Bruins Prove Legitimacy with Shutout Win Over Blues

Nov 18, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron (37) congratulates goalie Tuukka Rask (40) after defeating the St. Louis Blues 2-0 at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Many Bruins fans were guilty of hitting the panic button early this season when the Black and Gold got off to an uncharacteristically slow start. While it is true that the Bruins hit a few bumps in the road with injuries and disappointing efforts, they clawed their way back above the .500 mark and have proved that they will once again be a threat in the 2015 season.

While Boston did take longer than usual to hit their stride Bruins fans should not have reached the level of panic that many did. Key players such as Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, Adam McQuaid, Brad Marchand and Kevan Miller found themselves in the press box, sidelined with injuries. If not for veterans like Chris Kelly and Gregory Campbell stepping up to fill the void left by Krejci’s injury-plagued start to the year, the Bruins could have been much worse off than they were. Dougie Hamilton and Dennis Seidenberg’s contributions have been immeasurable for Boston since their captain fell with a knee injury last month. Depth has always been a factor in the Bruins’ success, from the 2011 Stanley Cup victory onward, opponents know that regardless of who is dressed in the infamous spoked-B, they will give you everything they have to make you earn the victory. David Krejci and Kevan Miller have taken the journey back from the press box to ice level once again which is a promising sign for Bruins fans, as the return of Zdeno Chara is heavily anticipated.

Every team in the National Hockey League knows that a healthy Boston Bruins team is one to fear, but it was a wounded Bruins team Tuesday Night that showed that the Black and Gold is still a threat.

The red-hot St. Louis Blues came to TD Garden looking to continue their string of dominance against the injured Bruins team. St. Louis had every reason to be considered the favorite, they had won 10 of their last 11 games where the Bruins were licking their wounds after being outscored by a combined 11-2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. Boston managed to rebound in what many called a “confidence builder” with a 2-1 victory against a resurgent Hurricanes Saturday in Boston. The Bruins didn’t miss a beat however as they skated to a 2-0 shutout victory over the star-studded St. Louis Blues.

Tuukka Rask has been heavily criticized this season, as he was one of many Bruins that took longer than expected to hit their stride, but Rask silenced the critics with his 33 save, First Star-performance. The Bruins weren’t perfect defensively, but Rask came up with the big saves when his team needed him most, including 15 in the third period, showing he is still the Vezina-Winning goalie he has been known as.

The Bruins blue-line core has been inconstant thus far but were able to keep the St. Louis shooters to the outside Tuesday and were  able to help the Bruins’ scoring efforts as well. Patrice Bergeron’s opportunistic goal in the first period helped boost Boston’s confidence early on and allowed the Boston D-men to be more aggressive in the offensive zone. Torey Krug does’t need much reason to be aggressive offensively, but he was able to find the back of the net on a point-shot set up by none other than the infamous Matt Bartkowski and Loui Eriksson.

Tuesday night’s game was a statement from Boston to the rest of the NHL, the Boston Bruins are getting healthy and finding their game. And that is a very scary realization for the rest of the league.