BSJ Game Report: Bruins 3, Senators 2 (OT) - Pastrnak’s overtime blast bails Boston out

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-2 overtime win over the Senators, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

Take the points and move on: Saturday had all the makings of a much-needed bounceback game for the Bruins.

Be it the Bruins’ dreadful showing on Thursday night against the middling Islanders or Bruce Cassidy calling out his club after morning skate for their lack of snarl, the ingredients were there for Boston to come put and deliver a knockout punch early against the Sens. 

“We have a lot of nice guys on our team,” Cassidy said. “We need to be more like pricks, to be honest with you.”

Did the Bruins follow through on Cassidy’s challenge? Well, they got into a few more scrums, at least. And Charlie McAvoy (per usual) delivered a crushing hit in the early going of the contest.

But a true bounce-back performance? Well, you’ll take the two points every day. But this was another very sloppy performance from a Bruins team that really needs to bury opponents like Ottawa. 

David Pastrnak’s OT blast allowed Boston to escape Canadian Tire Centre with two points, but be it some additional D-zone lapses or more uneven scoring outputs, this B’s team still has plenty to work on moving forward.

Pastrnak breaks through

No Bruin has been fighting the puck more than Pastrnak during this road trip. Not only has his scoring dried up, but his play away from the puck has also suffered, leading to a number of Grade-A chances down the other end of the ice.

And while Saturday’s road game featured a few more miscues by Pastrnak, he at least managed to break through on the scoresheet by way of his OT winner. Hopefully this is the start of another scorching scoring stretch for Pastrnak, because his team could certainly use it.

Forbort sits, but B’s blue-line issues remain

Derek Forbort might have been brought in during the offseason as a potential PK ace and a shutdown blueliner with some heft, but he didn’t provide much of it during Thursday’s loss to the Islanders.

Granted, Forbort was FAR from the lone culprit in Thursday’s letdown showing, but the veteran blueliner was the one that was the odd man out during Saturday’s contest. While Forbort should benefit from the message sent of watching Saturday’s game from the press box, the Bruins are going to need more players than Forbort to tighten their game up — because that third pairing of Mike Reilly and Connor Clifton didn’t inspire much confidence at all during their reps together. 

TWO UP

Jake DeBrusk: For the first time since Feb. 1, the Bruins finally scored some goals outside of the first period of play, with DeBrusk batting a puck out of the air and past Anton Forsberg to give Boston a lead in the second. Give credit to Jack Studnicka for winning a puck battle along the boards and feeding the biscuit into Grade-A ice for DeBrusk. DeBrusk was strong most of the night, including a fantastic shift at the end of regulation where he nearly orchestrated a Curtis Lazar game-winner. 

Charlie McAvoy: Surprise, surprise. With the Bruins in need of a physical spark to set the tone early, McAvoy once again provided it by way of a crushing hit on Connor Brown in the opening frame. Another strong showing from McAvoy — just wish more B’s blueliners were following his lead on a nightly basis.

ONE MEH

David Pastrnak: Yes, he buried the game-winner in overtime, but Pastrnak was still plagued by some turnovers and struggles in the D-zone, including being behind on the play when Nick Holden secured the equalizer at 16:06 in the third. 

TWO DOWN

Connor Clifton: Sure, Forbort might have been the lone defenseman to get singled out with a scratch on Saturday. The only issue is that the return of Connor Clifton to the lineup proved costly once again, with the blueliner all over the D-zone — including on an ugly stretch in which Tim Stutzle eventually buried a rebound chance at 6:45 in the second.

D-zone coverage: We’re casting a pretty wide net with this one, and we just took note of Clifton’s struggles above. But man, Boston’s D-zone coverage for most of the night was downright dreadful. Far too much standing around, which allowed a bad Ottawa team to look like offensive dynamos far too often. Pull that on Monday against the Avs and things are going to be very ugly.

PLAY OF THE GAME

 QUOTE OF NOTE

"I think he needed that, to be honest with you." - Bruce Cassidy on David Pastrnak’s OT goal.

LOOSE PUCKS 

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will now return home for one game, with the B’s set to host the Colorado Avalanche on Monday afternoon. Puck drop is set for 1 p.m.