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Well, now that I've been sufficiently rested, we can do a recap!
First Period:
The first period, unsurprisingly, was kind of slow to start. Calgary started strong, but Jaroslav Halak made himself known quickly by turning away nearly every shot the Flames could conjure with aggressive positioning.
Then, after a penalty kill, the floodgates opened.
Trent Frederic was sprung for a 2-on-1 and his tricky shot squeaked through Jon Gillies' pads to make it 1-0 Bruins!
1st goal of the NHL preseason comes from a Trent Frederic 5-hole tuck#NHLChinaGames pic.twitter.com/uM0XzNXkeh
— The Rink Rat Report (@RinkRatReport) September 15, 2018
Not long after, the B's got through the Flames defense again and Ryan Donato blasted it right past Gillies' blocker. 2-0 Bruins!
Can’t believe Ryan Donato is still only 19 pic.twitter.com/Xz6Xfmc5BX
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) September 15, 2018
Oh, but you thought this was over? Well, John Moore thought differently! As after a great shift by JFK and Peter Cehlarik, he cashed in with a pretty impressive shot, catching Gillies again. 3-0 Bruins!
John Moore just out here scoring a goal in his Bruins debut.#NJDevils pic.twitter.com/AjW8RDratT
— Devils Insiders (@DevilsInsiders) September 15, 2018
Of course, nothing could be perfect, so Sean Monahan at the buzzer managed to get the Flames on the board. No reviews allowed, and the period ended 3-1
Second Period:
The second period had both teams essentially puttering around and not doing much, until Calgary took control of the puck. Thankfully, Halak once again stayed on task and dialed in, staying aggressive and taking away possible angles.
No score change....and on to the third we go.
Third Period:
The Flames almost immediately scored. Giordano got on the backdoor as the defense collapsed...3-2, and that was how it was looking for most of the game until the thing I've been glossing over reared its ugly head: penalties. The B's took far too many, regardless of what you think of the calls made. And because of it, a good portion of the third was spent on the penalty kill. It got to the point where Halak's skate was somehow torn up and Rask had to briefly step in. He did good, then it was back to Halak.
At the end of the game, the B's were on a 5 on 3 because...well...penalties. and the Flames tied it up.
On to overtime, where nothing happened...and then on to the shootout.
Shootout:
Four rounds, two scores...game on the line.
Jake DeBrusk, think you can handle it?
Jake DeBrusk. Ball game.#NHLChinaGames pic.twitter.com/QMNVe41Y8l
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) September 15, 2018
Atta boy.
Bruins are doing this again at 7:30am in Beijing on Wednesday.
Game Notes:
- So hey! Jaroslav Halak was really. really dang good! He was dialed in from minute one.
- Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson had a great game, two assists and for a 45 second period of game time, he completely overtook the Flames.
- John Moore had a goal! He was also floating a lot in space, barely had any idea who he was covering at any one time and was effectively absent on the goal that made it 3-2. He had a weird night, is what I'm saying.
- Rask is wearing a new pad setup! That's fun! He didn't do much in his relief of Halak, just a couple of pad saves and a glove save.
- Studnicka on the first line might've been a nice idea in concept, but the kid really looked like he was trying to force plays. He was driving the net, but still forcing stuff. More confidence on his decisions? and I really think he will be ready sooner than later.
- I never want to cover another game starting at 2:30 ever again. I will almost certainly be the one doing it again.
The bruins' rookie squad will be in action at 1pm tomorrow. See you then!