So far it’s been a simple matter of Jeremy Swayman’s superb goaltending in a matchup against Utah’s backup keeper Sebastian Cossa.
Cossa has size (6-foot-6), but he couldn’t get in the way of Casey Mittelstadt’s first goal of the season that came midway through the first period, only a couple of shifts after Swayman denied consecutive point-blank shots by aggressive fourth-liners Michael Carcone and Daniil But (when he scores at the Bell Centre, I wonder what that announcement sounds like).
Several good things to see so far from the Bruins tonight, the latest being Mark Kastelic’s stick lift on McKenzie Weegar just as the defenseman was swinging down on a pass to the right point.
Earlier in the period, Frederic Brunet covered nicely for Mason Lohrei after a turnover at the Utah blue line. Prior to that, Elias Lindholm did a nice job getting the puck deep, then recovering the puck on the chase and making a solid pass back to the left point. The Bruins are focused tonight, giving second and third efforts, and for the most part playing with structure. They need a strong, three-period game tonight, and it looks like Coach Marco Sturm can spend his coaching efforts on the steering wheel rather than the gas pedal.
A screen shot by David Pastrnak finds the net to double Boston’s lead with 5:38 remaining in the first. It’s the Bruins’ first powerplay goal of the season.
Matt Poitras made a nifty collection and pass through traffic to Lohrei at the right point, and Lohrei took it from there, weaving through the Mammoth defense and scoring to make it 3-0 with 4:09 left in the first period. That was the goalie changer, as Karel Vejmelka came into the game. Cossa was chased after stopping just five of Boston’s eight shots.
Swayman had to make a very strong save on a John Marino point shot that was tipped in the slot. James Hagens, who assisted on Mittelstadt’s goal, struggled on this shift, twice getting rag-dolled on the defensive halfwall, allowing the Mammoth to sustain offensive-zone time driven by Nick Schmaltz.
Fraser Minten turned the puck over at the defensive blue line but quickly harassed the puck interceptor and recovered possession, clearing the zone.
The period ended 3-0 Bruins, but Utah enjoyed a 17-8 shots advantage, a fair sign of the Mammoth’s strength on the puck and O-zone structure.
Pastrnak made it 4-0 just 4:40 into the second period with an irate Vincent Trocheck in the box for high sticking – Trocheck apparently thought his penalty was an unfair outcome – and it was classic Pasta, missing a simple headman pass up the right boards, then making a world-class, delay maneuver to enter the zone down the left wing, before getting the puck back, finally from Morgan Geekie for another goal from the left circle.
Shortly thereafter: J-J Peterka to the penalty box, and Utah to the powerplay. The Bruins get the kill and land the biggest hit. The Mammoth may have overlooked the Bruins, who are playing with an urgency yet seen this season.
Carcone to the box for hooking at 7:21 of the second, Bruins back on PP>
This time Pasta fakes the shot and slaps the pass from the right circle to Geekie, who makes the one-timer from the left circle look easy, and it’s 5-0 at 7:57.
A half minute later, the Bruins are getting an interference call, and Trocheck is going after Peterka. Somehow, Trocheck escapes a penalty, but Will Borgen is in the box at 8:25 of the second period.
Former longtime Islanders captain Anders Lee ran a blue-line pic on the powerplay, and Mark Kastelic knocked him down. Lee laid prone on the ice looking for a call that never came. The scheduled TV timeout came at the ensuing stoppage with 9:26 remaining in the middle period, the Boston penalty expired. Utah hit the crossbar from in tight, Swayman on his stomach kicking to influence the roofer attempt that narrowly missed.
Another penalty on Boston, sending Borgen back to the box for hooking at 11:50.
Pastrnak steals the puck upon the expiration of Borgen’s penalty and feeds Poitras for a one-timer: 6-0 with 5:52 left in the second period.
Three straight minors for Will Borgen in the second period of tonight’s Bruins-Mammoth game (led 6-0 by Boston after two) was finally broken by Pavel Zacha’s minor before the period ended. The officials looked the other way when Vinny Trocheck chased a fight with J-J Peterka, then an obvious hook that a PK-ing Mark Kastelic fought through at center. If you ever wondered why scoring is down but so are shutouts, it’s because laughers produce tempers and enraged responses (i.e. fighting). The NHL doesn’t want emotional fighting, the league only approves fighting in a controlled environment, such as Player A hits Player B clean and gets challenged by Player C under the banner of that takes care of that. Nothing takes care of a blowout besides boiling over – unless – the boiling-over team is gifted a string of powerplays to try and get on the scoreboard… restore some pride that way. Thirty-five years of the Bettman NHL tells me the league is working too hard to make sure we never again see the Flyers and Canadiens brawl during the pregame warmup or the scary stuff that went on a few years earlier in the Forum with the Nordiques. The ’80s are too long ago to be turning an October blowout into an extended, special-teams, practice session. Enough.
