Bruins cruise past Penguins on Craig Smith’s game winner in overtime. However, the excitement began with Marchand’s 1st period short-handed goal. It not only kicked off the game but has now given him the record of most short-handed goals in Bruins franchise history, passing Rick Middleton, former team right-winger. The Bruins were able to keep the puck in the Penguins end of the ice with great pressure throughout the period.
In the 2nd period, Nick Ritchie crushed a 5 on 3 Power play with a goal which made it 2-0 Boston. The new players really stepped it up throughout the remainder of the game. Craig Smith, traded from Predators; Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase (although currently on injured reserve) traded from Anaheim Ducks, and hopefuls from the Bruins primary development team were given a shot- Trent Frederic, Jeremy Lauzon, and Jakub Zboril. Lauzon and Zboril reminded me of some of the best defenseman to play the game of hockey such as Torey Krug and John Carlson. Krug, a young kid in the playoffs as a rookie definitely turned a few heads. Carlson shows us what a true defenseman should be -tough, All-star caliber, overall leadership, etc. Getting the puck in the zone, getting open for passes, blocking shots at net- that’s a true defenseman’s job. The newbies were all doing their jobs and the transition to the Bruins has been seamless. Watching last nights game, you would never know that they just joined the team this year.
Highlighted in the 3rd period, Tuukka Rask demonstrated incredible saves, keeping the Bruins in the game. In overtime, David Krejci made a beautiful assist that led to Smith’s winning goal, to give the Bruins the 3-2 victory!
The Bruins impressed me last night and are really setting themselves up towards a shot at the Cup. Who do you think will win the Stanley Cup this year? Leave a comment below!
Don’t miss the next game against the Penguins again on Thursday 7:00 pm on NESN
Image source: pixy.org
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