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Puck Prose
After starting the season with a 5-0-0 record on the road, the Boston Bruins were handed their first loss in Washington on Thursday night. The Bruins started the scoring on the power play with a goal from Jimmy Hayes with assists from Brett Connolly and Colin Miller. Boston started off the game firing on all cylinders and playing solidly in all three zones, but the score was still tied at 1-1 by the time the second period started, and the Bruins simply couldn’t solve Braden Holtby after that. The Bruins have always struggled against Holtby and Thursday night was no exception with the Bruins firing 29 shots on goal and coming away with only one goal in their 4-1 loss.
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While it’s hard to find positives in a game that Tuukka Rask once again allowed at least three goals, Colin Miller once again stood out as a positive. With another point, Miller has extended his point streak to five games. Additionally, the offense-first defenseman has never really been found out of position so far in his young NHL career, and that has played a big factor in his constant presence in the lineup. Head coach Claude Julien has not been afraid of benching a player who shines offensive ability in favor of a player who excels more defensively; Ryan Spooner can attest to this. Colin Miller has found himself skating alongside Zdeno Chara as of late and those top line minutes are imperative to assimilating the young defender into the NHL game quickly. Another young Bruins player who has been working on learning the NHL game quickly is forward Tyler Randell.
After being a healthy scratch as of late, Randell rejoined the Bruins lineup with a bang. Known for his tough play and gritty style, Randell finally dropped the gloves in the NHL against Washington Capital’s forward Michael Latta in the second period of Thursday’s game.
Randell was the clear winner of the bout, knocking Latta down after two consecutive right’s to the head, but unfortunately that was the last energy surge the Bruins were able to find against the Capitals, and it was all for not as the Bruins failed to convert that energy into goals.
The Bruins will look to right the ship on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal; one positive for the Bruins is franchise goaltender Carey Price will not be playing in the game.
Follow Brandon Share-Cohen on Twitter @BShareCohen to discuss all things Bruins and sports