Boston Bruins: B’s Get Big Win In Big D
The Boston Bruins did more than earn themselves two points in their 7-3 road win over the Dallas Stars. The Boston Bruins ended up earning quite a few milestones tonight.
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Patrice Bergeron crossed the 50-point threshold tonight, making him the first of the Bruins to do so this season. (It also puts him on pace for a 72-point season.) It’s the eighth time in his career that he’s hit that mark. He also earned his 600th career point as well. Bergeron had two assists in tonight’s action.
The Bruins went down 3-1 in the first period after the Dallas Stars earned two very questionable goals. One of them could have been overridden due to goaltender interference. The other one was (at best) a goal awarded to Dallas by the referee’s interpretation of a hypothetical situation. (Never mind the fact that the replay showed Adam McQuaid losing an edge and taking out the post by accident, not design.)
The Bruins battled back in this one, both figuratively and literally. Antoine Roussel chose to match up with McQuaid, and he quickly realized he was out-sized and out-gunned. Maybe McQuaid kept his number after being cross-checked by Roussel in the throat a year ago. The McQuaid fight breathed new life into the Bruins, and they cleaned up a lot of their mistakes. They went on the offensive making life miserable for Dallas goaltender Kari Lehtonen.
“I think we were a little frustrated [after the first period], but we had a calming sense of mind,” said Bruins forward Brad Marchand, who earned First Star of the Game honors for his three point, two goal game. “After that period, we just seemed like we were confident. We knew there was a lot of time left in the game and we know we’re a good team, especially with the way we’ve been playing lately on the road. We showed a lot of character tonight. I thought we have to be happy with this win and hopefully we can build off this momentum.”
Sure, it was a great night for Boston’s Little Ball of Hate. He had a three point game. He tallied thirty goals for the first time in his NHL career. But there was a lot more going on than just his personal accomplishments. Marchand looked like a legitimate leader on the ice tonight. For those fans already planning the post-Chara captaincy of Patrice Bergeron, they can now breathe a little easier knowing that Marchand may actually deserve that ‘A’ on his sweater in the near future.
The Boston Bruins found their power play game for the first time on this road trip, earning three goals with the man advantage. Marchand’s power play goal helped get the Bruins back in the game, and the power play goals by David Krejci and Matt Beleskey sealed the deal for the Black and Gold.
“Tonight, we were able to capitalize (on the power play),” said Claude Julien postgame. “Our guys did a great job in front of that net there battling for those loose pucks or even battling to create a good screen on their goaltender.”
Tonight was David Krejci 600th career NHL game. He helped put the Stars away early in the third period with his power play goal. Even though Krejci has played his entire career in a Bruins uniform, the veteran center knew what was need from the Bruins.
“Obviously, it was a big win, especially against a team like that on the road, but we have to stay even-keeled,” offered the Bruins other alternate captain. “Don’t get too high or too low, just kind of go about our business, regroup and come back strong in two days.”
The Bruins hit the 70-point mark this season, and they find themselves in sole possession of second place in the Atlantic, just five points behind the Florida Panthers. For a team that was expected not to see the playoffs at all this season, they’ve done a remarkable job at the two-thirds mark in the season.