Mar 18, 2014; Newark, NJ, USA; Boston Bruins goalie
Chad Johnson(30) makes a pad save during the third period at Prudential Center. The Bruins defeated the Devils 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins have been in overdrive in the final push before the end of the regular season. The Bruins have owned the month of March, going 10-1-0, and have established a serious level of excellence in the Atlantic Division and the National Hockey League. While there are several teams that rely on their top line to generate most of their scoring, the Bruins get by on the strength of their entire squad.
The Boston Bruins have had five ten game win streaks in the ninety years they’ve played in the NHL. Three of those five streaks have happened under the tenure of the Bruins current head coach, Claude Julien. When asked about the Bruins current run post-game, the Bruins head coach placed the credit where he thought it was due.
“I just think our guys have been playing hard throughout the whole lineup; we just finished five games in seven days and that’s got to be tough on the players,” Julien said. “To have that kind of success in that short span, you have to be able to utilize your whole bench as much as you can, and these guys have allowed to do that with their play.”
Tonight’s game was no exception to the Bruins philosophy. Eleven different Bruins put up points in tonight’s 4-2 win against the Devils in New Jersey. Whether it was a sick snipe delivered through the five-hole of future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, the pure dominance of the David Krejci line as Jarome Iginla put one past Brodeur (It was Iginla’s sixth goal in seven games, and it moved Iginla in a tie with Bruins legend Johnny Bucyk for twenty-fifth in all time scoring with five hundred and fifty six goals), or even the Bruins Pest-In-Chief Brad Marchand earning his fifth short handed goal of the season, the Bruins came in firing on all cylinders.
Milan Lucic and Ryane Clowe took a little time out their busy games to offer a very entertaining bout in the first period as well. Chad Miller stopped twenty two of twenty four in the net for Boston, and is now 9-0-1 in his last ten starts as the backup for Tuukka Rask.
Chris Kelly also tallied a goal in tonight’s game that essentially sealed the fate of the New Jersey Devils. He completely agrees with Julien’s thoughts on the true strength of the Boston Bruins. “Depth is nice to have,” said the Bruins alternate captain. “If you have one line that’s doing the majority of the scoring it’s easy to put your best defensive pairing against them. But when it’s four lines, and even if they’re not necessarily scoring every night but playing in the zone, it wears teams down. When you’re in the defensive zone, you get tired pretty quick, and I think that’s what we’ve been able to do.”
The Bruins will get two days off and get a much desired chance to get a little recuperation before they play two games on the road. They’ll be in Colorado against the Avalanche on Friday, and then Arizona to take on the Coyotes on Saturday.