Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 2-1 win against the Dallas Stars in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Brad Marchand ends it in overtime: On a night in which the Bruins’ controlled play for extended stretches but had little to show for it — highlighted by four shots that clanged off the post and crossbar — it seemed fitting for the Black and Gold to come up just short in overtime, trying in vain to push across that elusive game-winning tally despite close to 90 seconds of 5-on-3 play at the end of the extra stanza.
Enter Brad Marchand.
With a shootout awaiting and another valuable point up for grabs, Marchand sealed the win for the B’s over Dallas with 31 seconds to go in OT, snapping one past Anton Khudobin from a tough angle for the 2-1 victory.
https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1059649182724771840
It was a frustrating night for the Black and Gold, given the amount of chances and zone time they mounted against the Stars. But Marchand’s goal does ease some tensions for a team still collecting points despite struggling to find some scoring between its bottom three lines.
Are you a glass half-full or a half-empty individual? Because along with the two points, there were plenty of groups — namely Boston’s third line — that took steps in the right direction against a Dallas club that loves to control the puck and pepper opposing netminders.
Dominant start spoiled by soft goal: If you’re the Bruins, you couldn’t ask for a better start than this. Through 20 minutes, the Black and Gold held a 13-4 edge in shots on goal and a 22-6 advantage in outright attempts — all while skating laps in Dallas’ zone. And yet, entering the first intermission, Boston found itself stuck in a 1-1 draw — the byproduct of a brutal shorthanded goal from Tuukka Rask. While Boston was handed a bid on the power play off an interference call against Roman Polak at 3:25, it was the Stars that drew first blood.
After clearing a chance in front of Anton Khudobin, Radek Faksa gathered the puck and skated into Boston’s zone, with Torey Krug keeping him to the outside of the left circle. Even from a tough angle, Faksa fired in a shot that somehow eluded Rask’s glove and into the net, leading to a chorus of boos from the TD Garden crowd.
https://twitter.com/DallasStars/status/1059602645911027712
So far this season, eight of the 18 goals that Rask has allowed have come in the first period — including six within the first 11 minutes of play. While Rask did finish with 24 saves — including three stops on a crucial Stars power play in the closing minutes of the third — another tough first-period goal once again put Boston behind the eight ball early in a matchup that could have proved costly.
FOUR UP
Backes line: While David Backes has had a rough start to the season — both in terms of scoring (0 points in nine games) and possession-wise (B’s outshot 46-30 during 82:34 of 5v5 TOI entering Monday) — the third line showed signs of breaking out against Dallas. Even with a goal from Anders Bjork that was disallowed, a forward trio that has usually found itself hemmed in the B’s own zone managed to limit opposing chances on Monday — with Boston edging Dallas in attempts, 15-5, during the 10 minutes of 5-on-5 when Backes, Bjork and Danton Heinen were out on the ice.
Moore/Krug tandem: The Bruins’ blue line is still missing Charlie McAvoy and Kevan Miller, but John Moore and Torey Krug more than pulled their weight while out on the ice against Dallas. While Krug is noted as a power-play specialist, Boston held a 20-5 edge in attempts during the 14:07 of five-on-five play when both he and Moore were out on the ice together. With Zdeno Chara and Brandon Carlo already logging heavy minutes this season, Moore more than shouldered the load on Monday — finishing with a team-high 25:53 TOI.
“Well, I mean they’re both veteran guys in the league. Torey’s just coming back, so he’s got to be careful. He wants to play his offensive game but not empty the tank, so he can’t defend in his own end,” Bruce Cassidy said. “So, I think Johnny’s done everything we’ve asked of him in terms of defending. Been very safe, and eventually, we’ll try to build some more offense into his game, when to go, when not to. Like I said, tough call on Torey in the penalty, but he moved the puck well. We thought he was very good again tonight.”
David Pastrnak: After an 0-for-4 showing on the power play in Saturday’s frustrating loss to the Predators, Boston’s man advantage broke through at a key time for the Black and Gold, with Pastrnak rifling home his 12th goal of the year just 1:20 after Faksa’s shorthanded tally. While Pastrnak finished the sequence with a one-time bomb past Khudobin while losing his balance, a hat tip to Patrice Bergeron, who fished the puck out of the corner with Jake DeBrusk and fired the biscuit on a rope to his linemate.
Steven Kampfer: He might have ranked last on the B’s in terms of 5v5 TOI, but Kampfer made the most of his playing time — posting an absurd 89.47 Corsi For Percentage on the night. When he was out on the ice, Dallas was only limited to two shot attempts, while Boston posted 17. The B’s D corps is still banged up, but Kampfer has filled in admirably so far.
ONE DOWN
The refs: For as good as the Backes line was on Monday, the trio was unable to finish the contest with a goal — due in large part to a quick whistle from a referee in the closing minutes of the second period. During an extended stretch of zone time for the Backes' line that featured a great entry from Heinen, strong board work from Backes and a timely pinch up from Kampfer, a rebound surrendered by Khudobin appeared to be picked up and tucked home by Bjork, who was waiting down low. While Bjork and the crowd started to celebrate, the officials must have thought Khudobin had control of the initial shot, whistling the play dead before Bjork notched what would have been his second goal of the season. Another tough break for a Bruins forward corps still looking for some 5-on-5 production from a line not featuring Bergeron, Marchand and Pastrnak.
VICTORY TOUR COMPLETE
The Red Sox closed out their World Series championship tour on Monday, with Joe Kelly, John Henry and Sam Kennedy on-site at TD Garden with the Commissioner's Trophy. Kelly performed the ceremonial puck drop before play got underway.
Championship tour complete. ✔️@RedSox | #DamageDone | #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/fGDEeNZ6Jm
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 6, 2018