The Boston Bruins closed out the season against the Montreal Canadiens in what could be Patrice Bergeron’s last regular season game in his home Province of Quebec. Boston won both prior meetings this season. Jeremy Swayman got the start in net with Brandon Bussi as the backup.
Game Recap
Montreal got the scoring started with a batted puck that just got by Swayman but Boston was able to tie it up shortly after with a backhand from Trent Frederic to score his 17th goal of the season, a career-high. Jake DeBrusk put Boston in the lead with his 27th goal of the season, tying his career-high. Boston took that lead into the intermission.
Montreal tied it up about halfway through the second period and took a lead shortly after that when Jeremy Swayman made a huge mistake leading to an open net goal. Dmitry Orlov rifled a shot under the crossbar to tie it up in the second.
Boston allowed a shorthanded goal to start the third. There were some plays tonight that seemed like the Bruins were going through the motions and this shorty resulted from that. It must have been the wake-up call they needed because Charlie Coyle tied it up a little while after. 2 minutes later David Pastrnak tapped home a goal from Dmitry Orlov to take the lead and eventually win the game.
Mistakes in Montreal
Boston made quite a few mistakes that made it seem like they were a little fatigued or just not fully locked in. The boneheaded goal in the second sits at the top but the Bruins gave up multiple 2-on-1s while on the powerplay and couldn’t get the puck out of their zone long enough to make a change. Boston ultimately won the game because they were the better team and I’m not worried going into the playoffs. Boston has a few days off before they play the Florida Panthers on Monday to continue their quest for the Stanley Cup.
Bye Bye Bergeron
Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron mentioned prior to today’s game that tonight was very special to him and he had a lot of family in attendance in what could be his final regular season game. Bergeron’s deal expires at the end of the season and many assume that this season was his last. The Bruins held Patrice Bergeron out in an abundance of precaution Coach Jim Montgomery said after the game that Bergeron is fine. Should Bergeron decide to hang up the skates at the end of the Bruins’ season, at least he can say it was a win.
Historic Doesn’t Describe it
In a season where the Bruins broke the wins AND points record, that wasn’t the only historic thing they did. The Bruins were the first team to have a goalie tandem that had 40 and 20 wins in a season. Boston was the first team in league history to have 5 winning streaks of 7 or more games in a single season. Along with multiple players matching or setting personal bests in some way. This Boston Bruins team is great and there will never be another one like it in our lifetime.
Star of the Game
Tonight’s star of the game is Dmitry Orlov or should we say Dmitry ORRlov? Orlov sniped a shot and set up the game-winning goal in a great performance to end the regular season.