The Boston Bruins put up a solid performance today in their 3-1 win over the New York Islanders. The Bruins (for the most part) played like a solid team, and today’s win has helped the B’s stay at the top of the Atlantic division. The Bruins looked at today’s game and were pleased with how they handled themselves.
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“I think it was exactly what we were looking for,” said Claude Julien of today’s matchup. “We knew we were going to get a pretty hungry Islanders team. We knew we were going to get the best of them, so it was important for us to be on top of our game right from the drop of the puck. I thought our first period was extremely good for us, and we were able to create the lead and work from there.”
If the Black and Gold wanted to be taken seriously as Stanley Cup contenders, there were several things the B’s needed to work on. They needed to work on their secondary scoring. Players like Matt Beleskey and David Pastrnak have stepped up for the B’s, putting up 25 goals between the two of them. Pastrnak was the big factor in today’s win, putting in the B’s second and third goals.
Pastrnak was a big question mark for the B’s this season. He sustained a foot injury early on in the season. He then got a broken finger during World Juniors. It took a while for him to get back into form (the 19-year old forward is still a work in progress), but he’s having more good games than bad, and that can only help him be a more confident player in Boston.
“Yeah definitely it helps with my confidence,” said Pastrnak. “I’m just trying to focus on getting better. You know it’s a lot of stuff to improve…I’m still young, I’m learning, and trying to learn from the guys like Krech [David Krejci], Bergy [Patrice Bergeron], you know Loui and the older guys with much experience.
“And I think with the more experience I can have, the better player I’ll be.”
The Bruins also needed to find the right combination to stabilize the blue line. The acquisition of John-Michael Liles has helped in that regard. Liles has become the top four defenseman the B’s were looking for, and he’s done a solid job at filling in that gap. He certainly had a better game on the ice than Zdeno Chara had today.
The Bruins have pulled off a few surprises this season. If they are to have any chance of winning the Stanley Cup this season, they’ll need to pull off a few more. As long as the Bruins play to their strengths and play solid hockey they may just surprise the whole NHL with their performance in the postseason.