Boston Bruins: 3 Stars Against the Flyers at Lake Tahoe
After two regulation losses in a row and facing a number of injuries, the Boston Bruins put together one of their better efforts of the season together Sunday night at Lake Tahoe against the Philadelphia Flyers.
For 60 minutes, the Bruins outworked the undermanned Flyers and used some puck luck to build on their lead in the second period. Three Boston goals, 99 seconds apart in the period, turned a 3-2 lead into a comfortable 6-2 lead on their way to a 7-3 victory for their fifth consecutive win against Philly to begin the season.
The Bruins had many outstanding performances in the win, but here are three stars that helped the Bruins improve to 11-3-2 on the season and remain three points ahead of the Washington Capitals in the East Division.
3. Nick Ritchie
Ritchie continues to be one of the Bruins’ biggest surprises in 2021 after a dismal first season in Boston after being acquired at the trade deadline nearly a year ago. He has become a big part of the Bruins power play, setting up shop in front of the net and causing havoc.
Sunday night, the second line left wing assisted on David Pastrnak’s second goal of the game early in the second period, but he scored his own goal later in the period during the three-goal onslaught in 99 seconds.
A net-front presence on the power play all night, it paid off with just over two minutes left in the stanza when he tipped John Moore’s shot from the point past Flyers’ goalie Carter Hart for a 6-2 lead.
He had three minutes of time-on-ice during the Black and Gold’s power plays and could have scored at least another goal as he redirected a shot in the first period just missed the post, but his presence in front of the net is becoming a problem for opposing teams in 2021.
2. Connor Clifton
The number of injuries on defense grows by the game, including Jeremy Lauzon suffering an upper-body injury after just 36 seconds of ice-time Sunday night, but Clifton has proven to be a reliable fill-in and that continued against Philly.
He was third on the team in ice-time at 23:06, had two assists, blocked four Philadelphia shots, and finished with a plus/minus (+/-) of plus-3. He assisted on Charlie McAvoy’s goal late in the first period and then had a helper on Trent Frederic’s goal in the second.
He was beaten out by Kevan Miller for the third defensive pairing with rookie Jakub Zboril, but has made the most of his opportunity filling in for injured teammates and making an impact.
1. David Pastrnak
Who else? Reunited with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand on the first line, he wasted little time in scoring. He opened the scoring 34 seconds into the game and then potted his second just 46 ticks into the middle period. He completed the hat trick with 2:56 left in the game when he one-timed a pass from Jack Studnicka past Brian Elliott for the seventh and final Boston goal.
Pastrnak, who missed the first seven games of the season recovering from offseason hip surgery, was the second player to score a hat trick in an outdoor game. Tyler Toffoli of the Los Angeles Kings did it last February against the Colorado Avalanche at the Air Force Academy. He was then traded 48 hours later to the Vancouver Canucks.
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Pastrnak has done most of his damage this season against the Flyers. In three games, he has two hat tricks, the other coming in a 4-3 overtime win on Feb. 3. It’s safe to say that one of the league’s most gifted goal-scorers is back and healthy.