Tuukka Rask Came up Big for Boston All Night
So the Bruins have played nine games this year. I am not really sure how I feel about the fact that a shootout loss to the Flyers may be the third-best game the Bruins played so far this year.
Facing a team widely considered a favorite to win the East, dressing at least four players no one ever hoped would be seeing significant ice time this year and playing on the road the night after a tough win at home, a sub-par effort from the B’s tonight would have been a reasonable guess. Instead, the Bruins again rallied from a pair of deficits to snag a well-earned point on the road against a very good – and at the moment sufficiently better – Philly team.
All the major stat lines favor the Flyers – including the win column – but as a Bruins fan, I am pretty content if not downright happy with taking the old Broad Street Bullies to the skills competition. Don’t forget, the Fly Guys were at full strength and had not played since Saturday. Health, rest and hunger to get back into an actual game were all on the Flyers’ side. The Bruins weathered the storm, and went toe-to-toe with the Flyers. The final difference was a nifty, yet convoluted move from Claude Giroux baffling Tuukka Rask while a hockey player’s snipe from Michael Ryder plum beat Ray Emery – but not the dastardly post. So, the Flyers get the extra point. Yay. Whoopie. Unless that point is the difference between a playoff spot or early gold for the B’s (it won’t be) or home ice in a playoff series against the Flyers (eh, maybe but too early to tell), I am okay with the plucky moral victory.
Fans got a look at the Winter Classic hats
Big Bad Bruins…
1.) Smart money was on Tim Thomas getting the start tonight to build off his strong play in the third against Nashville. However, Tuukka Rask got the nod and was a big factor in the one point coming Boston’s way. He made 36 saves, including an acrobatic stone job on Ian Laperriere on a one-timer. The three Philly goals can all be placed on someone else’s blooper real. The Pronger bullet would have went wide if it hadn’t clanged off Mark Stuart’s shinpad. The Darryl Powe goal happened because Stuart was down after Steve Begin clipped him with a high stick and Powe was left wide open. The Aaron Asham goal came because Brad Marchand forgot that he was in the NHL and not the AHL when it came to defense. In the shootout, Rask made a very nice sliding stop on Mike Richards and then Giroux’s jazz hands bested him. Clearly Tuukka’s best game of the year.
2.) At the risk of tooting B&B’s horn, in this space last night, increased production from the defensemen was mentioned as a key area for improvement over the next few games. Nice to see the blueliners read this column! The D came through with two goals and two assists tonight. Derek Morris led the way with a PPG and an assist. Chara had a pretty assist on the Morris goal with a no-look backhand pass. He was also jumping into the offensive zone late to add a new dimension to the attack. If the defense can contribute like this without allowing odd-man rushes, the dropoff in scoring may not be as bad as expected.
3.) Vladimir Sobotka is acclimating himself nicely so far. He had a team-high four hits and a pair of blocked shots in just 9:23 of ice time. Max effort from him on all 10-15 of his shifts in a game is all Claude Julien requires from him.
Blah, Blah Bruins…
1.) Tough night for the pairing of Ferrence and Stuart. They were each -3. Hard to fault them 100% – especially Stuart who was in the wrong place at the wrong time twice – but with the other four defensemen adding positive contributions, they need to be the ones most concerned with stepping up their games.
2.) Brad Marchand learned a valuable lesson in the difference between the NHL and the AHL in the second period. He gave about 35% effort when marking Asham and watched as the career fourth-liner blew by him to score a goal. Just as Marchand is a top guy in the American League but a depth guy on the big club, Asham would be a first-line player in the AHL. Everyone in the NHL is quicker and stronger. Full effort is required on defense in The Show and if you can’t or won’t give that, enjoy life in Providence or Hershey or Grand Rapids. I don’t think this will send him right back top Providence, but after a good showing last night this was one way to get the bad one out of the way.
3.) David Krejci got worked in the faceoff circle, losing 67% of his faceoffs. As a top-two pivot, that is unacceptable.
Up next, the Bruins head to Ottawa for a divisional game on Saturday night. This is the first Northeast Division game of 2009-10 for Boston. The Senators are 5-2-1 this year and are two points north of the B’s in the standings. The key for the Bruins during this stretch without Savard and Lucic is to keep even in the division, so points against those four teams are of high importance.
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