BSJ Game Report: Bruins 2, Hurricanes 0 - Halak posts shutout, B’s rally late to secure 8th straight win

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 2-0 win over the Hurricanes in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

TWO THINGS TO KNOW

In 500th career game, Halak delivers: For just the fifth time in franchise history, the Bruins have reached the 20-win threshold in 28 or fewer games, with Boston’s 2-0 victory over the Hurricanes on Tuesday night securing the club’s eighth consecutive win and extending its point streak to 16 games at the friendly confines of TD Garden this year (12-0-4). Boston once again had a flair for the dramatics in its latest tilt, with a pair of goals from Charlie Coyle and David Krejci standing as the only tallies of the night for either side — both of which came in the final five minutes of regulation. 

But for the first 55 minutes of game action, the Bruins failed to generate much in terms of sustained offensive pressure against James Reimer,  including just two high-danger scoring chances during 5v5 play over the first two periods. With Boston’s offense stuck in the mud, the onus fell on Jaroslav Halak — appearing in his 500th career game — to keep things close against the ‘Canes. As has been the case for most of his tenure with the B’s, Halak was up to the task, posting the 49th shutout of his career off of a 24-save effort. Halak, who turned aside all four high-danger shots he faced in the victory, continues to give Boston one of the best 1-2 punches between the pipes, with the netminder now 7-1-3 on the season with a .934 save percentage. Don’t think it’d be an exaggeration to tab the veteran goalie as Don Sweeney’s top free-agent move since taking the reins of the organization. 

Cassidy gets creative up front: The Bruins have managed to stay afloat during Patrice Bergeron’s extended absence due to injury, posting a perfect 5-0 record during this most recent stretch without their top-line center. 

For the most part, the Bruins’ top-six unit has continued to be very lethal with No. 37 out of commission — especially with Bruce Cassidy having the luxury of keeping two of Boston’s three-headed monster up front intact in Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. 

But on Tuesday, Cassidy opted to completely juggle his top forward lines. While Pastrnak has occasionally been slotted down into the second line when Boston has needed a fresh look, Cassidy stuck with this assortment for most of the night against Carolina.



DeBrusk-Krejci-Pastrnak - 13:07 of 5v5 TOI together
Heinen-Coyle-Marchand - 11:10 of 5v5 TOI together

Cassidy’s reshuffling eventually did pay off, as the Coyle line cashed in with the opening goal after Heinen won a puck battle and fed the biscuit up the ice — setting up a sequence that ended with Coyle tapping one past Reimer at 15:55. 

Just 1:08 later, Krejci closed out the scoring with his new-look line, deflecting a Charlie McAvoy blast into the Hurricanes’ net in what stood as his 200th career goal. Tuesday’s lineup might have been just a one-game switcheroo, but Cassidy certainly pushed the right buttons to help Boston extend its winning streak once again. 

FOUR UP

Jaroslav Halak: What better way for Halak to close out his 500th career game than with a shutout, right?  “In my opinion, he’s a No. 1 goalie in this league,” Cassidy said of Halak postgame. Can’t say we disagree. 

Charlie Coyle: It’s fitting that Coyle was the one that secured the game-winning goal on Tuesday, as he was one of the few consistent offensive options for Boston on a night with plenty of lulls down the Hurricanes’ side of the ice. In his first 5:22 of ice time, Coyle had already landed four shots on goal against Reimer. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1202052245694668800

David Krejci: Cassidy was a bit surprised that it’s taken Krejci this long to reach 200 career goals, standing as the 19th Bruin in franchise history to hit that mark. Of course, the playmaking pivot more often relies on assists to rack up his point totals, with the 33-year-old veteran now up to 664 points in 872 career games. 

Danton Heinen: It was an under-the-radar play, but Heinen forcing a turnover against Jake Gardiner and sending the puck up the ice gave Boston the window it needed to finally strike in the O-zone. Heinen finished with 16:44 of ice time in the victory. 

TWO DOWN

Jake Gardiner: TD Garden continues to be a house of horrors for the Hurricanes defenseman. After posting a collective minus-8 rating in his last two Game 7 matchups against the Bruins while playing for the Maple Leafs, Gardiner once again struggled on Tuesday night — as he was the one that lost a puck battle to Heinen near the ‘Canes’ zone, starting the sequence that led to Boston’s first tally. 

David Pastrnak: He secured a secondary assist on Krejci’s goal, but the winger was often on the ice for a number of quality chances against. Carolina generated four high-danger scoring chances during his 16:40 of 5v5 ice time, with Boston only generating one.

PLAY OF THE GAME

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1202053031367458818

PARTING THOUGHT

Uhhhhhh…. Well, at least the Bruins finally benefitted from a video review this season. This goal from Jaccob Slavin was overturned very quickly.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1202040666970300416

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will continue their five-game homestand on Thursday night, with Boston set to host the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago, in its current state, is a far cry from the franchise that hoisted the Stanley Cup three times in the past decade, with the Hawks currently sitting at the bottom of the Central Division.