First Period:
Believe it or not, neither side brought a whole lot to the table.
Of course, the Bruins brought a lot less, and spent a lot of the period defending Anton Khudobin who held his ground pretty well, all things considered. Both sides otherwise kept things quiet, and both sides left the period with a 0-0 score.
Second Period:
Actual scoring plays didn’t actually end up happening until late in the second, when the Bruins had gone ahead and woken up fully, bringing a lot more tenacity and speed to the game than they started with.
The first goal of the game came from Marchand getting a pass off to Patrice Bergeron, who put a lazer of a shot past Frederik Andersen to put the B’s up 1-0.
Such a casual shovel to the net and it’s just in an out in seconds. What a guy.
Of course...things can’t go perfectly, and as the Bruins tried to hang on for the end of the period, the Leafs capitalized on Boston’s tired legs and their 4th power play of the night, and JVR managed to force the puck past Khudobin on the rebound, and ending the period at 1-1.
The end-of-period minute might as well be Boston’s kryptonite at the moment.
Third Period:
The third was just as tense as the late second ended up being. Lots of chances going either way and both goaltenders earning their keep, given the close nature of nearly every shot. But finally, after so many different shots and penalties and missed opportunities...Someone cashed in.
That someone was David Pastrnak, who, like everyone else on this play, never gave up on the play in the waning seconds.
Bonus! That’s a Jordan Szwarz point!
But...of course, as time wound down and the Bruins again had trouble with sending the puck out of their own end, got boxed out of puck possession in their own end, and with their goalie pulled...The Leafs would tie it. James Van Reimsdyk takes advantage of the scramble-y coverage and tips it behind Anton Khudobin. 2-2.
On to OT.
Overtime:
For the B’s, the early overtime period was a load of fantastic shots...that didn’t go in. Next series...oh Pasta, man. You were doing so well.
Pastrnak gets the puck on a giveaway and tries to get around Mitch Marner, who blocks him out, gets the puck, and springs the Leafs forward, where Anton Khudobin overcommits to a shot that wasn’t coming, and Patrick Marleau wins it for Toronto. 3-2.
“Sounds of Silence” was actually playing. I nor Chris edited that in.
Just a kick in the balls.
B’s play tomorrow at 7pm at home. Same opponent.
Game Notes:
- Your leaders in puck possession tonight were: Kevan Miller, Zdeno Chara, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and Anders Bjork.
- It really is heartbreaking for your leading goalscorer to not only be the reason the B’s had a reason to believe they’d win the game...but also be the direct cause of the play that lost the B’s the game. Pasta will have to be better and smarter with overtime situations like that in the future.
- Anton Khudobin finished the night with a .909 SV%. And for all intents and purposes and execution he did pretty well tonight...but man, he overcommits on shots or “maybe” shots like crazy. He also went on a pointlessly aggressive adventure that could’ve put the Bruins down and boy howdy was that scary.
- Toronto basically scored from the exact same place to both tie the game and win it. Of course, that’s also net-front defense’s concern which uh...got better? Still wasn’t exactly perfect if one of the highlights of the night was Anton Khudobin having to sit right down on his keister to make a save.
- Noel Acciari and Brad Marchand’s presence are still very much appreciated. Both made a big difference in getting the team involved in plays and also involved in defense. Acciari’s clean but harsh play was a godsend on a bottom six that was, in all honesty...kind of floundering since Kuraly’s line got bumped up.
- I was about to write off Jordan Szwarz’s presence in this game and then he got himself an assist. Hockey is fun like that.
- The Bruins won’t have to deal with Auston Matthews again and a goaltender whose been much less capable, if you can believe that. If they bring this kind of effort PLUS the last minute of play isn’t a complete disaster? They matched and kept pace with the Leafs. They can beat this team.
See you tomorrow!