BSJ Game Report: Bruins 2, Blackhawks 1 (OT) - McAvoy’s OT winner extends B’s win streak to 5 games

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

Box Score

HEADLINES

McAvoy gets off the schneid: Charlie McAvoy sure picked a good time to tally his first goal of the season — as the defenseman’s OT winner clinched a 2-1 win for the Bruins against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. McAvoy, who hasn’t scored since Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final back on May 27, 2019, ended things just 1:19 into overtime at the United Center — slipping a puck past Robin Lehner off of a slick feed from Jake DeBrusk. Sean Kuraly also scored for the Bruins, who improve to 33-10-12 on the year and have now won five games in a row. Jaroslav Halak finished with 21 saves on the night. As has primarily been the case since the Bruins have returned from the All-Star break, the Bruins dominated play for most of Wednesday’s contest — outshooting Chicago, 40-22 on the night. Over Boston’s last eight periods of play, the club has generated an impressive 104-62 edge in shots on goal against the competition. 

Bruins saved by late call: Even if it took an extra couple of minutes to secure two points in this one, the Bruins have to be thanking the officials that this game even carried over into overtime. 

While Boston was given a prime chance to end things late in the third thanks to a power-play bid, that 5v4 sequence was negated at 18:55 after Torey Krug tripped up Olli Maatta. 

Just seconds after a Maatta sent the puck along the boards to Drake Caggiula, the Blackhawks appeared to take the lead in dramatic fashion — with Caggiula snapping a puck past Halak in the final minute of play. But the goal was immediately waved off, as it appeared as though Maatta was guilty of a hand pass when he sent the puck up to Caggiula. 

https://twitter.com/BruinsCLNS/status/1225262858482700290

It made for an awfully confusing couple of minutes, especially for the United Center crowd — given that no explanation was given from the on-ice officials in the immediate aftermath. While it does appear to be the right call from the officials, Jonathan Toews seemed to disagree when asked postgame. 

https://twitter.com/NBCSBlackhawks/status/1225267215102025728

FOUR UP

Charlie McAvoy: Who else was it going to be? Aside from his game-winner in OT, McAvoy was once again a force down both ends of the ice, with Boston holding a 24-7 edge in shot attempts and a 15-4 advantage in shots on goal during his 17:37 of 5v5 TOI. 

Sean Kuraly: After a strong showing on Tuesday, Kuraly has continued to stand out since getting scratched on Saturday night in Minnesota. Along with his tally at 12:49 in the second period, Kuraly generated plenty of other high-danger shots from Grade-A areas of the ice. He hasn’t reinvented his game since getting bumped up to the wing on Charlie Coyle’s line, but his willingness to scrap down low has led to plenty of success for the energetic winger. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1225246442081726464

Jaroslav Halak: Yes, the Bruins held a commanding edge in shots on goal for most of the night, but Chicago made the most of their limited chances — with the Blackhawks still managing to generate 13 high-danger scoring chances. But aside from Alex DeBrincat’s power-play tally at 6:50 in the second, Halak turned aside every other high-danger chance that came his way. 

Coyle Line: Kuraly might have been singled out for his efforts down low, but this new third line as a whole has been an absolute buzzsaw in the last two games. As the fantastic @Bruins_Stats noted postgame on Twitter, good things continue to happen when Coyle and Anders Bjork log shifts together. 

https://twitter.com/bruins_stats/status/1225278623533367296

ONE DOWN

Brad Marchand: Marchand was far too cute on Boston’s first PK sequence of the night, trying to clear a puck out of Boston’s zone by way of a nifty self pass off the boards. It didn’t work, as Patrick Kane corralled the biscuit and fired in a shot that led to DeBrincat’s tally just seconds later. Don’t need an unnecessary play like this, especially against the 29th-ranked power play in the NHL. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

Who else?

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1225264553438609408

PARTING THOUGHT

Give him a call, Bill.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1225268962298138624

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will have a couple of days off before starting up — you guessed it — another back-to-back stretch over the weekend, starting with a home matchup against the Coyotes on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.