Boston Bruins: Three takeaways from the win over the Blues
The Boston Bruins defeated the St. Louis Blues 3-0 on Saturday night at TD Garden. This was Boston’s seventh win in 10 tries this season.
The game was physical from the opening faceoff. It seemed like both teams had some unfinished business from last season’s series. Zdeno Chara got things going early with a big hit on Oskar Sundqvist, and everybody appeared to follow suit.
In the end, the Bruins emerged with hard-fought victory over the defending champions. The win won’t erase any memories for last year, but it nonetheless is a great step for this year’s Bruins team.
David Pastrnak is up there with Ovechkin and Stamkos on the power play
Every hockey fan knows where Alex Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos play on the power play. They post up high and to the right of the net, ready to blast one-timers by the goalie. And no matter what the penalty killers do, they always seem to score.
Now, toss David Pastrnak into that elite group with Ovechkin and Stamkos.
Pastrnak scored his 11th (!) goal of the season on a first-period power play against St. Louis. From where did he score? You guessed it, high and to the right of Jordan Binnington.
Guess who?#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/inDREpRwwL
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 26, 2019
What’s most impressive for Pastrnak is that Binnington got over and was square to the shot. He anticipated the pass, and he looked in position to make the save. Pastrnak, however, still beat him five hole.
The goal shows that no matter what the defenders or the goalie do, Pastrnak will always be a threat to score on the power play. As an opposing player, your only hope is that he misses his mark.
Pastrnak’s presence means that opposing teams have to really worry about putting Boston on the power play. If they do, Pastrnak will make them pay.
We keep on saying that Pastrnak can’t keep this pace up, but game after game he proves us wrong. He’s simply unstoppable right now.
There’s no goalie better than Tuukka Rask right now
Tuukka Rask earned his second shutout of the season with a 26-save effort against the Blues.
Rask was a brick wall in front of the Boston goal all night long. He looked cool and confident in net, and he gave the Blues nothing at all.
There was one save in particular that stands out for Rask. Blues forward David Perron came down the right wing and fired a shot glove side. Rask calmly flashed the leather and made the save.
Rask barely had to move to make the stop. He was in perfect position before Perron could even shoot. Rask made the save look easy, but let’s face it: he makes goaltending look easy right now.
With the way he played against the Blues, it’s no surprise Rask was the game’s first star.
Plenty of head bumps for tonight’s No.1 ⭐️.@tuukkarask | #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/HojjdrzuNu
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 27, 2019
The win against St. Louis gives Rask five wins in his first six starts this year. His only loss was in the shootout to Tampa Bay. This means that Rask gave his team a chance to win every game he started this year.
At this point, there isn’t a goalie in the world who’s better than Rask. If he maintains this level of play, he’ll be the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy again.
Rask teams up with Jaroslav Halak to give the Bruins the best goalie tandem in the league. With those two in net, the Bruins look poised for another long season.
Don’t expect Anders Bjork to go back to Providence any time soon
The Bruins forward group looked solid all night, and Anders Bjork was a big reason why.
Bjork scored his first goal of the season in the second period off a great 3 on 2 play with Matt Grzelcyk.
After the Bruins took possession in their defensive zone, Bjork flew down the right wing. He found a trailer in Grzelcyk, who then quickly passed it back. Bjork proceeded to fire a shot glove-side past Binnington.
The goal gave Boston a 2-0 lead, and given Tuukka Rask‘s play, all but ended the game in the second period. Bjork couldn’t help but smile with the result.
https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1188270601166819328
Bjork’s goal wasn’t his only impressive play of the night. In the third period, Bjork took the puck strong to the net to draw a hooking penalty. He showcased great offensive instincts and a quick first step to give his team a power play.
Bjork looked dangerous pretty much all night against a strong Blue’s defense. His elite speed was on display on a line with Par Lindholm and Danton Heinen.
We’ll see where Bjork plays in the lineup when everybody is healthy. One thing’s for sure: his spot will be in Boston.
Next. Which players need a strong weekend?. dark
The Bruins get right back at it Sunday against the New York Rangers. Let’s see if they can continue their strong start with Halak in between the pipes.