Well as suspected, a Bruins surge over the last five games has not translated into a gained ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race, and today they take on the Colorado Avalanche, who have Martin Necas instead of Miko Rantanen. The Avs could not risk losing the great Finnish winger for nothing via free agency and did a blockbuster deal yesterday with the Carolina Hurricanes, who now have Rantanen and Taylor Hall from the Blackhawks, who are paying out half of Rantanen’s remaining salary, absorbing that cap hit in return for future assets.
The Bruins need another big home performance, where they’ve been a good team. It’s the road where they have failed rather miserably, and if the Bruins do fall on the wrong side of the playoff bubble when all is said and done their lack of road resiliency will be the culprit.
Necas is in the starting lineup for the Avs, who have Scott Wedgewood in net.
Jack Drury, who came over from Carolina in the deal, is in the lineup today, as is old friend Chris Wagner, the Walpole, Mass., native who spent time with the Boston and Providence Bruins.
Good for Wags, to hang onto his NHL career and on a team capable of deep playoff runs.
Jeremy Swayman (upper-body injury) is back in net today for the Bruins.
FIRST PERIOD
Nikita Zadorov sees Avs defenseman Sam Malinski needing to clear a D-zone puck and crunches him on the boards, separating his helmet from his head. The next shift, lots of Avs trying to line up Bruins, most notably former Bruin Chris Wagner’s miss on David Pastrnak. Wagner fell slid a half a zone past the intended collision.
The Avs are outshooting the Bruins, 6-1, 8:33 into the game, but while Swayman is getting peppered, he hasn’t exactly been under siege.
Cale Makar rushes down the right, save Swayman, and Andrew Peake roughs up Makar upon the defenseman’s arrival to the goalcrease.
Both teams have close calls. Colorado’s scoring chance came off a misconnect between Brandon Carlo and Parker Wotherspoon behind the Boston net; the ensuing shot deflected and trickle past the right post before Wotherspoon was able to get a stick on it. Boston’s was simpler, as Peake fired through the screen and just missed the left post.
Scoreless with the Avs outshooting the Bruins 9-2 10:48 into the game.
[Morgan Geekie seems to have the best recognition on the Bruins for knowing when to fish or cut bait on a possession, to shoot or to make a play, time and space. Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak routinely press for more so it appears that they don’t judge as well as Geekie.]
Pastrnak open weak side in transition, but seeing the window close he fires from the circle. Save Wedgewood. Boston’s fourth shot.
Too much of the opening 20 minutes were played in the Boston (east) end of the rink. Bruins will shoot at the east end in the second period, so they hope to continue to push the action in the direction of Bunker Hill.
Shots after one: 12-5 Colorado.
SECOND PERIOD
Artturi Lehkonen gets the Avs on the board at 1:30 of the second with a corner picker inside the far (left) post, 1-0 Colorado. The goal spoiled a terrific block in the slot by Michael Callahan on the hold-your-breath play right beforehand.
Peeke partially fans at the right point, and the TD Garden crowd groans as the Avs chase the stray puck in the middle of the ice. The Bruins regroup en masse and shut the play down.
Manson lines up Lohrei and misses but manages to throw off Lohrei’s puck play.
The Bruins catch the Avs flatfooted in their own zone, and Justin Brazeau (back in the lineup today after sitting out Thursday vs. Ottawa) rifles a shot wide from the high slot.
Devon Toews’ shot from the left point pings off the inside of the left post and back out from behind Swayman. Bruins dodge a bullet and then get a great opportunity when Vinni Lettieri and Marchand team up to find Elias Lindholm unchecked in the slot. Lindholm keeps it on the ice, but Wedgewood gets his stick across and makes the stop. Bruins’ best chance of the game.
The Bruins don’t gap up at all on the line change, and the Avs turn a stretch pass into Nathan MacKinnon charging down the slot, his shot disrupted at the last possible moment. The Bruins easily could have been in a two-goal hole.
