The Boston Bruins came up big tonight as they defeated the New York Islanders 5-3 in Brooklyn. It was Zdeno Chara‘s 1200th career game. (It was also former Bruins Johnny Boychuk‘s 400th). The Bruins didn’t play a complete sixty minute game this evening, but they did put in their best overall defensive effort of the season. The Bruins held the Islanders to just eight shots on goal in the final forty minutes of regulation.
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This makes the B’s undefeated on the road (which almost makes up for their gruesome 0-3-1 performance at home). Tonight’s win helps put the Bruins in a tie for fourth in the Atlantic with the Florida Panthers.
The Bruins young defensemen have been making fewer and fewer mistakes, and if it wasn’t for some early lucky bounces, the B’s could have put this game away in the second period. The Bruins learned from their failures against the Flyers. This time, when they had a two goal lead they kept the pressure up with a steady presence in the offensive zone. The Islanders remained bottled up in the final period and that gave the Bruins the win tonight.
The biggest piece of news that should come out of this game is the new Bruins fourth line. Claude Julien seems to enjoy the line of Joonas Kemppainen, Ryan Spooner, and Tyler Randell. Kemppainen and Spooner were the first and second stars of tonight’s game. They both had a goal and an assist in tonight’s win. While many of us still pine for the days of the Merlot Men, this new fourth line looks like a keeper for Boston. The Bruins finally have the speedy production unit they have been desiring on the fourth line.
Puck Prose
David Krejci is still on track for having a monster season. The Bruins center put in an empty net goal to finish off the Islanders and increase his point streak to seven games. Krejci now has twelve points(five goals) and is still the NHL’s overall leader in points.
There was a scary moment for the B’s as Zdeno Chara had his head put into the boards by Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck. Thankfully, the ref saw it and imposed the proper boarding penalty. Chara wasn’t injured on the play, but he was certainly angry over the dangerous hit.
The Bruins head back home to take on the Arizona Coyotes next Tuesday. Once again, the Bruins will have a chance to get over the .500 mark for the season. Hopefully this time around, the Black and Gold will be able to do it.