Boston Bruins 3 Stars of the Week March 9-14
By Joe Kelly
Mar 14, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) leads the team onto the ice before playing the Pittsburgh Penguins at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Bruins fans rejoice! After many unpromising and inconstant efforts of late, Boston has finally found a way to string together a stretch of important wins. The Bruins are currently sitting on a five-game winning-streak after their 2-0 shutout of the Crosby and Malkin-less Penguins.
Where this article was legitimately impossible to write just a few weeks ago, this week is almost equally as difficult, but for the opposite reasons. This week has been filled with so many promising performances by seemingly every member of the Black and Gold, it was hard to narrow it to just three stars, but here goes nothing.
Third Star- Patrice Bergeron
Bergeron’s clutch play and invaluable leadership continued this week as he netted his 19th goal of the season in Thursday night’s Shootout win over the second-place Tampa Bay Lightning. Bergy also scored in the first shot attempt of the shootout which lead the Bruins to victory. Bergeron has continued to be the veteran voice of reason and maturity in the locker room and could arguably be noted as one of the major reasons for the Bruins recent success. With so many new, young faces on the Bruins’ bench, it is crucial that Bergeron maintains his current level of play to lead by example. With his fifth 20-goal season just one lighting of the lamp away, don’t be surprised if Captain Clutch looks even hungrier than normal.
Second Star- Ryan Spooner/ Second Line
Ryan Spooner has continued to reward Peter Chairelli’s faith in him as he claimed three points- including a two-goal performance in his hometown of Ottawa Tuesday night- in the week’s three games. Whenever a member of the Bruins now second line receives credit it is impossible not to give the other members praise as well. This unit has proved to be the team’s most productive of late. With great chemistry and unparalleled speed from Pastrnak and Spooner, it has forced Milan Lucic to reach the level of play expected from him as a veteran presence in the locker room. The skill and grit combo have accented each other perfectly to create a deadly line combo that opponents are forced to respect. In Stanley Cup runs unexpected players must contribute and make their names known, Spooner and Pastrnak have done their part, and the rest of the team seems to be following suit.
First Star- Tuukka Rask
It is commonly been said that the goalie is the most important player on the ice, that their play can directly influence a team’s success or failures throughout the course of a season. They can inspire their team and allow them to push the limits when they know they have a brick wall to back them up when they make a mistake. This is the definition of what Tuukka Rask has done, and continues to do this season. The Bruins are basking in the glory of their surprising five-game win-streak and their now seventh seed standing in the Eastern Conference; and none of this would have been possible without the Vezina winner. With their eyes fixed on the rearview mirror and the ready-to-pounce Panthers, Rask has cleared the road ahead and allowed the Bruins to leapfrog the Caps after Saturday’s win and continue their charge, now just three points behind Detroit and a top-three spot in the division.
Rask has been nearly perfect of late. According to NESN’s Saturday broadcast, during five on five competition Rask has a 96.4 save percentage over the last five games. Keep in mind these recent games have been filled with 30 shot performances by the opposition, which makes Rask’s elite stats that much more head-turning.
With the top three teams of the conference in a dead-heat with 91 points, the Bruins must continue this incendiary pace to be in the race for the top seed. With the majority of the remaining games being against teams in the playoff race, Rask will become more important than ever, if that’s even possible. If the Bruins blue-liners can limit opponent’s chances and the forwards can continue their pleasantly surprising play, who knows where the Bruins will end up by the end of the regular season. With David Krejci and Brett Connoly’s returns expected come playoff time the Bruins might just become the story of resiliency in the 2015 Stanley Cup Race.