It was fairly obvious that this was going to be a good night for the Bruins.
It was just 21:25 into the game that the Bruins had three goals. One from Kevan Miller on a rolling puck he hammered past the Sens’ Craig Anderson, another from an easy net-front putaway from Danton Heinen, and the third when Riley Nash blocked an Erik Karlsson shot and then went the other way for a pretty breakaway finish on what was just the Black and Gold’s 11th shot of the night.
It was the perfect start in a 5-1 final over the Sens, and kind of effort that they needed on a night where the star-studded Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak trio were held in check.
“A balanced scoring, secondary scoring – it’s something we were searching for,… Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy, whose team has won five games in a row for the first time all season, said after the victory. “Nash’s line has chipped in on I think on a fairly regular basis. [Ryan] Spooner’s group certainly has the ability to do it. You saw that with Anders [Bjork] tonight, found his legs. It’s a big plus for us, takes a lot of load off of [the Bergeron line]. They’re going to want to score every night; it’s how they play. I think they had drive tonight, it just didn’t go in for them, or maybe one too many passes or however you want to analyze it, so for us to be able to do that is a good sign.…
A Thomas Chabot laser brought the Senators back within two shortly into the middle frame, but a late-period dangle around Anderson from Nash was enough to extend the B’s edge back out to three.
“I think I’ve been a little bit snake bit this year,… Nash, who entered played with just two goals in 33 games, admitted after the win. “It seems to be every year it kind of comes in bunches, so now I get two tonight. Hopefully I can keep that rolling and feel good and maybe shoot the puck a little bit more. I think my linemates played great. They’re both tremendous. Very good shots, so it’s just give and take for our line for contributing, and I think that’s more important than anything.…
In the crease, it was another ho-hum victory of sorts for Tuukka Rask, who turned away all but one of the 26 shots thrown his way, enough for the B’s 14th victory in their last 18 games.
“We just need to keep playing the way we have,… said Rask. “I think that’s been resulting [in] wins.
“You don’t want to get complacent and just satisfied with [the way] things have been lately. I think you want to keep pushing yourself, and that’s what great teams do. They don’t take anything for granted. They always push each other, and I think that something to put some wins together we have to everybody that, you know, we’re capable of keeping that up for the rest of the season.…
This and that
- The Bruins now have a nine-point lead over the Canadiens in the still-somewhat-new playoff structure, and that’s with two games in hand, too. Nine of the B’s next 19 games come against divisional opponents, and if they take care of business then, this team will find themselves set up for some smooth sailing come February. First time you’ve said that about this team in about four years.
- Where do you slot Adam McQuaid back into this lineup? It’s getting harder to pinpoint the perfect spot, really. Matt Grzelcyk and Kevan Miller are playing too good as a pair right now to even consider breaking them up. Brandon Carlo might be the odd man out, but even he isn’t necessarily playing poor hockey right now on a second pairing with Torey Krug. Not the worst problem to have, really.
- Old friend Zac Rinaldo was suspended six games for a punch to unsuspecting opponent. The Bruins traded a third-round pick for this player, and will probably never, ever live it down.
Up next
The B’s travel to Washington for a Thursday head-to-head with the Capitals. The Bruins are 0-2 against the Caps this season, and have lost their last 11 games against the Caps dating back to 2014.