Well, the Boston Bruins did not exactly get off to the most auspicious start to the post-Christmas section of the schedule. In what looked like a favorable matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets, they got steamrolled by a score of 6-2.
That was absolutely embarrassing.
Here in Boston, we are not used to seeing our teams play at an average rate or coast through games. Even though the B's have a 18-15-3 record, we are not satisfied. They are not one of the worst teams in the league and everyone out there seems to think so. Excluding the gaping holes on the roster, the Bruins needed to rebound this week. What better way to do that than a three-game homestand?
The Bruins begun a string of games on Monday night that featured teams all within the Atlantic Division. Time for some catching up. Up first were the Detroit Red Wings.
Tuukka Rask was back in net for the Bruins after entering the game on Saturday in relief of Niklas Svedberg. Jordan Caron got a chance to play in this game after the Bruins put Matt Fraser on waivers. Also, both Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic did not play in this game due to undisclosed injuries. Lastly, Matt Lindblad was recalled and skated on the fourth line against Detroit.
In the first period, the Bruins swarmed the Red Wings. The amount of pressure that Boston put on Detroit was intense. Everyone assumed that this team would come out blazing, and that was exactly the case. The Bruins recorded three goals in the first 20 minutes--the team's first three-goal period of the season. Boston out-shot Detroit 19-12 in the first period with Rask making some big stops
With the Bruins holding a 3-1 lead heading into the second period, the Red Wings started to ramp up the pressure. The Bruins did not manage the puck well early on in the period, but the scoring chances came in abundance as the minutes elapsed (especially from the Chris Kelly-Carl Soderberg-Loui Eriksson line). However, it was Detroit who capitalized on the power play to pull within one.
In the third period, Boston did not let up. The B's ended up scoring another two goals in the final 20 minutes, which made the game unreachable for the Red Wings. The Bruins racked up 45 total shots on goal in a rebound 5-2 victory on home ice. Are we back on the bandwagon yet?
The Bruins will play their next game on Wednesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Gold Star: Carl Soderberg...Impressive stat line, but what did not show up was him willing to go into the dirty areas and take some punishment to put his team on top.
Black Star: Brad Marchand...He was more concerned about being a pest than celebrating a TEAM goal, plus he was not sharp in the defensive zone. #selfish
Game Thirty-Seven Box Score
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