BSJ Playoffs Report: Bruins 3, Blue Jackets 2 (OT) - Coyle provides heroics in OT as B’s rally back taken at TD Garden (2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs)

(Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs

BSJ Playoffs Report: Bruins 3, Blue Jackets 2 (OT) - Coyle provides heroics in OT as B’s rally back

By Conor Ryan

Apr 26, 2019 • 12:29 am

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Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-2 OT win over the Blue Jackets in Game 1, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

B’s come out swinging: There was a lot said going into this second-round matchup about rest vs. rust— with the Bruins and Blue Jackets standing on two drastically different ends of the spectrum. While Boston only had one off day between their Game 7 triumph against Toronto and Game 1 against Columbus, the Blue Jackets haven’t played since April 16, forced to bide their time after sweeping the Lightning in shocking fashion. Fair to say, it looks as though the absence of any sort of reprieve did the Bruins some good — as Boston was flying out of the gate on Thursday night. To best put the opening 20 minutes in perspective? The Bruins managed to land a pair of shots on goal in 1:31 of shorthanded TOI, including an opening tally from Noel Acciari at 10:34. The Blue Jackets only managed to land two shots against Tuukka Rask with 3:49 left in the first stanza. While Columbus struggled to get its legs going following such an extended break from game action, Boston peppered Sergei Bobrovsky — closing out the period with an absurd 26-7 edge in shot attempts and eight high-danger scoring chances. It was a fantastic response by the Bruins coming off of a grueling seven-game series with Toronto, but entering the first intermission with just a one-goal lead felt like a missed opportunity.

Sure enough….: Boston’s inability to land a knockout punch came back to haunt it — as most expected. Clinging to a one-goal lead for most of the night, the B’s found itself behind the eight ball in short order thanks to a couple of bodies in front. What seemed to be a low-danger shot from Seth Jones made its way past Rask thanks to a deflection in front by Riley Nash and Brandon Dubinsky, tying things up at 7:39 in the third. Just 13 seconds later, Columbus had the lead, as Pierre-Luc Dubois tipped home a blast from Artemi Panarin to put the visitors in front. All it takes is a couple of weird bounces to change the complexion of an entire series — and the Bruins paid for it by not stomping on Columbus when they had the chance.

Coyle saves the day: Thankfully for the Bruins, Charlie Coyle was there to save their skin, tying things up with under five minutes remaining in regulation to force the extra stanza. After cashing in on a slick feed from Marcus Johansson in the closing minutes of the third period, Boston’s new-look third line was at it again, as Coyle tapped another pass from Johansson past Bobrovsky at 5:15 in OT to close out the 3-2 victory.

Along with the obvious win, Coyle saved the B’s from some serious repercussions, as a loss like this — given the fact that Boston held a plus-29 edge in shot attempts on the night and caught a sluggish Jackets team on its heels — could have been a backbreaker.




THREE UP


Charlie Coyle: Don Sweeney
has to be smirking over that sequence at 15:25 in the third, as Coyle 
fired home a bullet off of a slick backhand pass from Johansson to tie things up and force overtime. Add in his OT 
game-winner, and Coyle has now tallied five goals in his first eight playoff outings with his hometown club.




Noel Acciari:
Once again, it was the B’s fourth line that opened the scoring at TD Garden, as Acciari snapped one past Bobrovsky on a shorthanded rush into the Jackets’ zone at 10:34 in the first. Stick tap to
Charlie McAvoy
on the play, as his poke check on Dubois gave Acciari nothing but open ice in front of him.




Penalty kill:
While the Blue Jackets managed to get on the board off of deflections in front during 5v5 play, a Columbus power play that scored on 50 percent of its opportunities against Tampa Bay didn’t get much luck against Boston’s PK — as the B’s shut the door on all four of the Jackets’ power plays, with Columbus only able to land three shots on goal during that stretch. As expected,
Zdeno Chara
and
Brandon Carlo
(4:47 SH TOI and 4:44 SH TOI, respectively) were huge down the stretch.


TWO DOWN


David Krejci:
This is much more of a “down” based on the potential consequences, rather than Krejci’s play, but the B’s have to be concerned after Krejci exited the game in the third period and did not return after taking a hit from Nash.




“I have not talked to him,”
Bruce Cassidy
said of Krejci. “He didn’t finish the game. We saw that. I would rule him as day-to-day for now. First thing someone said was, 'Well is he in protocol?' No, it’s not a concussion. He got hit. He left the game, and by the time he was available to come back, the game was over, so we’ll see how he is in the morning. Hopefully, have an update for you then if it’s anything more serious than day-to-day.”


David Pastrnak:
Something is clearly not right for Pastrnak, who whiffed on a number of quality looks in the Blue Jackets’ zone for most of the game. The winger was also out for a goal against — while Columbus actually held a 7-5 edge in scoring chances during the 12:46 of 5v5 TOI in which No. 88 was out there.


PLAY OF THE GAME






PARTING THOUGHT


The first big hit of the series, delivered by …
Torey Krug
?




LOOKING AHEAD


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