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Well that sucked.
Game 1 should probably not be used as a barometer for what the team will be like in the next 81 games. Players move, lines change, and pairings are mixed up. It's not an exact science, really.
Also, Chara was out, so your best defenseman to ice between all three zones was Torey Krug.
But man oh man...this sure felt like an omen of things to come. Nearly every positive and negative our preview and everyone else's preview for the Boston Bruins said seemed to come true tonight.
1st Period:
Everything seemed pretty great to start out, the Bruins came out on all cylinders, hemming the Jets into their own end for most of the period and shelling Pavelec, forcing him to make absurd saves in order to keep the period even. The scoring broke out when David Pastrnak made a steal behind the Winnipeg net, centered it to Winnipeg's Ben Chairot, who bungled it and David Krejci bent time and space to pot it home for the 1-0 goal. From then on, the period was mostly Winnipeg looking extremely disorganized and overwhelmed and Boston playing with extreme confidence. Towards the end, Alex Burmistrov took a near lethal dose of asshole and took a headshot to Patrice Bergeron. This incensed him to the point of making Patrice Bergeron, someone not known for being very easy to perturb, actually retaliate and receive a matching penalty for roughing (the goon). The last good part of this period was a sequence of about six shots from the Krejci power play unit, all of whom had a real shot at going in, but alas...the period had to end...
...and the Second period had to start.
2nd Period:
I just don't know what went wrong.
Well, I have an idea, really. The fact that the Bruins aren't exactly icing an experienced blueline caught up with them. It's expected. What wasn't expected was the total mismatch created.
Good lord this period fell straight off the rails. Winnipeg decided that then and now was the time to come alive. And come alive they did, as the Jets in transition took advantage of an unprepared defense, as Dustin Byfuglien fed Mark Scheifele for a 1-1 tie. And it would only get worse from then on, as the Matt Irwin - Zach Trotman pairing made their first of many mistakes four minutes later, as Andrew Ladd forced the turnover on Irwin, then sent it straight over to Blake Wheeler to put the Jets on top 2-1. Later in the period, extended time in the Boston Bruins own end left Trotman - Irwin prone to mistakes and very much out of position...again...and Drew Stafford put the Jets up 3-1 on a goal Tuukka Rask would more than likely like to have back.
3rd Period:
Things looked bright very early on for the first couple of minutes because David Pastrnak is still an amazing player and I love watching him play so dearly. After Kevan Miller dumped the puck up to Matt Beleskey, who passed over to our bright young star who snapped it right over Pavelec's shoulder to put the Bruins closer to the tie...and then the wheels fell off.
Four minutes later, a bad line change left Adam McQuaid and David Krejci chasing Chris Thorburn, who put the Jets up 4-2 on yet another goal Tuukka would've REALLY liked back. From then on, they were just disinterested and desperate for possible scores, any scores they could've possibly made. The Defense and Forwards began playing VERY wide and loose, and thus, the dagger occured. A bad scramble left Andrew Copp and Mark Stuart open to get the puck to Nicolas Petan who put them up 5-2. The last goal was an empty net from Burmistrov. Game ends, Bruins start their season 0-1-0.
FANCY STATS:
This just doesn't make any sense...
The Bruins now get the fun consolation game of playing Montreal on October 10th.
Hopefully Zdeno Chara comes back by then....