BSJ Game Report: Bruins 4, Coyotes 3 - B’s top line sparks rally over Arizona taken at TD Garden (Bruins)

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Bruins

BSJ Game Report: Bruins 4, Coyotes 3 - B’s top line sparks rally over Arizona

By Conor Ryan

Dec 11, 2018 • 10:48 pm

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Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-3 win over the Coyotes in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Krejci line takes over: You couldn’t ask for a worse start for the Bruins against Arizona. Whether it be a stalled stint on the power play, a pair of tallies from the Yotes just 40 seconds apart or a concerning injury scare for David Backes, it was not the start that the B’s were looking for against an Arizona club it had defeated in their last 13 meetings.

But a game removed from sparking Boston’s offense to an OT win over Ottawa, the Marchand-Krejci-Marchand line once again imposed its will on an opposing defense Tuesday.



During a second period that saw Boston erase a two-goal deficit off of a flurry of four tallies in the span of 4:50, the B’s top line accounted for three goals and nine total points — with Marchand leading the way with a pair of goals. After a small adjustment period, the Bruins are doing their best to overcome the loss of forwards like Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk, overloading their top line in an effort to overpower teams similar to what the Bergeron line’s M.O. was for most of the first month of the season. So far, it’s keeping Boston afloat as Bergeron and others remain on the mend.

Close shave for Backes: The hits keep on coming from David Backes. The veteran forward has already dealt with a concussion this season and multiple hits to the face — including a nasty high stick from Montreal forward Jonathan Drouin last month. But Tuesday saw the veteran forward face another squeamish injury scare, as Backes raced off the ice in the first period after taking a skate blade from Oliver Ekman-Larsson to the side of the nose. Despite the severity of the cut, Backes was back out on the ice for the second period, and still logged 15:31 TOI with two shots on goal and three hits.




Hockey players, man.


THREE UP


Brad Marchand:
We could give major “ups” to any of Boston’s forwards on its top line, but we’ll single out Marchand for his two-goal, three-point showing. Marchand, who is now up to eight points (three goals, five assists) in his last three games, also tallied his first five-on-five goal since Nov. 11 in the win. Not too shabby.


JFK Line:
The Krejci line did most of the heavy lifting in the second period, but Boston’s “third line” of
Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Ryan Donato
and
Danton Heinen
jumpstarted Boston’s salvo of scoring with Heinen’s second goal in three games — generated off of a sweet, backhand saucer pass from Forsbacka Karlsson. Krejci’s line is dominating right now, but if this trio of young forwards can get going, it will do wonders for a B’s club still dealing with scoring woes.


David Krejci:
Alright, we’ll give another member of Boston’s top line some credit. You couldn’t ask for much more from No. 46 tonight — three assists, one shot on goal that rang off the post, 19:44 of ice time and a 72 percent success rate at faceoffs. Boston is still missing Bergeron, but Krejci is doing his best to fill the void in the middle for his team.


THREE DOWN


Power play:
Perhaps it’s more of a testament to Arizona’s top-ranked PK unit, but Boston had a golden opportunity to pile on some goals early in Tuesday’s contest after
Charlie McAvoy
took a high stick from his former BU teammate in
Clayton Keller.
Despite getting four minutes with an extra skater, Boston couldn’t do much on the power play, only landing two shots on goal during the extended stretch.


Tuukka Rask:
Boston was plagued with some clearing issues for most of the night, but Rask didn’t do himself any favors with a couple of goals that he’d likely want to have back. Highlighted by Arizona’s two-goal stretch in under a minute, Rask second goal allowed was a tough one to take, with
Nick Cousins
beating Rask short side from outside of the right circle. Still, Rask did rebound, ending with a game-saving stop as time expired once Arizona opted for an extra skater. 


Gemel Smith:
He had a nice stick lift in the final minute of the first period to force a turnover, but Boston’s latest acquisition didn’t see much ice time at only 6:55. Despite his limited reps, he was still a minus-2 on a line that relinquished a combined four giveaways.


PLAY OF THE GAME:




LOOKING AHEAD


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