Bruins vs. Predators 1/7/20 RECAP: Bruins PK stands tall in penalty filled, chaos reigning 6-2 win!

First Period:

You knew this game was gonna be something special when it’s 4 on 4 within seconds of the opening whistle. Brad Marchand and Victor Arvidsson paid their moron tax for the day in sending each other to the box, and the end result was David Pastrnak taking the puck from the defensive zone and just unloading a heat-seeker right behind Rinne to give the B’s a 1-0 lead!

To think that this gets worse for Rinne, and also that he wasn’t even the worst performance of the night in the NHL.

The B’s would continue to test Rinne sorely, with the Kuraly line having a great shift against the Preds depth and Anders Bjork almost doing a whole shot attempt, but was warded away. This is unusual because the B’s have largely been a pretty mediocre team at 5-on-5 recently, and the way the rest of this game went was an encouraging sign.

Not much else happened in this period, and onto the 2nd we go.

2nd Period:

The period started with one of the most potentially bizarre goals that could’ve possibly counted against the Boston Bruins: The Preds entered the zone, knocked McAvoy into the net and the net off it’s pegs, and the puck was tossed into the net...and the initial decision from the referees on the ice regarding that was that it was a good goal.

Toronto itself had to call up to say “Hey. That’s stupid. Don’t do that”.

This was a wild period in general, as the Bruins got penalized for damn near everything under the sun and spent a good portion of it on the man disadvantage, rarely if ever getting any even strength shots. But when they did, they tormented the Preds in their own zone for stretches at a time, and it was Danton Heinen who was able to capitalize on one of those torture chamber shifts to put the B’s lead even father away with a top-shelf blast. 2-0 B’s!

The rare night where the Bruins were able to find and then shoot on the perfect shot.

But of course, the B’s were still taking penalties left and right, and Filip Forsberg at long last broke through for Nashville on a 5-on-3. 2-1 B’s.

Bit of a knuckler, but inevitably the point that should be taken from being on a 5-on-3 is that being at 5-on-3 is a bad idea in any situation so maybe don’t do that in the future.

Thankfully, later in the period on a change, Patrice Bergeron was fed two golden opportunities, and he buried the 2nd one while he was out in front being defended by...uh...I’m going to say nobody. 3-1 B’s!

Normally when the play by play guy points out a streak it’s a sign that it’s doomed. In the hands of Patrice Bergeron, it’s accentuated.

Miracles that man makes. Freaking miracles.

The period ended uneventfully (for this game anyway), and onto the 3rd we go.

3rd Period:

If this game was on drugs before, lemme tell you.

the first scoring play of the period came from Par Lindholm banking a shot off of noted Walpole resident Chris Wagner and behind Rinne, giving the B’s a 4-1 lead!

Congratulations, Tinordi. You played yourself.

Of course, the Preds wouldn’t just roll over and die like any other team down three goals, and in a net-man scramble on the power play that initially didn’t look like it had much going for it, a replay revealed that yes, in fact, it had gone into the back of the net. 4-2.

I can’t even find it so are we sure it really happened?

Well, I certainly know this happened. Which was neat.

When you got a guy looking up to the lights, you know you’ve got them doomed.

Also, Yakov Trenin and Zdeno Chara fought. Trenin got some good shots in on the big man, too. It was kinda impressive.

Thankfully, the Preds got desperate, and David Krejci capitalized on an empty net from waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down town to seal the game for Boston. 5-2!

And after a game like tha-

Ah, thanks for the capper, Charlie Coyle. Makes for a great step. The Bruins finish the night with a 6-2 win over the Preds, and go home to face the Jets on Thursday!

Game Notes:

• So much happened.
• In seriousness, a good portion of the chaos of this game was created by both a lack of discipline on both sides...and some unusually zealous refereeing. I’m all for calling the game down the middle but the Bruins were getting called all over the ice and it was a major momentum killer, especially in the 2nd and almost could’ve been in the 3rd had they not gotten their 5 on 5 goals. Big ups to the PKers tonight and to Rask especially.
• Speaking of whom, Tuukka Rask is going to haunt Victor Arvidsson’s nightmares for a good long while. he had a .943 SV% tonight and honestly had the B’s had more 5 on 5 time, there was a good reason to believe he could’ve had less go by him. He was locked in tight.
• Anders Bjork was on the 2nd line! He did a lot of the same stuff that got him promoted tonight! Hopefully he keeps it up and gets on the board soon!
• First line had another ho-hum, two goal night. @Gonna need more out of them, amirite@.
• Charlie Coyle’s line was buzzing at even strength, crushing the Preds into their own zone for quite a bit.
• Seriously, if that goal in the 2nd period had counted for the Preds, the Game Notes would be a dissertation on refereeing and why it needs to be seriously reevaluated. Hell, it might still need reevaluation. That was obviously not a goal. That was clear as day and Toronto itself had to call in to say “No, you’re wrong, idiots.” Just a masterclass in shambolic decision making.
• Tonight was the Mom’s trip for the B’s. They clearly enjoyed the night, bizarre and full of drama that it was. Great stuff. Even better that nobody got hurt with their mom in attendance.
• This was a great way to start off this kinda-sorta road trip, as they have four games in five days upcoming for them, including a back-to-back against desperate Metropolitan teams. They’re gonna need every ounce of momentum they can get.

The Bruins return home on Thursday to face the Jets at TD Garden. Puck drop is at 7pm EST.

We’ll see you there!