In a lackluster game across the board, it was an unbelievable goal from Seth Griffith late in the second period that fired the Boston Bruins up for their fifth straight victory, sinking New Jersey by a 4-2 final.
Beginning with a blocked shot in his own end, the 21-year-old winger fought Marek Zidlicky off his way, broke into the Jersey end, spun around, and flipped the puck through Cory Schneider with a between the legs shot. (If this sounds like fantasy-world stuff, I agree, so hey here’s a video.)
And now this beautiful tally that’d make even Vladimir Tarasenko shudder.
But the goal also served as a pick me up for a B’s squad that had allowed Jaromir Jagr (the third goal of the season for the 42-year-old) and the Devils to tie things up at 2-2 just five minutes prior. It also paved the way for Reilly Smith’s go-ahead strike 80 seconds later.
“I think it really motivated the whole bench,… Boston coach Claude Julien said of Griffith’s goal.
“That’s why he’s still here and that’s why he’s still on that line, because he’s been good,… Julien added about Griffith’s presence on that first line. “We understand that there’s some areas that he’s trying to work on to get better at, but he’s been good. There’s been no denying that. I’ve never felt a real need to take him out of the lineup or even put him on another line because he’s done well with that line with Looch [Milan Lucic], and when Krech's [David Krejci] been there, or even with [Chris] Kelly.…
For a Bruins squad once again without the services of David Krejci, Griffith’s goal provided the spark that the makeshift first line with Milan Lucic on the left and Chris Kelly at center needed.
“We picked up our game after that but it just goes to show how good we can play and we shouldn’t wait for stuff like that to happen to get going,… Griffith noted of the boost the marker gave his line.
After scoring four goals on just 20 shots through 40 minutes of play, the Black and Gold responded by completely sitting back in the third, letting the Devils outshoot them by a 14-to-3 margin, but hung on with some strong defensive structure and even better goaltending from Tuukka Rask.
Finishing the night with 26 saves on 28 shots against, Rask extended his personal win streak to four, but noted the strength of the defensive unit, which continues to improve despite its injuries in 2014.
“We’re eliminating chances we want to eliminate,… Rask said of the defense, which seemingly held New Jersey to one prime scoring chance in the third (Jagr), play. “Making those little plays around the net and taking their sticks away. It’s been paying off. I feel like we’re really taking steps in the right direction.…
With the victory, the Bruins improve to 10-6-0 on the year. Situated into third-place in the Atlantic, their 20-point mark through 16 games isn’t a far deviation from last year’s 10-5-1 start (21 points). Given the drama that’s surrounded this team, from trades to injuries and everything in between, that’s not too bad.
Krug returns
One pleasant sight for a battered Boston defense corps: Torey Krug made his return to the lineup tonight after missing the previous four games with a broken finger. On Boston’s third pairing with Zach Trotman, the 5-foot-9 Krug returned with the second-most ice-time among B’s defensemen with 21:16.
A plus-1 and with one shot to his name in the win, Julien noted the rust that came with his return.
“Good, for a guy in his first game back. He’s been out for a while, and I think he had one or maybe two practices with us and that’s it,… Julien admitted after the win. “But he came in and did his job. Obviously he’s not at 100 percent with his situation, but he seems to be handling the puck well. Again, maybe he didn’t get that many shots on net tonight, but still I thought he was a good player.…
Up next
The Bruins will head back up to Toronto for their second meeting of the year with the Maple Leafs. Boston won the first meeting against their Atlantic Division foe by a 4-1 final back on Oct. 25. Third-year defenseman Dougie Hamilton had himself a night then, too, posting three points in the victory.