Nov 4, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins center Chris Kelly (23) passes the puck against the Florida Panthers during the third period of Boston
First Period
The first four minutes of the first period seemed more of a feeling out process for both teams as few chances were exchanged. This all changed of course when a missed check from Adam McQuaid on Antoine Roussel in the neutral zone at about the four minute mark led to a egregious cross check from Roussel and resulted in a game misconduct and five minute power play for the Bruins.
The Bruins were able to sustain pressure for the first 40 seconds of the power play, however that was about it as a terrible mistake on a missed pass near the point from David Krejci was intercepted by Vernon Fiddler and he cashed in on the shorthanded opportunity; the first shorthanded goal the Bruins have given up all season.
Three minutes later, Milan Lucic sent a cross ice pass right in front of the net to David Pasternak who proceeded to show the poise and patience of a veteran and find David Krejci for his 7th of the year to tie up the score.
For the final thirteen minutes, we saw several errors that led to a few more tallies for the Stars. A little after the 14 minute mark, Dougie Hamilton allowed Jamie Benn to travel from right past center ice all the way to the net enabling him to go top shelf to put up the Stars 2-1.
Three minutes later the Bruins were unable to clear the puck out and Benn buried his second goal of the night in what was the culmination of several minutes of inferior play from the Bruins.
After one, the Bruins are outshooting the Stars 16-10, however find themselves down 3-1.
Takeaway From The First Period
The Boston Bruins are proving once again that they seem to have no answer when it comes to handling teams possessing a greater amount of speed than them. The five minute power play was an abomination and it seemed as if the Bruins were causing more mistakes for themselves than opportunities. If the Bruins are going to have any chance of coming back in this game, they are going to need to start setting the tempo.
Next: Second Period:Boston Bruins vs Dallas Stars