A game you couldn’t script ends in a way you’d swear I was making up.
Comedy of the year squeaking in just before the bell. Couldn’t have asked for better.
First Period:
The Bruins started a bit slow, but then got their act together after the 10 minute mark, with David Pastrnak getting a stretch pass from Hampus Lindholm and simply wiring it to the top shelf behind Woll! 1-0 Bruins!
Believe it or not, the B’s actually kept their hands to themselves after Ryan Reaves attempted (and I really cannot overstate how much weight the word attempt is deadlifting right now) to impose his will on Boston, and ultimately we left the 1st period behind with Pastrnak’s tally being the sole goal.
2nd Period:
Pasta’s goal stayed the only goal of the contest for a stunning amount of time before the B’s got a little insurance from Kevin Shattenkirk, who took a wonderful Pastrnak pass cutting into the middle, and roofed it on Woll for the B’s 2nd of the night! 2-0 Bruins!
Exceptional steal by DeBrusk to get that sequence going, too. Snake seems to come alive when it comes to Ontario based hockey. Must be that Albertan in him.
Unfortunately, this was also when Toronto decided to join the game, as Auston Matthews took advantage of the puck squirting away from Linus Ullmark in an extended defensive zone sequence.
It’s what this defense still needs to work on, regrettably. Anyway, we’re moving on to the third period!
3rd Period:
…Where Max Domi started it in transition with a hell of a 1-on-1 thanks to pretty much everybody forgetting why someone like Nick Robertson would be staying to the outside. 2-2 Everybody.
Shattenkirk’s flub started that arguably. Gotta put that to the wall.
Mercifully, Trent Frederic got a lucky bounce off of a Derek Forbort shot, that made it to the back of the net! 3-2 Bruins!
Great Net-Front defense, Tronna.
Now, all the Boston Bruins, a team that has given up the most goals this year to teams with a goaltender pulled, just has to hold a lead for oh god oh god oh god-
Yeah. Overtime it is.
Overtime:
[wheezing laughter]
Bruins Win 4-3 in OT thanks to Brad Marchand!
Game Notes:
- Your TOI Leader tonight was Charlie McAvoy, who logged 28:04 tonight.
- Toronto’s definitely a good test of what Boston has to do in order to win this year and the way they won it was the way they should consider a basic blueprint; keep the other team to the outside, force turnovers, and then use their transition game to force high-danger chances. Granted, the Leafs seem very interested in giving up just about every possible high-danger chance this year, but this is still a good starting point for even B- efforts.
- Ho hum another 3 point night for David Pastrnak; started the scoring and then had a hand in Marchand and Shattenkirk’s tallies and led the team in shots. That’s why we put up with his giveaways, kids; He is the beating heart of this offense.
- That entire overtime was the peak of comedy; Marchand sits on a player, Pastrnak gets a chance, collects his rebound, nobody gets to him, and the guy just about every Toronto fan, including Ryan Reaves, wanted to be paste by the end of the night ends up getting the goal to end it all. If there are scriptwriters, they’ve finally been given the cocaine the creative class lost in the 2000’s to the hollywood executive class, and all is finally beginning to be right with the world.
- Ryan Reaves sure participated in this game; played like 5 minutes, hit Marchand and Poitras, and then watched in silent agony as Brad Marchand got the easiest game winner he’s ever potted that didn’t involve an empty net. When does the intimidation factor kick in, again?
- Ullmark walked away with this one with a .925 SV% and had a pretty tough workload tonight. I’ll happily take this result!
- Great work by Trent Frederic with that hand-eye coordination on his goal.
- Now to a team that’s actually trying really hard to get their act together…The Jackets.
- Single funniest way that game could’ve ended. What a wonderfully stupid sport this is.
Boston’s home, and has brought Ohio with them. They play the Blue Jackets at 7pm tonight!
See you there, Go B’s!