By: Tom Calautti | @TCalauttis
The Boston Bruins returned to TD Garden in desperate need of a win. They dropped a miserable 7-2 contest to the Ottawa Senators Monday night, and things were beginning to spiral. Thanks to a strong effort by Joonas Korpisalo and the return of Hampus Lindholm, the Black and Gold were able to stop the bleeding and get back in the win column. Here’s how it went down:
Don’t Panic
Things didn’t get off to a hot start for the Bruins. Just over a minute into the game, Boston got caught up ice, leading to a three-on-two rush for the Islanders. Bo Horvat ripped a wrist shot past Korpisalo to give New York an early 1-0 lead.
Things went from bad to worse as the Islanders would add on to that lead less than four minutes later. With the referee’s arm in the air and New York deploying an extra attacker, Matthew Barzal found Kyle Palmieri at the back post for an open net goal to extend the lead to 2-0.
It looked like the Bruins were headed for a repeat showing of Monday night’s 7-2 rout in Ottawa, but head coach Marco Sturm said that he could tell tonight would be different.
“Last night…those ones are tough, those ones are tough to swallow” said Sturm about the loss in Ottawa. “I was just looking forward to today because I knew (my team) was going to respond…Even after we were down 2-0, the energy was still the same so that was a good sign.”
Bruins Storm Back
Sturm must’ve had a crystal ball in between periods because his team came out for the second and played one of their best 20 minutes of the season. The Bruins out-attempted the Isles 22-12 and out-chanced them 13-4, resulting in a three-goal outburst that wrestled the lead back from New York.
The party got started on the power play when Pavel Zacha found Elias Lindholm, who dropped down to one knee just inside the right dot and fired one past Ilya Sorokin. The goal cut the lead to 2-1 and marked Lindholm’s fourth power-play goal of the season, good enough for second in the NHL.
Less than three minutes later, Hampus Lindholm announced his return to the TD Garden faithful. The Swedish defenseman took a pass from Andrew Peeke and deftly faked a wrist shot before sliding the puck across the ice to David Pastrnak for the game’s tying goal.
“(Having Hampus Lindholm back) was great, besides that first shift where I had to defend,” joked Pastrnak after the game. “You can see the difference he makes on both sides of the ice…Huge to have him back being healthy and being able to play the game he did.”
All eyes were on Lindholm’s return to the ice after he missed the previous ten days with a lower-body injury. The 31-year-old addressed his health following the game, saying, “I’m looking ahead, like I said (my) body feels good and…big win for the boys tonight.”
The second-period onslaught continued less than a minute after Pastrnak’s goal when Charlie McAvoy wheeled a puck down the left-wing side and found Mikey Eyssimont’s stick perfectly positioned in the crease for a tap-in goal. Boston had officially erased the two-goal deficit and had to focus on playing with a lead.
Korpisalo Shuts the Door
Unfortunately, nothing seems to come easy to the Bruins this season, and they faced their fair share of adversity in last night’s contest. The biggest hurdle came late in the second and early into the third period when Hampus Lindholm took a high-sticking double minor. With Boston clinging to a one-goal lead, their penalty-killing unit stood tall and shut the door on New York’s best chance to tie the game.
The Bruin goaltender finished with 33 saves and didn’t allow a goal after the five-minute mark of the first period. Included in those stops are a partial breakaway to Horvat and two third-period penalty kills.
Morgan Geekie added a power-play goal just over five minutes into the third to extend the lead to two goals. Geekie’s eighth goal of the season, tying him for fifth in the league, was a 95.68 MPH one-timer that rifled past Sorokin. After the game, David Pastrnak made sure to compliment his teammate, saying he has “everything he needs to score 50 in this league.”
Fraser Minten buried the empty-netter, and the Bruins secured their fifth win of the season. They get back on the ice Thursday night when they take on the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden.
Game Notes
- With Hampus Lindholm returning to the lineup Marco Sturm shuffled his defensive pairs playing Charlie McAvoy with Nikita Zadorov. When those two were on the ice together shot attempts were 16-4, shots were 7-1, and chances were 8-1. Now that’s what a top-pairing should look like.
- McAvoy looked like a completely different player last night. Arguably boston’s best and he did it across all three zones. Maybe Sturm stumbled onto something with the new defensive pairings.
- Eyssimont, Elias Lindholm, and Pastrnak all notched a goal and an assist on the evening.
- Sturm jumbled his lines early in the game, placing Marat Khusnutdinov with Pastrnak and Lindholm. Sturm said he liked what he saw from that trio and hinted we could see more of it in the future.
- Geekie now has goals in five straight games and trails only the following players in league wide goal-scoring: Nathan Mackinnon, Cole Caufield, Jack Hughes, and Pavel Dorofeyev
- Jonathan Aspirot had a solid showing in his NHL debut. He played 14:41 and blocked four shots while skating alongside Henri Jokiharju.
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