Avs winger Jusso Parssinen tries to make the reverse Joe Sakic hit on a checking Lettieri, who fights and twists through it, angrily throwing the larger Parssinen off balance. Good battling by Lettieri, who had a hand in Boston’s best scoring chance of the game as well.
3:30 from second intermission and the Bruins still have eight shots on net.
Wotherspoon gives Drury the sideboards smackdown, but the refs allow it because Drury was rotating on the play. Those ones happen so fast … but now a penalty on Pastrnak for tripping with 1:51 left in the period.
Colorado powerplay: Necas and MacKinnon traded passes in the LW corner, but the most they got from it was a too-tight backhand chip by MacKinnon that Swayman walled away. It was all Bruins PK after that, starting with a Lindholm pass for Pavel Zacha could not collect. Then a Marchand steal and rag passing by the Bruins, then Coyle and Zacha swooped in, around the Colorado net until Coyle lost an edge. Period ends with nine seconds left on Pastrnak’s penalty.
Shots after two: 19-8 Colorado.
The Avalanche have allowed 153 goals in 49 games this season, ranking the Avs at the seam between the middle and bottom thirds of the NHL. That the Bruins, through 40 minutes, have only managed eight shots on Colorado starter Scott Wedgewood (2.90 GAA, .900 SP in 13 GP) has to be unsettling to Boston mgmt.
We’ll keep an eye on how Coach Joe Sacco shortens his bench … not if but how.
THIRD PERIOD
Bruins get the kill, transition Pastrnak to Zacha to Geekie goal, 1-1, just 25 seconds into the third period on the Bruins’ ninth shot of the game.
Matt Poitras goes wide on Manson and gets the crunching hit in the corner.
Bruins back down, almost get a bounce on Lindholm’s shot from the shot, but Lettieri is called for high-sticking Logan O’Connor, who needs assistance leaving the ice. Only 2:00 penalty.
Colorado PP: Bruins get a crucial kill.
Callahan keeps the puck low, Pastrnak gets it behind the Colorado net, Toews loses Geekie at the right post, Pasta wraps around and goes cross ice to Geekie for the tap-in at 5:43. Bruins lead 2-1 on their 12th shot on goal.
MacKinnon right down off wing, save Swayman.
Big hits around the ice, a little bit like that brief spell after Zadorov crunched Malinski early.
Colorado with a push, but Toews wildly misses a one-timer from the left point, shaking out his right hand all the way to the visitors’ bench.
Wedgewood makes a big save on Trent Frederic, who fired off the Lindholm faceoff win.
Zadorov with another big hit.
Makar snaps his stick on a one-timer from the left circle (right shot), puck goes nowhere. The Bruins went to ice the puck, but the whistle had already blown. TV timeout.
Marchand lays a big interference hit on Ross Colton, who has words for the official in view. Colton had played the puck behind the Boston but clearly relaxed, having thought the window for a hit had passed. Marchand swooped around the net and went backward straight into Colton, knocking the Avs forward on his hockey pants in surprise. Colton was steaming on his way to the bench, even raising his stick to a Boston forward crisscrossing on the line change.
Avalanche with scary pressure engineered mainly by MacKinnon. Necas and Makar had good looks, but couldn’t finish cleanly. Swayman smothers to allow his team fresh legs.
Manson checked by Geekie, goes down, no call – screams embellishment, but the NHL only wants to make the call when it evens up a minor penalty on the same play.
Swayman pounces on an aerial puck in front, and Wagner gets tied up, lets his stick find the back of Swayman’s neck. Player converge.
Wedgewood to the Colorado bench for a sixth attacker. Bruins miss the empty net and ice the puck. Bruins lose the draw but eventually gain possession, Pastrnak ices the puck. Was going for the soft dump off the side boards.
1:20…
Solid checking by the Bruins, and Pastrnak hits the empty net with 2.3 seconds left. Bruins win, 3-1.
Drive safely.
Rink Rap with Mick Colageo 