proved he is one of the greatest Bruins of all time.
Tuukka Rask was back in net for this one and while he gave up 3 goals, he played well. He cannot be blamed for all the goals as there was a lot of traffic in front of the net at times. He made big saves as he always does, but he was not perfect. Thankfully the game was against Ottawa, a team that you do not have to be perfect to beat. While they have looked much better than people anticipated, they are still very weak.
David Pastrnak chipped in with 2 goals and 2 assists as that B’s first line is looking very strong to start the year. So far at least one person on that first line as factored in all 10 of the Bruins goals on the season. Brad Marchand is leading the charge with 7 points on the season all coming from the assist. Expect another big game from him on Thursday night as the B’s take on the Edmonton Oilers and perennial league MVP Connor McDavid.
10/11 Bruins 4 – 1 Oilers
Just like that, Connor McDavid strolls into Boston, flies into the offensive zone and gives the Oilers the early lead. The kid is phenomenal and will be for a very long time. Unfortunately for him, the Oilers as a team disappointed last year and are looking quite similar this season after the first few weeks. Boston took over the game immediately after McDavid scored. The charge was started by David Pastrnak on the power play making one of the sweetest goals you will ever see. Every year he seems to impress more and more in his young career and he has some of the silkiest mitts in the NHL.
The B’s again went on the power play shortly after Pastrnak tied the game and Brad Marchand did what he does best, scores on the power play. He got his first of the season after firing a wrister into the legs of the defenseman where it deflected past Cam Talbot into the twine.
Less than a minute later, the new guy in the Bruins locker room, Jordan Nordstrom got his first goal as a Bruin off a great pass from David Krejci.
Late in the game after the Oilers pulled Talbot for the extra attacker, Patrice Bergeron put the puck in the empty net to secure the win.
As far as the Bruins goaltending goes, Jaroslav Halak has proven so far that when he is surrounded by a good defense, he can be as impressive as anybody. Personally I don’t believe there is a goalie controversy in Boston, Tuukka is still going to be the number 1 guy, but as Bruce Cassidy showed last year, he will go with whose hot and right now it’s Halak. Hopefully Tuukka gets a fire lit under his you know what just like last year when he got benched for a few games.
The Week
Overall, this was as good a week as it gets. The B’s won all 3 of their games and did so impressively winning each game by at least two goals. We next see the Bruins back in action on Saturday the 13th at home against the Detroit Red Wings. This is another game the Bruins should win. The Bruins then travel to Calgary to take on the Flames on Wednesday the 17th and go to Edmonton the next day.
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