Boston Bruins 3 Stars of the Week
By Joe Kelly
Jan 29, 2015; Uniondale, NY, USA; Boston Bruins right wing Reilly Smith (18) celebrates his goal against the New York Islanders with Boston Bruins center David Krejci (46) and Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug (47) and Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic (17) in front of New York Islanders center Anders Lee (27) during the first period at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins had an uneventful seven days, while New England was being hammered with three feet of snow in some areas, the Black and Gold enjoyed some much needed time off. Every player with the exception of Patrice Bergeron saw a seven day vacation, while the NHL’s best took part in the all-for-fun All Star Game festivities. The Spoked B returned to action Thursday night in Nassau Arena to take on the impressive New York Islanders. Luckily for this writer, there were many positive in this one game of the week, making it easy to name three stars.
Third Star- Tuukka Rask
For the second straight week Tuukka Rask finds himself as one of the three stars of the week. He recorded 43 saves, and of not for some ridiculous offensive plays by the Islanders, could have seen his third shutout of the season. Tuukka has been playing at the level that many expected him to early in the season, if he continues to impress and the Bruins continue to stay hot, a playoff push for the division lead could be in the works.
Second Star- Claude Julien
Julien shuffled the top three lines this week. Reilly Smith was not producing in his normal slot with Bergeron and Marchand, so he was moved to the first line with Krejci and Lucic. The chemistry was instant as the line was on the ice for three goals. This wasn’t the only new combination that saw success, the red-hot Loui Eriksson was moved to fill in Smith’s role in the Bergeron line. While this line didn’t score their chemistry was evident and should be expected to succeed in upcoming games. Rookie David Patrnak was then moved to the third line with Carl Soderberg and Chris Kelly. This line didn’t do much offensively speaking, but time will tell how this new combination will play out.
First Star- Reilly Smith
Coming into Thursday night’s game Smith was in the midst of a month-long scoring drought. Apparently some time off was all the 23-year-old needed as he put up a three point night, netting one and assisting two. Smith has proven to be a streaky player, he scores in bunches or doesn’t score at all. He has the potential to be a great young player. Smith is an exceptional positional player and puck mover but struggles to finish plays. His potential hot-streak could be coming at the right time as the Big, Bad Bruins look to have fully come out of hibernation in search of another division title.