BSJ Game Report: Bruins 2, Senators 1 - Krug seals 4-point weekend with OT winner taken at BSJ Headquarters (Bruins)

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BSJ Game Report: Bruins 2, Senators 1 - Krug seals 4-point weekend with OT winner

By Conor Ryan

Dec 9, 2018 • 8:32 pm

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Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 2-1 overtime win over the Senators in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

B’s right the ship

After trudging through a 1-4-0 stretch over the past week, Boston re-discovered its identity in its last two matchups — with the B's benefiting from timely scoring from its depth on Saturday against Toronto before edging Ottawa in a close contest.

Going forward, the Bruins will need to continue to generate better looks off of their favorable possession stats — with the club edged in scoring chances, 22-21, against Ottawa despite firing 16 more shots on goal and posting a 55.86 Corsi For Percentage.

But as a whole, the B’s have to be thrilled with their bounce-back effort this weekend, especially with players like Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk out of commission.

B’s dodge a bullet with Charlie McAvoy: He might have returned to the bench at the end of Saturday’s game against Toronto, but Charlie McAvoy’s status for Sunday’s matchup against the Senators was very much up in the air after taking a late hit from Zach Hyman.

Given the nature of the hit and the fact that McAvoy just came back from a 20-game absence due to a concussion, it wouldn't have surprised many if Boston opted so sit out McAvoy on the second leg of a back-to-back.

But sure enough, McAvoy was back out on the ice for the tilt — much to the relief of many. He’s still shaking off some rust after missing close to seven weeks of action, but McAvoy still held his own against Ottawa, logging 21:16 of ice time while recording three hits and three blocks.

FOUR UP

Sean Kuraly: He might have taken a few nasty licks in a bout with 6-foot-6 Ben Harpur, but Kuraly’s fight allowed Boston to tie things up — as Harpur was assessed an additional instigator penalty to give Boston a stint on the power play.

The visitors capitalized, with Brad Marchand lighting the lamp on the man advantage at 7:49 in the second period. Kuraly eventually returned to the game, nearly scoring the OT winner before Mike McKenna denied the puck off of a tumbling stop. He didn’t register a point, but Kuraly’s effort was evident in Sunday’s win.




David Krejci: Torey Krug 
gets plenty of credit for burying his second goal in as many games, but the set-up from Krejci on the OT winner was simply superb. The pivot’s saucer pass to Krug extended his point streak to three games — with Krejci finding success in the middle of the new top line alongside
Brad Marchand
and
David Pastrnak.
 The trio finished with four points in the win, even though Boston was actually outshot, 11-10, during the 15:58 TOI in which both Marchand and Krejci were out on the ice during five-on-five play.


Brad Marchand:
After getting held off of the score sheet during three straight regulation losses last week, Marchand is starting to heat up — tallying five points in the B’s wins over Toronto and Ottawa. He only has three goals at 5v5 play this season, but the winger is starting to settling into a groove even without
Patrice Bergeron
lineup.


Tuukka Rask:
Boston outshot Ottawa, 44-28, on the night, but the Senators still made the most of their chances — matching the B’s in high-danger scoring chances, 7-7. However, Rask stood tall — turning aside six of those Grade-A looks in the win, including a shorthanded bid right out in front by
Mark Stone




ONE DOWN


Ryan Donato:
After an encouraging outing against Toronto on Saturday, Donato’s still developing play away from the puck hit another speed bump against the Senators. With the Senators already looking to push the puck up the ice after
Charlie McAvoy
was caught out of position on a pinch, Donato was stuck in no-man’s land at center ice, allowing
Colin White
to skate in unopposed and create a 2-on-1 bid that ended with a
Mark Stone
goal.




PLAY OF THE GAME:




LOOKING AHEAD


The Bruins will return home to TD Garden on Tuesday night for a matchup against the Arizona Coyotes. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. Boston

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