BSJ Game Report: Bruins 2, Flyers 0 - Rask records 50th shutout as B’s hold off Philly

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

Box Score

HEADLINES

Rask locks things down: Things weren’t exactly looking all that good for the Bruins entering Tuesday’s matchup against the hottest team in the NHL. Already tasked with stopping a Flyers team that had averaged 4.3 goals per game during its league-best nine-game winning streak, the Bruins also had to soldier on without a D pairing that had logged over 600 minutes of 5v5 ice time in Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo — with both skaters ruled out due to upper-body injuries.

But even against a depleted blue line, the Flyers were unable to contend with Tuukka Rask — who stopped all 36 shots that came his way in what was ultimately a 2-0 victory for the Bruins. 

With the win, the Bruins improve to 44-14-12 on the season and extend their lead in the Atlantic Division back up to eight points after Tampa Bay fell to Toronto on Tuesday. Boston is the first team in the NHL to reach 100 points this season — a feat that the B’s have reached in all three of Bruce Cassidy’s full seasons as the club’s head coach. 

Rask was stellar against the Flyers on his 33rd birthday, holding off a Flyers team that finished the night with an expected goals rate of 2.14.

Rask was aided by a PK unit that went a perfect 3-for-3 on the night, while Matt Grzelcyk and Patrice Bergeron supplied the scoring for the visitors. But on a night in which the Bruins appeared to be behind the eight ball — Rask’s play helped the B’s steal two points from a red-hot Flyers crew. 

Cassidy shuffles up lineup again: While injuries to both Carlo and Krug forced Boston to re-tool its D corps for Tuesday’s matchup, Cassidy also opted to put his top-three forward lines in a blender midway through the contest.

Despite sticking with the combination of Nick Ritchie — David Krejci — Ondrej Kase for a significant stretch since the B’s acquired both wingers, Cassidy finally opted to break up that unit against Philly, rolling out these groupings: 

Marchand-Bergeron-Kase
Kuraly-Krejci-Pastrnak
Ritchie-Coyle-DeBrusk

A bit unorthodox, but the mid-game switch did seem to give Boston’s forwards a shot in the arm down the stretch — with the 63-37-28 trio combining for a goal at 14:40 in the third period. It remains to be seen if Cassidy will actually start a contest with these new-look lines going forward, but a few of those groupings — namely the Kuraly-Krejci-Pastrnak line — definitely raised a few eyebrows in limited action.

FOUR UP

Tuukka Rask: Rask was far and away the best player on the ice for the Bruins on Tuesday, especially over the first two periods of play — in which the Flyers held a 24-14 edge in shots on goal. In a strong season that could secure Rask’s second Vezina Trophy of his career, this might have been his best outing to date. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1237547221370826752

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1237520027034632192

Matt Grzelcyk: With Krug out of the lineup, Grzelcyk was handed plenty of additional minutes on the power play (3:09 TOI) on Tuesday night and impressed — scoring his fourth goal of the season off a bullet from the high slot. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1237537484642209793

Charlie Coyle: Even if he finished without a point, the B’s third-line center managed to put together a pretty complete game — leading all Bruins forwards in ice time (20:47) for the fifth straight game. Along with some impressive PK shifts that helped slow down a Philly team that has cashed in on 32.0% of its power plays during its nine-game win streak, Coyle also broke up a shorthanded 2-on-1 chance for Philly by diving to break up Scott Laughton’s feed. Grzelcyk scored a little over a minute later to swing the momentum back in Boston’s favor. 

Patrice Bergeron: Don’t look now, but Bergeron is just one goal away from tying his previous career high of 32 — set both in 2015-16 and 2018-19. With 12 games remaining this season, seems like a good shot that Bergeron surpasses that mark. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1237548239290679296

TWO DOWN

Gritty: Low blow, man:

https://twitter.com/GrittyNHL/status/1237511697880866816

Ondrej Kase: He was on the ice for Bergeron's tally, but it was a quiet night for Kase — who failed to land a shot on goal in 15:27 of ice time, including 2:29 on the power play.

PLAY OF THE GAME

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1237538190845607937

PARTING THOUGHTS

Is this going to become a recurring trend now? 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1237539015147937792

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will remain on the road for an Atlantic-Division matchup on Friday, with the B’s set to battle the Sabres up in Buffalo on Friday night. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.