Boston Bruins: Ryan Spooner Leads Team To Victory
Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Boston Bruins: Ryan Spooner Leads Team To Victory With Two Goals Against The Florida Panthers
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The Boston Bruins are right in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference playoff race. After another impressive performance by the Bruins, they improved to 16-10-4 on the season which puts them tied with the Ottawa Senators with 35 points on the season. The Bruins are currently sitting in third place in the Atlantic Division, however the Senators do have a game against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night which could result in them reclaiming the third spot. After an abysmal start to the season with three straight home losses, the Bruins struggled to assert any form of consistency for much of the first quarter of the season. Things have seemingly changed, however, as the Bruins are currently 8-1-2 in their last 11 games. The Bruins have outscored their opponents 33-22 in their last 11 games, which has included two Tuukka Rask shutouts. The Bruins have killed off 37 of their last 39 which is equal to a 94.8% penalty kill percentage over the course of those 11 games.
After entering Saturday’s Matinee game with only one goal in his previous 13 games, Ryan Spooner gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead with his two goals through the first two periods of play against the Florida Panthers including the eventual game winner. Spooner’s first goal came at the 11:35 mark of the first period when he displayed impressive hand-eye coordination when he leaped into the air and batted a puck past Roberto Luongo and into the Panthers’ net.
Spooner’s second goal came on the Bruins’ first power play opportunity with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci chipping in with assists. Spooner has been a producing points at a decent pace so far this season and has seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in 28 games this season. He has been an anchor on the Bruins’ first power play unit and has done a good job at cycling the puck and finding open passing lanes which has opened up opportunities for the Bruins to score timely goals.
Spooner fires in his second on the power play for the eventual game-winner--WATCH:https://t.co/RlAZOuyye8
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 12, 2015
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The Bruins seemingly dominated play from the beginning to the end of the game, although they ended the game being out-shot by the Florida Panthers 27-24. Head coach Claude Julien rolled all four lines consistently throughout the game which has always been Boston’s formula for success prior to the 2014-15 season. If the Bruins can continue to roll out their four lines as effectively as they have as of late, then the recent hot streak of the Bruins has the potential to be more of the norm than the exception to the rule.Tuukka Rask has been a very large part of the Bruins play as of late with his five straight appearances in which he allowed two goals or less, including his play in relief of Jonas Gustavsson against the Calgary Flames. With the Bruins scoring upwards of three goals a game and Tuukka Rask playing as hot as he has been lately, the Bruins have the ability to make a play for the top position in the Atlantic Division.
The Bruins will look to stay hot on Monday when they take on the surging Edmonton Oilers who are currently riding a five-game win streak of their own. The last time these two teams met was at the start of the Bruins’ recent Western Canadian road trip and it resulted in a shootout loss for Boston. The Bruins have the potential to avenge that loss and continue rising in the Eastern Conference standings.
Follow Brandon Share-Cohen on Twitter @BShareCohen to discuss all things Bruins and sports