By: Andrew Bluestein | Follow Me On Twitter / X @adbblue
The Boston Bruins defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-2 in overtime on Thursday night in what was a frustrating night for the Bruins. They had to kill six penalties, most of which were questionable calls. They only received one power play of their own, but they did score.
Despite being outshot 37-23, Boston was able to gut it out and pull out the victory on the second night of a back-to-back. It wasn’t the prettiest win, but the team did enough to get the two points. Jeremy Swayman held down the fort, making 35 saves.
First Period
The Bruins came out buzzing on the opening shift, with a great chance from Morgan Geekie, who fired a one-timer off the mask of Senators goalie Joonas Korpisalo. After that chance, Ottawa controlled the play for the next few minutes, generating a couple of good chances that Jeremy Swayman stopped. There was a short scrap between Derek Forbort and Mark Kastelic, who both quickly went to the ice and were given 2:00 each for roughing.
The teams played four-on-four, with Boston getting an impressive shift from Charlie Coyle, but he couldn’t take advantage of it. The Bruins became shorthanded on a questionable call after David Pastrnak was called for tripping. They killed it off with ease and did not yield a shot on goal. However, immediately after killing it off, they became shorthanded again after Coyle was called for tripping.
Once again, the Black and Gold killed off the penalty without allowing a shot on the net. The Bruins had a hard time creating offense as they did not register their second shot on goal of the opening period until there was 2:20 left. Boston got their first power play with 1:27 remaining, and they struck right away. David Pastrnak rifled a one-timer on a feed from Charlie McAvoy to make it 1-0. Swayman was solid in net, stopping all nine of Ottawa’s shots, while the Bruins only registered three.
Second Period
Boston had another good shift to start the second period, with Jesper Boqvist getting a good look, but he was turned aside by Korpisalo. James van Riemsdyk then had a partial break, and again, Korpisalo made the save. Up and down, the ice action occurred for the next couple of minutes before the Bruins poured it on. Their moment was halted, however, after Pastrnak was called for his second penalty of the game, this time for a hook.
The Bruins killed off their third penalty, and just after, they extended their lead to 2-0. Trent Frederic had an absolute snipe top shelf on the blocker side of Korpisalo. Boston received their fourth penalty of the night when Brad Marchand was called for holding the stick. They again killed off the penalty, which included a great shorthanded chance from Danton Heinen, set up by a great feed from Coyle, but Korpisalo made the save.
For the fifth time in the game, the Bruins were shorthanded when yet another questionable tripping call on Frederic. Ottawa finally capitalized and got on the board with Thomas Chabot, making it a 2-1 game with 0:27 left. Boston was outshot again in the middle period, 12-8, but was undoubtedly the better team.
Third Period and Overtime
The third period started with a strong fore-check orchestrated by the Bruins, followed by some fast back-and-forth hockey. Ottawa was able to generate some zone time, but nothing came of it, as the Bruins had a number of blocked shots. A good part of the middle portion of the third period was played in the neutral zone, with little offense.
The Senators did get some pucks to the net from up top, but Swayman shut the door. Ottawa thought they had tied the game when Josh Norris jammed one by Swayman, but it was disallowed after the officials deemed it a hand pass. Parker Wotherspoon would be called for their sixth penalty of the night, and again, it was a questionable call.
The Senators cashed in when Vladimir Tarasenko beat Swayman’s short side to tie the game 2-2. Regulation ended in that score, and the teams headed to overtime. The Bruins controlled the majority of the overtime play, aside from a couple of chances from Ottawa. The game ended when Coyle hit Marchand on a two-on-one, and Marchand buried it for the 3-2 win. It was the 19th career overtime goal for the captain.
Up Next
Next, the Bruins will head to Philadelphia for their first season meeting with the Flyers, who are playing solid hockey. Their head coach, John Tortorella, has them currently sitting as the third seed in the Metropolitan Division. The puck drop will be a little after 12:30 p.m. as the Flyers will retire Hall Of Famer and former Bruins Stanley Cup Champion Mark Recchi’s number prior to the game.
Leave a Reply