Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Cassidy shuffles up the lines
The scoring situation is getting a bit dire for the Black and Gold, with all three of Boston’s goals Saturday night coming by way of the usual suspects in Brad Marchand (twice) and David Pastrnak — with two of the tallies coming on the power play.
Prior to Pastrnak’s strike on the man advantage at 12:22 in the opening frame, Boston had gone 106:51 without scoring.
Even before Pastrnak finally cashed in on a stretch that saw Bruce Cassidy run out his top power-play unit for close to the entire two minutes, Boston’s bench boss juggled up his lines — with Pastrnak bumped down to the second line with David Krejci and Danton Heinen for a majority of 5-on-5 play.
Joakim Nordstrom earned a few reps up on the right wing with Patrice Bergeron and Marchand, while Jake DeBrusk primarily skated on the top group for an extended stretch in the third period.
Will the moves be permanent, at least for the next couple of games? Probably not, at least in terms of the players involved — with DeBrusk switching with Pastrnak seeming like an odd move, at least when it comes to balancing out the top-six corps. (Personally, I’d roll out DeBrusk-Krejci-Pastrnak for a few games and see what they have).
If anything, Cassidy’s in-game moves seem to signal that Boston needs to shuffle things up in order to get a talented, but slumping, offense going.
Torey Krug returns
Torey Krug will be the first to tell you that he’s still not 100 percent after injuring his ankle in Boston’s preseason finale in September, and the rust was evident at times Tuesday night.
Granted, Carolina is a dominant puck-possession team and fired a number of shots against just about everyone out on the ice, but Krug was out on the ice for five shots for and 11 shots against in 12:04 of five-on-five play.
However, he was also a plus-one on the night and helped Boston cash in on the power play in the second period, gathering the puck near the blue line and setting up Pastrnak for his 11th goal of the season.
In 6:07 of time on the power play, Krug posted a 71.43 Corsi For Percentage and was out on the ice for six Bruins shots and two for the Hurricanes. As he continues to get back on track, look for Krug to give this power play the spark that Cassidy and Co. have been looking for.
FOUR UP
Jaroslav Halak: With just over two minutes remaining in the second period, Halak already set a season-high in saves with 33 stops against the Hurricanes. It was that kind of night for Halak, who was facing off against an up-tempo Carolina club that entered Tuesday’s game with a league-leading 41.5 shots per game.
Halak was up for the challenge — with both of the Hurricanes’ tallies coming off of goals on the power play. On a night dominated by special-teams play, Halak put together his best stretch during a stint on Boston’s power play at the start of the second period.
In what was a sluggish two-minute stretch that saw Boston turn over the puck numerous times in a cluttered slot, the Hurricanes strung together a pair of 2-on-1 rushes and some extended looks in Boston’s zone, with Halak finishing with three stops during the “man advantage” for the Black and Gold.
In total, Halak finished with 42 saves on the night. With a matchup against the Predators tabbed for Saturday, there’s a chance Halak could get another go, given yet another shining showing on Tuesday night.
Brad Marchand: Stuck in a five-game goalless rut, Marchand broke out in a major way Tuesday — lighting the lamp twice in what a step in the right direction for Boston’s top-six group and an inconsistent power play.
A fantastic play by Bergeron (we’ll address it below) allowed Marchand to tie things up at 2-2 at the time with 18 seconds remaining in the second period, with the winger giving Boston the lead for good at 5:23 in the final stanza.
After taking a feed from Bergeron to enter into Carolina’s zone, Marchand torched the Canes’ opposition in front of him, fighting off Justin Williams and getting Scott Darling to creep out of the crease. With Darling out, Marchand orbited around Carolina’s net and tucked the puck home via a wraparound attempt.
After only tallying two goals through the first 11 games of the season, a two-goal night against a strong Carolina team might be just what Marchand needs to get on a roll.
Patrice Bergeron: It was another fantastic showing from Bergeron on Tuesday, with Boston’s top-line center recording three assists through 20:34 TOI. But Bergeron, in particular, earns a stick tap for one play in particular in the final minute of the second period.
With Boston back on the power play off a trip by Lucas Wallmark, the Hurricanes once again countered on another odd-man rush, with Bergeron hustling back and recovering the biscuit off the backcheck.
Almost immediately after putting the puck on his stick, Bergeron zipped it down the other end of the ice, hitting Marchand on the tape and letting the winger break into Carolina’s zone.
The goal is nice, but that pass. That pass is EVERYTHING. #BOSvsCAR pic.twitter.com/OiHpEHVpwA
— NHL (@NHL) October 31, 2018