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It took until December, but the Boston Bruins finally have a win from a goalie not named Tuukka Rask. And did Anton Khudobin, who entered Thursday’s game without a win in three starts this season, ever have to earn it in a 2-1 shootout victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at TD Garden.
“He deserves a lot of accolades tonight, the way he played, the way he responded after being out such a long time,” B’s coach Claude Julien said. “I think the fact that he went to Providence and played some games there really helped him get back on track, I guess, and tonight he showed that he was ready to play. He made some big plays for us, you know, solid in the shootout. So you couldn’t ask more from him and there’s no doubt that there was a lot of confidence that grew in that dressing room by watching his play and knowing that we have two goaltenders that can play extremely well for us.”
In a game that could have very well set hockey back 10 years, the Bruins struggled to do much of anything in front of Khudobin, who finally allowed a goal just seconds after he stopped a 4-on-0 opportunity with a power-play goal from Hurricane defenseman Noah Hanifin 7:37 into the second.
The Bruins finished that second period with just seven shots on goal, and had just 17 total shots on 33 shot attempts through 40 minutes of play. But like they have again and again, the Bruins straight-up turned their engines on in the third and were finally recorded, with 31.5 seconds left, and on their 30th shot of the night, when Teuvo Teravainen asked if he could kick it and found out that yes you can into his own net, beating veteran netminder Cam Ward for the Bruins’ first goal of the night.
The goal was credited to Torey Krug, with David Pastrnak and David Krejci given assists, as well.
In an overtime for their second straight game, the B’s controlled pace with a power-play opportunity, but needed another great stop from the 30-year-old Khudobin and got it when he came up with a game-saving overtime stop on Carolina’s Jeff Skinner for his second breakaway stop of the game.
In the shootout, the Bruins got goals from Ryan Spooner in the top of the first and Pastrnak in the top of the third while Khudobin stopped Skinner in the bottom of the third to seal the deal on the win.
“He was darn good. A couple big saves – breakaways where he’s in the right spot at the right time, making them either shoot wide or getting a piece of them,” David Backes said of Khudobin’s 29-of-30 performance against the ‘Canes. “And then, does enough in the shootout to get the extra point. But he’s the reason we were still in that game late in it. Sometimes, you’re going to need special performances and I think Dobby had one of those special performances tonight.”
This and that
- The Bruins once again shuffled up their lines in search of some third period life, and did so with the decision to move Ryan Spooner back up to the second line with David Krejci and David Backes, which bumped Tim Schaller back down to the B’s fourth line with Dominic Moore. And while the left side of that line has been identified as a problem at times, how about the center and right side, or rather simply put, the chemistry developed between Krejci and Backes thus far?
“I think at times that line goes quiet, other times it’s better. We’ve tried different guys on the left side right now and one might give them speed but doesn’t win as many battles. The other way guys are a little harder right now and they spend more time in the O-zone. So really trying hard to find the right balance there,” Julien said of his second line. “But at the same time, I think both Davids [Backes and Krejci] are very capable of bringing a good game every night as far as creating scoring chances and being some of the better players. So at times, you think that it’s not so much about what’s on our left or what’s not on our left, more that it’s about their game. So the chemistry takes some time and I think they’re starting to get to know each other all the time.”
- Life without Chara has never been fun for the Bruins, but they’ve survived it thus far, with two wins and five points in five games without Big Z. The Bruins are also starting to see some chemistry develop between everyone else asked to play larger roles in his absence. The lion’s share of minutes has been handled by Torey Krug on the de facto top pairing and some nights by Kevan Miller on the left side (out of his natural right side position), of course, but you’re starting to see everyone (and I mean everyone) come up with some strong defensive plays. Both Miller and Carlo each had noteworthy shutdowns of one-on-one chances for Carolina, while the Joe Morrow and Colin Miller pairing looks like an undeniably offensive weapon if given advantageous matchups.
- Was Riley Nash hoping to be in the shootout in his first game against his former team?
“I think I’ve taken so many shootouts on Wardo [Cam Ward] that they were kind of saving me just because he knows my move. I don’t venture out too often from my go-to move,” Nash said with a smile after the win. “Probably would have scored. We’ll say that. Leave it up to imagination.”
Up next
It’s off to Buffalo for a Saturday matinee with the Sabres. It will be the second of four head-to-heads between the B’s and Blades this season, with the Bruins having won the first by a 4-1 final at home.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010 and has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013. Ty is also the Boston Bruins beat writer for WEEI.com and can also be found in the New England Hockey Journal. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
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