Oct 23, 2013; Buffalo, NY, USA; Boston Bruins right wing Jarome Iginla (12) celebrates an assist on a goal by left wing Milan Lucic (not shown) as Buffalo Sabres defenseman Nikita Zadorov (61) looks on during the first period at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins looked a little tired tonight. They had just played a rough game against the Buffalo Sabres. Even though the Bruins defeated the disorganized Sabres 5-2, they lost a key element in that fight. John Scott engaged in a grievous and illegal hit on Loui Eriksson. Eriksson had to spend the night in a Buffalo hospital and has been diagnosed with a concussion. In spite of being run ragged, being a step behind the faster and more rested San Jose Sharks, our Bruins pulled off a surprising 2-1 win against a team that had yet to be defeated in regulation.
The 2-1 win came at the hands of the Bruins’ goaltender Tuukka Rask. He made thirty eight saves last night, including some tough two on ones where he had to handle severe side to side action.
“They hadn’t lost a game in regulation yet so we wanted to change that, obviously,” said Rask after the game. “It’s always a good test when there’s a team who’s playing at their best and has a good record like that.”
Jarome Iginla put up his first goal as a Bruin late in the first period. “It wasn’t exactly how I envisioned it, shooting it in, but at this point you take anything or anytime – actually, you take any of them, but it was a good bounce.” said the future hall of famer on his goal.
The Bruins were able to keep the Sharks scoreless for two periods, and weathered an serious storm of pucks from an incredibly fast team that spent half the game inside the Bruins defensive zone. Patrick Marleau was able to score one quickly in the third period to tie the game up at one. The Bruins kept getting stronger as the evening progressed, and they began putting on their own shooting gallery on Antti Niemi.
The game did look like it was headed to overtime, in the closing seconds Adam McQuaid fired a shot on net that appeared to be the last one of the game. Fortunately, David Krejci was there to get the tip in past Niemi with .8 seconds left in the game. “I thought it might be more than like 10 seconds, 10-15, 20 seconds,” said Krejci on the goal. “But when we all came together, Looch told me ‘Look up!’ so I looked up and it was .8 so it was even sweeter.”
The Bruins win gave them two points and moved them to the top of the Atlantic Division. They are tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and they have found ways to win, just like they have last season. It’s great to see the Bruins play a full sixty minutes, and it’s great to see Iginla score for the Black and Gold. The Bruins will receive little rest as they take on the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.