Boston Bruins: 4 takeaways from 3-2 shootout win over the Devils

The Boston Bruins won their first game of the 2021 season against the New Jersey Devils last night. Here are four takeaways from the game.

Last night, Jan. 14, the Boston Bruins played their first game of the 56-game 2021 NHL season against the New Jersey Devils in Jersey. The outcome of this matchup was a 3-2 victory in the shootout.

The final score doesn’t show it but, the B’s dominated most of this game, especially the first period where the Devils only managed three shots and could only muster opportunities off of rushes and the transition.

Boston, on the other hand, held the puck in the offensive zone and cycled the puck. They finished the first period with 13 shots and up 1-0 thanks to a Brad Marchand powerplay goal off a nice David Krejci cross-crease pass.

The second and third periods were a bit more even between the two teams. The second period ended the same way the first did — with the Black and Gold up 1-0.

However, in the third period, the Devils found twine twice. However, the second goal, scored by rookie defenseman Ty Smith (the first of his career) was a bit of a fluke as it bounced off of around three players and over goalie Tuukka Rask. The third ended in a 2-2 tie with Nick Ritchie finally able to bury the puck in the net.

Overtime saw the Devils dominate, but Rask stood on his head and helped the B’s get to a shootout. In the shootout, Rask stopped every shot he saw while Marchand scored own his attempt to win the game for the Bruins.

Now that you know how the game went, let’s look at the takeaways from the game.

4. Kevan Miller is back for the Boston Bruins.

Defenseman Kevan Miller finally played an NHL game again after missing over 20 months due to a knee injury he suffered in early April of 2019. To say that he made his presence known would be an understatement.

Miller was a wrecking ball, demolishing the opposition with his physical play. In one play, Miller takes out one Devil, while another tries to check him from the behind. Miller just absorbs the check and the Devil falls down like he was the one that just got hit.

Miller finished the game with 16 minutes and 49 seconds of ice time, two hits, one shot on goal, and a -1 plus/minus (+/-). Having him back in the lineup really solidifies the right side of the Bruins’ defense.

Besides Miller, Charlie McAvoy also impressed with his physicality. He was throwing Devils all over the ice and finished the game with the most time played among the entire team with 25:33. Additionally, he had three hits, three blocked shots, two shots on goal, four penalty minutes, and a -1 +/-.