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Boston Bruins: Multiple Milestones Met In 4-2 Win Over Chicago

By Andrew Thompson

Mar 3, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Loui Eriksson (21) center Patrice Bergeron (37) celebrate a goal by center Ryan Spooner (51) during the second period against the Chicago Blackhawks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 3, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Loui Eriksson (21) center Patrice Bergeron (37) celebrate a goal by center Ryan Spooner (51) during the second period against the Chicago Blackhawks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Boston Bruins defeated the Chicago Blackhawks at the TD Garden last night, beating the defending Stanley Cup champs 4-2. It was a night of milestones for the Bruins and an important two points as they try to finish out the season in strong playoff contention.

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While the Bruins did beat Chicago, but at times it felt like the Blackhawks wanted to lose more than the Bruins wanted to win. The evening was filled with reckless passes from both teams that went nowhere or led to turnovers. Three times during the game, there were five Blackhawks players on the ice and three or less Bruins defending. Thankfully, the Chicago players seemed tired and disorganized themselves.

Still, the Bruins got the better of their fellow Original Six opponents. They out shot Chicago 12-5 in the first period. The Bruins were able to surge ahead by putting three straight goals past Blackhawks backup Scott Darling, who didn’t look very comfortable in the crease.

After the game, the Blackhawks captain spoke on the kind of game the Bruins played against them.

“They were playing with speed and they were playing physically and we couldn’t quite keep possession of the puck long enough to get anything going,” said Chicago captain Jonathan Toews. “They checked us well and we didn’t use our bodies. They were making it hard to play against, and sometimes when you don’t match their speed and match their work ethic, it’s hard to play through that traffic [in front], so I think that’s probably the reason why we couldn’t get to the net.”

Claude Julien also spoke in respectful tones of the defending Stanley Cup champs.

“They are a team that really gets some pretty good speed through the neutral zone and usually that’s where they do a lot of damage, so we did a great job of minimizing that,” said Julien.  “Whether it was forechecking and getting on them quick or coming back quickly and taking away their time and space, I thought our checking game was probably one of the best so far.”

“I think tonight was probably, I’d say, one of our best games of the season in terms of that,” said Spooner of the Bruins physicality.  “The turnovers and stuff like that, we didn’t have a lot of them – maybe less than five, which was great to see – and as a whole, I don’t think we got hemmed in our end.”

While the game didn’t look exciting at times, the coach and the players have it right. When it came to playing the physical game, the Bruins played one of their best games of the season.

There were quite a few milestones that happened in tonight’s win.  The Bruins earned their first two game win-streak at home in 2016. Claude Julien tied Art Ross for the most wins from a Boston Bruins coach. David Krejci hit 458 points, which places him in the Top 20 of all time Bruins scorers. Bergeron is now tied with Terry O’ Reilly for 8th place in all-time Bruins scoring. Brad Marchand keeps adding to his best scoring season to date, notching goal number 33 tonight. Finally, both Krejci and Marchand hit the fifty point mark this season.

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