BSJ Game Report: Bruins 5, Predators 2 - Bergeron dominates in return, Boston makes it 3 straight wins taken at TD Garden (Bruins)

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Bruins

BSJ Game Report: Bruins 5, Predators 2 - Bergeron dominates in return, Boston makes it 3 straight wins

By Conor Ryan

Dec 22, 2018 • 5:01 pm

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Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 5-2 win over the Predators in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Patrice Bergeron dominates in return: Did you expect anything less? After missing 16 games while on the mend from a rib/sternoclavicular injury, Bergeron picked up right where left off — opening the scoring for the B’s at 15:10 in the first. Not to be outdone, he added another off the power play in the third period, giving Boston the lead for good — and recording his 300th career goal in the process. In total, he finished with four points (two goals, two assists) on the night, standing as the eighth four-point outing of his career.  

As a whole, Bruce Cassidy’s attempt of spreading the wealth of scoring prowess among his top-six appeared to work, with both lines combining for 15 of the B’s 29 individual scoring chances on the night. There’s another shoe to drop once Jake DeBrusk is cleared to return to game action from a concussion (which be as early as Sunday) — but for one game at least, both Bergeron and David Krejci seem to have found the right formula on their respective lines.

Overturned call swings momentum: The B’s appeared to be on a roll in the second period, with Ryan Donato tipping a puck home following an extended forecheck in Nashville’s zone orchestrated by both the Krejci and Colby Cave line. However, Donato’s tally at 8:12 was overturned following a challenge by the Predators for goaltender interference.

After a lengthy review, the call on the ice was reversed, with the league stating that Pekka Rinne was interfered with on the play by David Backes in the crease.

The league’s statement noted: "After reviewing all available replays and consulting with the Referee, the Situation Room determined that the actions of Backes impaired Rinne's ability to defend his goal. According to Rule 78.7, "The standard for overturning the call in the event of a "GOAL" call on the ice is that the NHL Situation Room (which shall include a former referee in the Officiating Department in the decision-making process), after reviewing any and all available replays and consulting with the Referee who made the original call, determines that the goal should have been disallowed due to "Interference on the Goalkeeper," as described in Rules 69.1, 69.3 and 69.4."

Eh?




The Bruins can’t seem to get any luck when it comes to these reviews, and this latest call ended up being costly — as
Ryan Johansen
lit the lamp less than five minutes later to tie things up.
Boston ultimately overcame the setback, but once again, Cassidy was searching for answers postgame about another review that didn’t go Boston’s way.


FOUR UP


Patrice Bergeron:
Not much rust here — 16:25 TOI, two goals, two assists. Pretty impressive. Now up to 30 points in just 20 games played, Bergeron’s second tally on the night also stood as his 300th career goal. Only five other players have tallied 300 or more goals in their Bruins career:
Johnny Bucyk (545), Phil Esposito (459), Rick Middleton (402), Ray Bourque (395) and Cam Neely (344).




David Pastrnak:
Even when primarily playing on the second line with Krejci and Nordstrom, Pastrnak still continued to produce on the scoresheet — leading all B’s forwards in 5v5 Corsi-For Percentage at 66.67 during the matchup. During the 15:30 of 5v5 TOI in which No. 88 was out skating, Boston held a 10-5 edge in scoring chances and a 4-1 lead in high-danger chances. The winger also made the most of the sequences where he was back with his usual linemates, burying a 2-on-1 with
Brad Marchand
and adding a pair of helpers on the power play.


Young guns:
While they only held a slight edge in the possession game, the younger skaters on Boston’s third line (
Colby Cave
and
Ryan Donato)
also generated their fair share of chances — highlighted by Donato’s goal that was overturned. During the 10:28 in which Donato and Cave were out on the ice together, Boston actually led in both scoring chances (7-2) and high-danger chances (4-0).


Jaroslav Halak:
Both goals came from outside of Grade-A areas, but Halak kept Boston afloat during a close game through 40 minutes — finishing with 28 saves on the night en route to his third win in a row. He also gets props for getting a coveted goalie assist on
Sean Kuraly
’s empty-net goal to ice the game.


ONE DOWN


John Moore:
While he’s been steady for most of the season, Moore has fallen into a bit of a rut over the last few games — with the veteran defenseman tabbed with a goal against during 17:06 of ice time.


“I think the last few games he hasn’t been as steady as the start of the year,” Cassidy said of Moore ahead of Saturday’s game. “So part of that is, I think with John, I think sometimes if he makes a mistake or it doesn’t go his way,  then he’ll try to correct it all at once. Sometimes, (it’s) water off the duck’s back, or whatever that saying is, and off you go, and just play the next shift and don't chase the game. So he’s had a tendency recently to chase the game a little bit and he just needs to relax and just play. Everyone’s going to make mistakes, you can’t fix it all in one shift.”


PLAY OF THE GAME




LOOKING AHEAD


The B’s will close out their latest slate of three games in four days with a road matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday evening. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m. The matchup will definitely have a New England vibe, with Carolina set to don Whalers throwback sweaters for the matchup. Expect plenty of Brass Bonanza in this one. 

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