Photo Courtesy Of Boston Sports Extra
By: Garrett Haydon | Follow Me On Twitter @thesportsguy97
Pre-Game Notes
Arena: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Home: Boston Bruins (16-10-4)
Away: Arizona Coyotes (13-13-2)
Boston’s Lineup
Forwards
Marchand-Krejci-Pastrnak
Nordstrom-Cave-Backes
Donato-Forsbacka Karlsson-Heinen
Smith-Kuraly-Wagner
Defense
Krug-Carlo
Grzelcyk-McAvoy
Moore-Kampfer
Goalies
Rask
Halak
Arizona’s Lineup
Forwards
Crouse-Schmaltz-Keller
Panik-Stepan-Fischer
Cousins-Richardson-Archibald
Bunting-Kempe-Garland
Defense
Ekman-Larsson-Lyubushkin
Goligoski-Hjalmarsson
Oesterle-Chychrun
Goalies
Kuemper
Hill
First Period
The Bruins had some good jump in the early moments and David Krejci got right involved with a big hit on Coyotes winger Clayton Keller.
David Krejci laying the body on Clayton Keller pic.twitter.com/m4EDy1BRbP
— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) December 12, 2018
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The Bruins would get an early power play after Keller got his stick in Charlie McAvoy’s face which resulted in a four minute man advantage. The Bruins failed to score despite some good puck movement and the Coyotes took some momentum back after the penalty kill. A few minutes later, Matt Grzelcyk took a hooking penalty to give the Coyotes a power play opportunity.
Brad Marchand got a shorthanded opportunity but was stoned by Darcy Kuemper on a breakaway. Nick Schmaltz gave the Coyotes the lead on the man advantage off a nice feed from Keller that ricocheted off the post and then off Rask and into the net.
Nick Schmaltz gets the lucky bounce off the post (and goaltender) and in! 🚨
Watch #IceSurfing ➡️ only on @Sportsnet Twitter. pic.twitter.com/X6hkQmGVdj
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 12, 2018
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The Coyotes then made it 2-0 as Nick Cousins’ shot deflected off of John Moore and past Rask not even a minute after the goal by Schmaltz.
2-0 #Coyotes Nick Cousins #OurPack #ARIvsBOS pic.twitter.com/3usevDstTv
— Ronnie Laybold (@CoyotesGlendale) December 12, 2018
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The Bruins had a few good shifts towards the end of the period but weren’t able to solve Kuemper. The Coyotes seemed to dig in defensively towards the end of the period as they seemed comfortable with the two goal lead.
Score: 2-0 Coyotes
Second Period
Both teams started the middle period fairly aggressively as they went hard to the net on a few different occasions but both goalies seemed up to the task. The Bruins were incredibly sloppy in their own zone early in the period as they were lucky to not let the Coyotes get another goal. The B’s continued the have the majority of shots toward the middle of the period but weren’t unable to cut into the lead.
Danton Heinen finally got the Bruins on the board after he buried a sweet feed in front by Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson to cut the Coyotes lead in half.
JFK with the sweet backhand saucer pass to Danton Heinen, who buries his second goal in three games. pic.twitter.com/evQC5rNjwQ
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) December 12, 2018
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The one goal game didn’t last long as David Pastrnak tied the game on an impressive net drive after Marchand hit him perfectly in stride with a beauty of a pass.
David Pastrnak’s 21st of the season tied things up at 2 #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/1Kyzb1iySF
— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) December 12, 2018
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Marchand made it three consecutive goals after a ridiculous setup by Pastrnak and Krejci, giving the Bruins the lead for the first time in the game.
David Pastrnak fake clapper pass to Brad Marchand, #NHLBruins lead 3-2 pic.twitter.com/GVPG3w2lC2
— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) December 12, 2018
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Another spectacular setup by the first line resulted in Marchand’s second of the night as he banged home a loose puck in front of the Arizona net.
Brad Marchand’s 2nd of the night #NHLBruins explode for four goals in the 2nd period pic.twitter.com/lx1tIgRJPv
— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) December 12, 2018
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An ugly turnover behind the Boston net resulted in the third Coyotes goal as Michael Bunting’s shot somehow got through Rask to cut the B’s lead to one.
First NHL game, first NHL goal for Michael Bunting of the @ArizonaCoyotes! 🚨
Watch #IceSurfing ➡️ only on @Sportsnet Twitter. pic.twitter.com/cWaZDMAFjE
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 12, 2018
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The Coyotes continued to push for a tying goal, basically throwing everything at Rask in hopes of getting another lucky bounce. Fortunately for the Bruins, Rask stood tall in the final moments of the period to keep it a one goal game going into the third period.
Score: 4-3 Bruins
Third Period
The Coyotes held much of the possession in the opening moments of the third period as they looked to tie the game up. Rask was ready for the Coyotes onslaught in the early going of the period and maybe a nice stick save on Schmaltz with about 15 minutes to go. The Bruins picked up their second power play of the night as Jakob Chychrun went to the penalty box with 11 minutes to go.
The Coyotes killed the penalty despite some really good puck movement by the Bruins. The B’s continued to have issues in their own zone as the game drew towards a close as they seemed to be hanging on for dear life. The Coyotes went on the man advantage as Moore took a tripping penalty with about six minutes remaining.
The Bruins killed off the penalty to Moore as the Coyotes failed to get any significant scoring chances. Krejci nearly iced the game but hit the post behind Kuemper and the game remained a one goal affair. The Coyotes pulled the goalie with about 1:20 to play as they looked to knot the game at four. The Coyotes were unable to tie it as Rask made a huge save to seal the deal.
Final Score: 4-3 Bruins
Three Stars Of The Game
Third Star: Heinen. The young winger got the Bruins on the board with his second goal in three games as he continued his solid recent play.
Second Star: Krejci. Number 46 was an absolute wizard on the ice and was perhaps the important player in the game.
First Star: Marchand. A three point night from the feisty winger helped the Bruins rally from an early two goal deficit and take away two points at home.
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