Boston Bruins: Jaroslav Halak the difference maker against Coyotes
By Luke Ryan
It’s fair to say that without Jaroslav Halak, the Boston Bruins don’t leave Arizona with two points.
Given the team wasn’t exactly at its’ best, for the Boston Bruins backup goaltender to come away with a shut-out in a very tightly contested 1-0 win, it’s a really impressive performance, not to mention the fact Halak saw 35 shots on the night.
As we saw last year, the need for a competing team to have two very capable goaltenders is now very much a thing. Gone are the days of 65-odd games between the pipes, in fact these days it’s more likely a big number is 55! To have Jaroslav Halak there ready to go is ideal for Boston, as we saw last year.
On the night, Natural Stat Trick has him down as having faced 14 scoring chances, 10 of which were shots, that they adjudged as high danger ones; he was able to prevent any of them getting past, as well as preventing 1 chance on the rush and a further 3 rebound opportunities.
More from Bruins News
- Bruins release Prospects Challenge roster, schedule Tuesday
- Bruins bringing back familiar forward on tryout contract
- The Bruins should take a look at these four free agents
- NHL Network lists Ullmark as sixth-best goalie in the league
- The Lasting Legacy of David Krejci
These numbers obviously may seem small and we all know that there’s not many elite goal scorers in the Coyotes line-up; Phil Kessel is arguably their best pure goals guy!
However, rebound chances are often among the hardest to deal with, likewise chances on the rush – the fact that he was more than ready for them says he’s out to try and steal Rask’s starter job again!
Even ignoring any of the fancy stats and analytics, it was plain to see that Jarsolav Halak was on his game for the Boston Bruins.
It was a night where the Boston Bruins found themselves stymied and controlled; among others, David Pastrnak couldn’t get himself going at all on the night and as a result it fell on the goaltender to hold the team in it.
If the Boston Bruins had of been able to net a second goal, which try as they might they weren’t able to, perhaps we’re talking a little differently about Halak’s performance, but it truly should be seen as an elite display squarely on the fact that the margin was only one-goal and we all know those are the hardest leads to defend.
Next. Who's hot and who's not in the first week back?. dark
Whether or not the shut-out has earned him the start against the Vegas Golden Knights is anyone’s guess, but safe to say that the goalie rotation in Boston doesn’t impact the end result!