Apr 2, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins goalie
Anton Khudobin(35) makes a save during the first period against the Ottawa Senators at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins met the Ottawa Senators for the fourth time this season. In the previous three games, the Boston Bruins won by a single goal. This is one of those good times where it is good for history to repeat itself. Once again, the Bruins went with the system that works. Once more, they pulled out a one goal win against the Senators.
This game was the last game the Bruins played before NHL legend Jarmoir Jagr would join the team. A lot of players, especially the top six forward group, played like they wanted to keep their slot in the lines. The Bruins top two lines, the Krejci and Bergeron line led the charge once again, throwing in an impressive fifty shots on goal against the Senators Robin Lehner. The cost of such an explosive offense was a team that wasn’t looking that hard at playing two way hockey. The Senators got forty seven shots of their own on goal.
While this was a win for the Black and Gold, there was a cost to pay for it. Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron took an elbow to the head in the second period and had to leave the game. The reports coming in this afternoon say that Bergeron has sustained a ‘moderate concussion’ and there is no time table as of yet for his return. Patrice has had a history of concussions, and it looks like Jagr will be going to work right away, probably centering for Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin.
April 2, 2013
Boston Bruins vs Ottawa Senators (Bruins @ TD Garden)
Final Score: Boston Bruins 3 – Ottawa Senators 2
Three Stars of the Game:
Third: Anton Khudobin , Second: Milan Lucic , First: Tyler Seguin
Causeway Crowd’s Three Stars of the Game:
Third Star: Milan Lucic. Lucic earned himself two more points tonight. His first on the opening Krejci score, and the last point on Horton’s go-ahead goal. Lucic has been the most visibly slumping of the top six forwards, but has been coming on strong as of late. We saw this problem with Tyler Seguin earlier in the season, and its nice to see #17 be his old self. If the fans are happy with the old Lucic, his teammates are ecstatic. Shawn Thornton had this to say about Lucic’s performance.
“It was a great play by Looch being strong on it, obviously getting that puck through, and then Horty picking up the rebound. He’s been unbelievable for us. I think he takes a lot of heat sometimes, but everyone in this room loves him and when he’s on, he’s a pretty special player. He’s been really good for us of late, I think.”
Second Star: David Krejci. Krejci also had a two point game last night. One goal and one assist. Krejci has been a powerful force for the Bruins this year, and continues to produce. He was the only first line to come out of the gate guns blazing. He put out 20:09 on the ice, and once again proved he’s one of our top overall players. He’s got five points in the last four games, and will likely be the team’s leading scorer with Patrice Bergeron temporarily out of action.
“Krech has been a great player, and I’ve been fortunate enough to play with him for six seasons now,” said Milan Lucic. “I think he definitely gets us going because as a centerman he controls a lot of the play on any line.”
First Star: Anton Khudobin. I think we should have known that Dobby was going to be a rock star for us when he was in the crease for the Bruins-Bruins scrimmage. His goalkeeping led the P-Bruins to victory in that game. A lot of goaltenders have been victims in a shooting gallery, but few can handle it like Khudobin did last night. Forty-five saves on forty-seven shots. If Khudobin is trying to make a case of having more ice time, he’s exceeded those expectations. In his second straight start, Khudobin is now rocking a 8-3 record. His .929 save percentage, and 2.07 goals against average is slightly better than Tuukka Rask.
#35 was genuinely pleased (and rightly so) of his effort last night. “They were shooting from everywhere, we were shooting from everywhere. They were skating well, we were skating well. We created chances, they created chances. When I look at the score and it was 3-2 with a couple of minutes left and I saw it like 45-50 or something like that, I was like, ‘oh, maybe they’ll shoot five more and it will be 50-50.”