Oct 13, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins right wing
Reilly Smith(18) center
Patrice Bergeron(37) and defenseman
Dougie Hamilton(27) celebrate a goal during the second period against the Colorado Avalanche at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins have had a rough start of it these first five games, but it looks like the B’s are finally seeing the light. Last night, the Black and Gold played their best hockey of the season so far. They pulled out a 3-2 win in the shootout thanks to the Bruins ‘second’ line. (It’s been the de facto top line as David Krejci and Milan Lucic were struggling to overcome injuries and surgery.) The Bergeron line once again showed their opponents and the league how it’s done in their strong performance over the Detroit Red Wings.
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Patrice Bergeron is regarded by most of the experts as the best two-way player in the league. Last night, he was matched up against the Red Wings’ Henrik Zetterberg. They were matched up for nine minutes against each other last night, and the scoring chances were woefully one sided for the B’s. The Bruins had sixteen shot attempts in that nine minutes, and the Red Wings had three. Bergeron, Smith, and Brad Marchand did an excellent job shutting down the Red Wings top line for most of the evening.
Patrice Bergeron went seventeen for twenty four in the face off circle last night. For those of you who follow the Corsi stats, he was a +13 for even strength shot differential. Bergeron even took a shot to his left foot late in the second period. In traditional Bergy fashion he was back on the ice to take the opening face off for the third period.
Puck Prose
It wasn’t just Bergeron making it happen last night, it was the whole line. Reilly Smith scored in regulation and in the shootout to guarantee the win for the Bruins. Reilly Smith (at the moment) is the only multi-goal scorer for the Black and Gold at the moment.
The second line made it a point to generate quality scoring chances for the rest of the team. They were responsible for the B’s second goal of the night. (Bergeron and Marchand both earned assists on the play.) Last year, the Bergeron line put in seventy five goals during the regular season. While this was a shaky start for all of the Bruins, the second line looks the most ready to do the most damage as they head into Montreal tonight to take on their arch-rivals, the Montreal Canadiens.