Bruins vs. Sabres 12/27/19 RECAP: The Boston Bergerons win 3-0!

First Period:

The thing that set this game apart real early on was the fact that both goaltenders had showed up ready to go, and both were called upon to be absolutely over-the-top brilliant. They absolutely delivered.

But eventually someone had to break this tie, and on the 2nd power play of the night, Patrice Bergeron continued his tear by putting a heatseeker into a yawning cage just before the period ended. 1-0 B’s!

Seriously, Ullmark didn’t have a prayer of getting that one.

2nd Period:

Even with the scoreboard away from 0-0, it was still a battle of wills against Jaro and Linus, and it took a long time for the 2nd goal of the game to be put up.

And who should happen to go ahead and get that but Patrice Bergeron for his second of the night on one of the prettiest passing play sequences of the year? 2-0 B’s!

Words fail. This line is something else.

3rd Period:

You know the drill by now. In a goaltender’s duel, there’s nothing better than being up a pair because the amount of effort to get even one goal is astronomical, and the B’s kept the Sabres tightly pressed to the perimeter, ensuring Halak didn’t have to do too much to keep his shutout alive.

And as they got desperate, the B’s allowed Brandon Carlo a shot at their empty net, and he cashed in to get the B’s to 3-0!

And with that...a B’s win! And to think we get to do this all over again on Sunday!

Game Notes:

• What is there to say about Halak’s bounce-back performance of a lifetime? He was just unstoppable, and the Sabres felt it, especially in the third period.
• And of course, who else deserves a ton of credit for how this game went but the first line? 2 goal night for Bergie, 2 assist night for Pasta, and Marchand had an apple for each goal scored tonight.
• The TOI leader at even strength for the Bruins was Brandon Carlo, with a quarter over 20 minutes played.
• A suffocating defensive performance for the Coyle line. They just gave the Sabres fits all game.
• Anders Bjork is in a weird place where he’s getting a lot of ice-time, possessing the puck well, hustling and then...not doing anything with said puck. He’s just...not doing anything with it. He doesn’t shoot, he turns it over...just nothing towards a goal. Occasionally he might give it a shot attempt or two but...eventually he’s gotta start attempting more, right? His eye test seems to be good, but the results are kinda slim.
• Connor Clifton responded in a big way against Sam Reinhardt getting up in Halak’s grill, and drilled him for his transgressions. He also had himself a bit of a game on offense, getting the B’s a power play not too long after his “roughing” call.
• The Power play finished 1 for 4 and on the very first one of the game you could feel the lack of Torey Krug on it. John Moore and Steven Kampfer occasionally got to see what the man advantage was like, and it probably shouldn’t surprise you that they played like they knew they were temporary. Hopefully they make special teams adjustments until Krug’s injury heals.
• Danton Heinen got called for “Goaltender interference” that was 100% the ref not seeing Heinen getting shoved into Ullmark. At this point complaining that referees are missing things is like complaining that the sun will rise around 6-7 o’clock in the morning. It’s just not worth it.

A day off, then the B’s take on the Sabres again at home on Sunday, with puck drop at 7pm. We’ll see you there!