Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-2 2OT loss against the Blue Jackets in Game 2, with BSJ insight and analysis:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
B’s come out swinging: After a flat showing for most of the first two periods of play on Thursday night, most were expecting the Blue Jackets to come out and set a physical tone right at puck drop on Saturday, with bruisers like Josh Anderson, Boone Jenner and others looking to get their licks in early against a Bruins club that dominated them for most of Game 1. However, in an opening stanza that featured a combined 36 hits, it was Boston that landed most of the punches — starting when Zdeno Chara leveled Riley Nash with a thunderous, open-ice hit in the first minutes of play.
While Nash was going to be in Boston’s crosshairs after forcing David Krejci out of Game 1 due to a hit, Boston made things uncomfortable for the Jackets early and often — with Sean Kuraly and Connor Clifton also earning their spots on the highlight reel thanks to some heavy checks.
While the Blue Jackets have much more snarl than, say, the Maple Leafs, the Bruins made a statement in the first period by punching right back at the visitors. If Columbus wants to up the physicality, the Bruins are more than comfortable playing that game.
Blue Jackets hang around — thanks to Boston:
Matt Grzelcyk
and
David Pastrnak
might have given the Bruins a one-goal cushion early on in the second period, but things then went downhill in short order. Take your pick — poor passing, costly turnovers, a stagnant power play – it was all there in a brutal 3-2 2OT loss.
While Boston’s offense sputtered for most of the night (15 combined SOG in the second and third period), tallies down the other end of the ice were also self-inflicted — with both of
Artemi Panarin’s
goals coming off of a failed clear attempt and a backhand feed heading into no-man’s land that was picked off in slot.
Stuck in a 2-2 deadlock since 8:01 in the middle stanza, Boston squandered the scarce scoring chances that they were able to generate in the O-zone, as the club only managed to land two shots on goal in what was a whopping 6:22 of 5v4 play. And even when the puck found itself in Grade-A areas, Boston failed to test Sergei Bobrovsky — with
Jake DeBrusk
at one point passing up a shot with the puck just five feet out of the blue paint.
Not gonna win most games when you play sloppy for over 40 minutes of regulation.
B’s only have to blame themselves
While Bobrovsky
made some unbelievable saves in overtime to deny Boston, the B’s had multiple chances to deliver a knockout punch to the Blue Jackets earlier in the game — just as they did in Game 1. They were lucky to escape Thursday with a win given how they let Columbus hang around all night. The Bruins weren’t so fortunate Saturday, especially with so many self-inflicted mistakes.
Already gassed against a Blue Jackets team that had a nine-day layoff, it’s only going to get tougher from here on out for Boston in this series, with
Matt Duchene’s
2OT winner standing as the just latest sign that this could be a grueling, dragged-out battle.
THREE UP
Matt Grzelcyk:
While Boston’s power play has struggled for most of this series against a stingy Columbus penalty kill, Grzelcyk and the B’s second PP unit made the most of the ice granted to them. Grzelcyk has been productive from the blue line so far this postseason, with the shifty defenseman generating five points (1 goal, 4 assists) over nine games played.
Tuukka Rask:
This game very well could have ended much earlier in the first overtime period, with the Blue Jackets skating in against Rask on a 2-on-1 rush. Despite being pulled out of the net, Rask kept Boston in it — denying
Nick Foligno
with a great stop. Rask was strong in goal once again, stopping 38 shots on the night.
Charlie Coyle:
Just 58 seconds after Panarin tied things up in the middle stanza, Coyle took matters into his own hands — driving to the Blue Jackets’ net, fighting off Panarin and other skaters before completing a wraparound attempt that led to another goal on the board. While Pastrnak was credited for the goal after the puck deflected off of his skate blade, Coyle was a monster on the whole sequence.
FOUR DOWN
Charlie Coyle:
Can a player somehow manage to land on both “three up” and “three down”? We’re going for it. While Coyle has been the Bruins’ best forward all postseason, this stands as the second straight game in which a costly turnover in the D zone has directly led to a Blue Jackets goal. Brutal decision here and Panarin made the Bruins pay.
Power Play:
While Grzelcyk’s blast that sailed past Bobrovsky
was on the power play, Boston’s big guns on the man advantage struggled all night. In 6:22 of power-play TOI, Boston only managed to land two shots on goal — including zero on a stretch that nearly lasted three minutes after Anderson was sent away for a double-minor due to a high stick.
Jake DeBrusk:
You
gotta
shoot the puck here. On a night in which quality looks in the O-zone were hard to come by, this stings.
David Pastrnak:
He might have deflected a puck off his skate and past Bobrovsky for his third goal of the postseason, but Pastrnak once again failed to look like his regular, dynamic self. Knocked for two giveaways on the night, Pastrnak also struggled when reunited with
Patrice Bergeron
and
Brad Marchand –
as the trio only generated a 16.67 CF% in just 3:31 of 5v5 TOI before
Bruce Cassidy
broke them up once again.
PLAY OF THE GAME
A pair of great stops by Rask and Bobrovsky in overtime:
PARTING THOUGHT
Classy tribute for “Hondo” ahead of puck drop:
LOOKING AHEAD
The series will now shift over to Columbus, with Game 3 slated for Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
