senators-bruins-hockeyPhoto Courtesy Of Full Press Coverage

By: Garrett Haydon | Follow Me On Twitter @thesportsguy97

Pre-Game Notes

Arena: Canadian Tire Centre, Kanata, Ontario, Canada

Home: Ottawa Senators (13-14-3)

Away: Boston Bruins (15-10-4)

Ottawa’s Lineup

Forwards

Tkachuk-White-Stone

Boedker-Tierney-Batherson

Dzingel-Smith-Paajarvi

McCormick-Paul-Pyatt

Defense

Chabot-Harpur

Lajoie-Ceci

Falk-Burgdoerker

Goalies

McKenna

Anderson

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

First Period

Neither team started the game very hot as perhaps both teams were tired from playing the night before. A good shift by the first line seemed to get the Bruins in a groove but they weren’t able to find the back of the net. The B’s had solid puck movement in the middle stages of the period as they had some very good breakouts and some good passing plays to keep the Senators defense guessing.

The Bruins had the majority of the possession in the first period but weren’t really able to do much with it as they failed to truly test Mike McKenna. Mark Stone fired a puck past Tuukka Rask off of a two on one rush by the Senators which gave them a 1-0 lead with about seven minutes to go in the period.

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The Bruins got a few great chances but McKenna denied them to keep the game scoreless as the period went on. The B’s went to the penalty kill as Wagner took a cross-checking call in the last two minutes of the period. The power play became a five on three as Brad Marchand took a penalty for elbowing. The period expired with the Senators still on the man advantage.

Score: 1-0 Senators

Second Period

The Bruins killed the Senators power play in the early moments of the second period to keep it a one goal game. A good answering shift by the first line nearly tied the game for the Bruins but McKenna was up to the task. The Bruins continued to have tons of possession especially in the Ottawa zone but were still unable to solve the Senators defense. Sean Kuraly dropped the gloves with Ben Harpur with about 13 minutes to go in the period to try to get the Bruins going.

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Harpur got an extra two minutes for an instigator penalty which resulted in a Boston power play. Marchand fired home a loose puck off a deflection to tie the game with 12:11 to play in the period.

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The game started to open up as the Senators got a few chances and started to gather more speed through the neutral zone. Rask and the Bruins defense seemed up to the task as they made a few heads up plays in the defensive zone. Unfortunately it didn’t last long as the B’s made a few uncharacteristic mistakes in their own zone and the Senators almost regained the lead.

Both teams traded chances in the final moments of the period as the game became a little frenetic. Both Rask and McKenna kept their composure and the game remained knotted at a goal apiece.

Score: Tied 1-1

Third Period

Early in the period, David Pastrnak drew a hooking penalty on Zack Smith to give the Bruins their second power play of the game. The Senators killed off the penalty despite some good puck movement by the B’s. A very good effort shift by the fourth line especially Gemel Smith kept the pressure on the Sens in the early stages of the period.

The Bruins began to have issues getting clean possession in the middle part of the final period as the Senators kept on coming. The B’s responded well with a good shift by the third line as Ryan Donato got a golden scoring opportunity but had the puck roll off his stick. The Bruins would get another power play as Pastrnak drew a tripping penalty. The Senators got a great shorthanded chance but Rask absolutely robbed Stone to keep it tied.

During the shorthanded rush, Pastrnak interfered with Stone to negate the Boston man advantage. The Bruins killed the Ottawa power play and immediately after, Pastrnak nearly scored on a breakaway but was stoned by McKenna. The pace of the game ramped up exponentially in the third period as both teams went end to end a few times but nothing resulted in the go ahead goal.

The Bruins held nearly all of the possession in the final minutes of regulation, pushing hard for the next goal. Neither team found the back of the net in the last few minutes and the game went into overtime.

Score: Tied 1–1

Overtime

Kuraly nearly won the game on a two on one opportunity but McKenna made a miraculous stop, stacking the pads, to keep the game tied. An unbelievable setup by David Krejci resulted in Torey Krug firing a rocket by McKenna to end it.

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Final Score: 2-1 Bruins

Three Stars Of The Game

Third Star: Rask. He wasn’t spectacular necessarily but Rask made some gigantic saves to keep the Bruins in the game and his save on Stone was probably his best of the season.

Second Star: Marchand. Number 63 had another strong game and finished with two points including a helper on the winning goal.

First Star: Krug. A good defensive effort by the defenseman helped keep the Senators in check. He was rewarded with the winning goal at 3:07 of overtime.

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