The good, the bad, the ugly for the Bruins against Dallas
The Bruins left Dallas with a 2-1 victory on opening night. But everything wasn’t sunshine and rainbows.
The Boston Bruins showed up to Dallas and spoiled opening night for the Stars. After an up and down affair, the Bruins left town with a 2-1 victory.
The Bruins jumped out to an early lead thanks to a Brett Ritchie shot. Then, Danton Heinen extended the lead on the power play.
After a strong first period, Boston looked sluggish in the second. Dallas took advantage and cut the deficit to 2-1. Tuukka Rask made some big saves to preserve Boston’s lead.
The two teams traded chances in the third period, but nobody could score. Rask shut the door on Dallas, and Ben Bishop did so on Boston. The Bruins closed out the victory and earned the first two points of the season.
The Good
Tuukka Rask: Tuukka Rask was the star of the show in net for Boston. The Bruins dominated play in the first period, so Rask saw little action. Things, however, picked up for him in the second period. Dallas had nine shots on goal in the period, and Rask saved all but one.
Dallas continued to push the pace in the third, but Rask was up to the task. He saved all 16 Dallas shots, including a glove-side rip from Roope Hintz. Rask also turned out to be Boston’s best penalty killer.
Rask finished the game with 28 saves on 29 shots. Let’s hope he can continue this strong start throughout the season.
First period start: The Bruins had their skating legs in the first period. They were all over the Stars from the opening faceoff. Brett Ritchie opened the scoring a little over a minute into the game. Then, Boston drew a penalty and scored on the power play. The Bruins were up by two before a lot of fans had a chance to even sit down.
Boston continued to outplay Dallas throughout period one. The Bruins were faster to every loose puck, and they won every puck battle.
Par Lindholm: Par Lindholm had a solid first game with the Bruins. He didn’t show up on the scoresheet, but he drew a couple of penalties. The first one resulted in a power play goal for Danton Heinen. Lindholm also had a strong game defensively. He had a blocked shot and a takeaway.
The bad
Second period: As good as the Bruins were in the first period, they were just as bad in the second. Dallas responded after the intermission and carried play. The Stars outshot and outhit the Bruins in the period.
Dallas got on the board in the second thanks to a breakaway goal from Hintz. He took advantage of a poor change from Zdeno Chara and beat Rask upstairs.
The Bruins were fortunate to finish the period still ahead on the scoreboard. They can all thank Rask for that.
For the Bruins to have success this year, they can’t have these tired second period. This didn’t cost them the game against Dallas, but it will down the line.
Bergeron’s line: The Bruins need more from the top line moving forward. Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak certainly weren’t bad, but they definitely weren’t up to their usual standards.
The Bergeron line failed to generate much attacking zone time, so chances were few. Pastrnak finished with zero shots on goal, and Marchand only had one. Bergeron managed two shots on goal, but none of them were high danger.
The top line also struggled with the man advantage. Marchand and Pastrnak especially didn’t do much on the power play. In fact, Boston’s second unit was more effective against the Stars.
The ugly
Power play: Boston’s power play started with a bang. The Bruins scored on their first opportunity of the young season. That was the lone highlight of special teams
The Bruins failed on their next three power play attempts. One of them was abbreviated, but they nonetheless didn’t muster anything up.
Boston’s power play looked like it did at times last year. The players worked the puck around well, but nobody wanted to shoot. And when they did shoot, there were no rebound opportunities.
Even worse, Boston gave up a few shorthanded attempts to the Stars. This was a major issue last year, as the Bruins conceded way too many shorthanded goals. Dallas couldn’t capitalize, but the Bruins must tighten it up on the power play.
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