Injury Updates
Finally some good news on the injury front for the Bruins. After Brandon Carlo made his return to the lineup, Charlie McAvoy finally was able to return after missing an extended period of time dealing with concussion issues. It was the first concussion in his career and with the extra emphasis on head injuries nowadays, rightfully so, the Bruins were very cautious with getting him back into the lineup making sure he had no more symptoms whatsoever.
It was also reported that Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron started skating on their own which is a good sign for a return in the next few weeks. While they still haven’t returned to team skate, they are skating. This is essential especially for Chara who had a knee injury, it’s very promising that he is back skating.
12/8 Bruins 6 – Maple Leafs 3
After losing three straight games and facing one of the top teams in the NHL, I had little faith in the Bruins in this one. Boy was I wrong. I should have known that for some reason the Bruins just own the Leafs. I can’t explain it. The Leafs are a much deeper team with a lot of high end talent and the Bruins, well, they’re hanging around the playoffs picture even with the amount of injuries they have faced so far. In this one, scoring came from all over for the Bruins as six different B’s scored. The best part of that is that Torey Krug, a defenseman, scored and that’s something that just hasn’t happened this year. The Bruins have really been lacking on point production from the D men but that will change as guys get healthier.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Bruins got goals from guys not named David Pastrnak or Brad Marchand. Second and third line guys found their names in the score sheet as Ryan Donato, Danton Heinen, David Krejci, David Backes, and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson all scored in this one. David Pastrnak also continued his tirade on the Toronto Maple Leafs as he had two assists in this one while Brad Marchand through in three helpers on the night. This was a great bounce back win to snap the losing streak as they head to Ottawa to face another team they need to secure two points from.
12/9 Bruins 2 – Senators 1 (OT)
In what I like to call a must win game, the Bruins were able to snag two points away from Ottawa. Tuukka Rask had a very strong game in net as it appears that he has found his game this season. He has been making huge saves that have kept the Bruins in games and has been the best penalty killer on the team which is essential. No save was better than this one he made on a shorthanded bid by Ottawa.
As far as the scoring goes, Brad Marchand has started to build off the chemistry he has with David Pastrnak and newcomer to the top line, David Krejci. He has always been a threat on the power play and he continues that this season as he got the Bruins on the board with this power play goal.
Once this game got to overtime, as always, anything can happen and for the Bruins it was all good. Torey Krug was able to net the game winner and score in his second game in a row. As he starts to find his offensive game it really opens up the rest of the offense and should help with other defenders getting some points. Here is the Torey Krug overtime winner.
12/11 Bruins 4 – Coyotes 3
After taking down divisional opponents in back to back games and ending a three game skid, the Bruins returned home to TD Garden where they looked to make it three wins in a row. The Arizona Coyotes came to town for the second game of the season between these two teams, the Bruins got the better of the ‘Yotes in overtime in their first meeting in Arizona.
In this one it was a ping pong like game in regards to the score. Arizona jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in this one and it looked as if the Bruins’ win streak was going to come to an end. They did not look great in the first period. The second period was a whole different story however, as the Bruins came out hot. They ended up scoring four unanswered goals to take a 4-2 lead. Once again it was guys on the first line getting it done. Brad Marchand (2 goals, 1 assist), David Pastrnak (1 goal, 2 assists), and Patrice Bergeron’s first line replacement David Krejci (3 assists) all led the way with three points apiece.
Late in the second period the Coyotes were able to get one back to make it a one goal game, but as the third period went on, they couldn’t tie the game.
All in all, it wasn’t a great game by the Bruins, while the four unanswered goals were great, that was just about all they did. I will remain positive in this one though because the Bruins are on a three game win streak after dropping three straight. They now head into a busy week which we will dive into right now.
The Week Ahead
This coming week we will see the Bruins playing four times, twice at home and twice on the road. It starts on the road in Pittsburgh where the Bruins will take on the Penguins on Friday night at 7pm. The Penguins have been a real disappointment this year according to their standards and the Bruins have a great opportunity to get their win streak to four games. They then play Sunday evening at 5pm back in Boston where they will host the Buffalo Sabres. This will be a great game as the Sabres have really come on strong from November into December and have shown that they are one of the strongest young teams in the NHL.
The Bruins will fly up to Montreal after the game Sunday and get right back to it when they play the Canadiens at 730pm Monday night. A few off days will be much needed as they then end the week on Thursday night back in Boston where they will take on the Anaheim Ducks at 7pm.
Videos courtesy of NHL.com