BOX SCORE
Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 2-1 overtime win over the Avalanche in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis…
HEADLINES
Bruins snap losing streak to Avs, stay afloat: The last time the Bruins beat the Avalanche in the friendly confines of TD Garden ... well, the rink was actually called the FleetCenter, and both “Titanic” and “Good Will Hunting” were still in theaters. It wasn’t easy — with both the B’s and Avs running on fumes for most of the afternoon after a busy week of action — but Boston did enough to earn two points for the second night in a row, as Brad Marchand lit the lamp at 4:03 into overtime to close out a 2-1 win. With the victory, Boston has now clinched a point in seven straight games, and snapped an 0-11-1 losing skid to Colorado at the Garden — with the B’s last home win against the club coming back on March 30, 1998.
Of course, this seven-game point streak has left a bit to be desired — considering Boston has come up short in games against teams currently outside of the playoff picture in the Rangers and Flyers — but the B’s are still keeping afloat in the Atlantic Division, while taking advantage of this homestand with a 10-day road trip coming up.
Charlie McAvoy is on a roll:
Don’t look now, but it looks like Charlie McAvoy is finally looking like he’s back up to speed — because the 21-year-old defenseman was downright dominant on Sunday.
A day removed from stating that he
after a couple of months sidetracked by injury, McAvoy imposed his will from the blue line against the Avalanche, logging a team-high 25:34 TOI with a 55 CF% during 19:13 of 5v5 play.
In particular, McAvoy excelled against his main matchup of the night in the Avs’ potent top line of N
athan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen
and
Gabriel Landeskog —
as Boston managed to outshoot the trio, 9-7, during the over 11 minutes of 5v5 play in which that line and McAvoy were out at the same time.
Boston’s crop of sophomore skaters have largely disappointed this season, but it looks like McAvoy is rounding back into form just in time for the stretch run.”
FOUR UP
Penalty kill:
With guys like MacKinnon, Rantanen and Landeskog in tow, the Avalanche are no joke on the power play, with the club cashing in on 23.9 percent of their chances this year (sixth in NHL). While MacKinnon scored just after one B’s penalty expired, Boston kept Colorado in check for most of the night, killing off all four penalties that came their way. Good stuff as always from
Patrice Bergeron
and Marchand, who negated a PK just 14 seconds into a penalty by charging down the ice and drawing a hold on
Tyson Barrie.
Jaroslav Halak:
Halak posted his first win since Jan. 3 — stopping 35 of the 36 shots that came his way. Even if we were to cut out the heavy shot totals, Halak would still earn a plus for this game just for his fantastic stop on a MacKinnon breakaway during a B’s power play.
Charlie McAvoy:
See above — dominant showing from a young defensemen who is starting to string together a number of great outings in a row.
John Moore:
Moore has been the odd man out of Boston’s rotation when all of the B’s defensemen are healthy, but he’s made the most out of his opportunity with
Matt Grzelcyk
out due to injury. Moore tallied his third goal of the season at 3:40 in the second stanza, while later beating
Semyon Varlamov
off of a bizarre sequence later that was quickly called back. (More on that later).
ONE DOWN
Power play:
Boston’s PK might have excelled, but the B’s power play laid an egg against the 27th ranked penalty kill in the league — going 0-for-5 on the night. Along with a 5-on-3 sequence that failed to generate much of anything in the second frame, Boston was unable to knock one home after
Torey Krug
drew a hold with just over two minutes left in regulation.
PLAY OF THE GAME:
This had “shorthanded goal” written all over it. Clutch stop by Halak to turn aside on the deadliest forwards in open ice in MacKinnon.
PARTING THOUGHT
Haven’t seen anything quite like this before. The puck actually hit off the glass inside the Bruins bench and was out of play, so John Moore’s bank attempt didn’t count, but what a bizarre sequence.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins will close out their three-game homestand with a matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. The Hawks’ dynasty appears to be firmly in the rearview mirror, as Chicago currently sits outside of the playoff picture in the Western Conference with a 22-24-9 record.
