By: Ryan Bosworth | @RyanJBosworth
The Boston Bruins raised the legendary #33 to the rafters tonight — honoring former captain Zdeno Chara with a pregame ceremony. Shortly after the conclusion of the ceremony, they had a hockey game to play. With puck drop set for 8 p.m., the Bruins were getting set to square off with the visiting Seattle Kraken.
First Period
The Bruins came out scorching — scoring their first two goals in the first four minutes of the period, and on their first two shots on goaltender Joey Daccord — forcing Seattle to use their timeout just under four minutes into the first frame.
Their first goal came from Marat Khusnutdinov, at 0:54 of the first, with a long pass up ice from defenseman Charlie McAvoy, beating the Seattle defender and wrapping a puck around Daccord’s extended pad. Khusnutdinov’s goal is his 10th of the season, and his fifth goal in his last four games. McAvoy registered his 25th assist of the season, putting him a total of 27 points (2-25-27) on the season.
The Bruins’ second goal came from the red-hot second line, now having registered a goal in each of their last six games. A breakout pass from Casey Mittelstadt to Pavel Zacha, a cross-seam pass from Zacha to Viktor Arvidsson, who fed it to the net and ended up cashing in put the Bruins up 2-0.
After scoring two goals, though, things sort of fell flat for Boston, and Seattle carried a lot of the momentum despite the Bruins cashing in twice. Jeremy Swayman allowed just one goal on Seattle’s 11 shots in the first period, and the Bruins went to the dressing room with a one-goal lead.
Second Period
The Bruins came out in the second frame and hit copy and paste, essentially giving the same performance as the first. Each team registered a goal, with Mark Kastelic scoring on the penalty kill and Eeli Tolvanen cashing in on the power play. Despite letting up two goals so far, Jeremy Swayman has been excellent, stopping 16 of Seattle’s 18 shots thus far.
The Bruins certainly held more momentum this period than they did in the first — as things were much more even between the two clubs. There’s a sense of chippiness on the ice, and it was increasing as the time wound down. A couple extra jabs when battling for pucks and a couple of big hits — not something as typically seen from teams on opposite coasts.
Third Period
The Bruins’ momentum carried into the third, and they were able to seal the deal, extending their lead to two goals, winning 4-2 over the Kraken. David Pastrnak notched the empty netter, despite Morgan Geekie tailing him, who’s gone goalless in his last 11 games, with his last goal coming on December 20th.
In any other scenario, Pastrnak would’ve dropped the puck to Geekie so he could’ve snapped his drought, but with the Seattle defender pressuring and the game still tight, he played it safe and gave the Bruins some insurance. His 20th goal of the season gave him his 10th consecutive 20-goal season, going all the way back to the 2016-17 season.
Tonight’s game was a historic one for the Boston Bruins, as they honored the legendary career of former captain Zdeno Chara. When it came time for puck drop, the Bruins came out strong, defeating the Kraken 4-2. Swayman went on to stop 26 of the Kraken’s 28 shots on goal, and the Bruins finished the home stand with a perfect 5-0-0 record as they head into a short two-game road trip before returning home again.
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