BSJ Game Report: Bruins 2, Jets 1 - Special teams shine as B’s land knockout punch

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 2-1 win over the Jets in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

Fight Night in Canada: Think the Bruins were rearing to go after an extended break? Or maybe they were just ticked that their first game back from the sunny beaches of the Caribbean had to be up in cheery ol’ Winnipeg. Whatever the reason, Boston’s first game back from the bye week looked more like a brouhaha from the ‘70s than a ho-hum regular-season tilt in 2020. In a game capped off with 74 penalty minutes, six fighting majors and a pair of misconducts, special teams ultimately proved to be the difference-maker on Friday — as Boston struck twice on the power play and negated six penalties en route to a 2-1 victory over the Jets. 

Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk both lit the lamp for the Bruins, who trailed for an extended stretch of the first period after Patrik Laine beat Tuukka Rask at 6:06 in the first. 

Things turned sour near the midway point of the opening frame after Charlie McAvoy dropped Mark Schiefele with a heavy, clean hit. Even if it was well within the rulebook, Neal Pionk took exception to McAvoy’s heavy check — starting the hostilities after getting into a scrap with the B’s blueliner. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1223422329340022784

It was not the only time that the Jets took exception to a perfectly legal hit delivered by the B’s — as Luca Sbisa went after Karson Kuhlman following this check against Mathieu Perreault. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1223437043461689344

Add in a pair of bouts between Brad Marchand/Nikolaj Ehlers and Brandon Carlo/Gabriel Bourque, and it didn’t take very long for things to go off the rails. 

But with Rask standing tall in net (37 saves on 38 shots) and Boston’s PK closing out the night with a perfect 6-for-6 showing, Boston ultimately had the last laugh in what was its 30th win of the season. 

THREE UP

Penalty kill: Take your pick when it comes to praising the various contributors on a stout PK unit that went a perfect 6-for-6 on Friday. Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy led the way with an absurd 6:58 and 5:49 of shorthanded TOI, while Bergeron logged 4:25 during his various PK shifts. In total, eight players on Boston’s roster logged at least 2:00 of shorthanded TOI in the win, with Jeremy Lauzon stepping up with 4:21 SH TOI — including a fantastic defensive stop that robbed Schiefele in the third period. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1223443246900293634

Tuukka Rask: Rask didn’t look rusty at all in his first game since way back on Jan. 14 — as the B’s netminder was Boston’s top penalty killer thanks to a 37-save effort. Rask was a perfect 8-for-8 on saves during 8:12 of 5v4 TOI for Winnipeg, while also turning aside all five high-danger scoring chances that the Jets generated in front of him. 

Power Play: After getting stuck in an 0-for-15 slump in the four games leading up to the break, the Bruins’ power play cashed in twice on Friday — with both Bergeron and DeBrusk burying goals past Laurent Brossoit. DeBrusk, who tallied the eventual game-winner at 3:07 in the third, is now up to five goals and 10 points in his last nine games. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1223443872258445312

TWO DOWN

Retaliating after clean hits: Maybe it’s just the nature of today’s NHL in which heavy, clean hits are now grounds for beating the bag out of an opposing skater, but as seen above — there was no reason for both McAvoy or Kuhlman to get thrown in the midst of some nasty scraps off of perfectly legal hits. One of these days, a player is going to get hurt in one of these bouts — all because they dropped a player while playing well within the rules. 

Fourth Line: While the trio of Joakim Nordstrom, Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner all contributed on Boston’s PK, their production during 5v5 play was lacking — with Boston outshot, 7-1, during the 5:42 of 5v5 TOI they logged together. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

Good lord, Charlie McAvoy.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1223421180201394176

PARTING THOUGHTS

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1223431489901223943

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will close out this back-to-back slate on Saturday, with the B’s set to take on the Wild at the Xcel Energy Center. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m.