Philadelphia. 12:30 p.m. On a Sunday.
The Boston Bruins, with just one regulation loss in 16 games this month, head to the Wells Fargo Center to take on the Flyers, a team they dominated earlier this season. In net, they give the nod to Tuukka Rask -- who’s in search of his 100th win in the NHL -- opposite Philadelphia’s Steve Mason. It’s also Andrej Meszaros’ first game back in Philly since being traded. After a 65-minute battle, Boston’s Reilly Smith sinks ‘em via the shootout.
The Gang Continues Rolling.
(Cue the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia theme song.)
At this point, it’s actually becoming tough to write “the Bruins won because this, that, and this other thing.… (Holy crap, I almost miss the ‘Chara doesn’t deserve the captaincy’ debate and ‘Fire Julien’ bonfire that’d kick up every month or two back in the day.) So here are some brief talking points about following the Bruins’ 15th win in their last 17 games played.
- I don’t want to see Jarome Iginla fighting guys like Zac Rinaldo. Not now, not ever, but especially not with less than a month to go before the playoffs start. I understand that Iginla prides himself on being a tough, responsible player. That’s a huge reason why he’s been considered one of the league’s greatest ambassadors for well over a decade now. But when a fourth liner like Rinaldo pops you with a clean hit in the neutral zone, you just gotta let it go. Why?
Simply put: It’s not worth your time. You’re obviously a better player than the guy you’re scrapping with. You’re going to have your team mixing and matching with different line combos while you’re in the box for five minutes. And you don’t need a broken hand when you’re scoring 30 goals a year.
This isn’t the first time Iginla’s done this, either.
Obviously Iginla’s goods outweigh the bad, and this is a minor, minor complaint about his game, but the last thing I want to see is No. 12 grabbing his hand after a bout with somebody like Rinaldo.
- Hey, did Meszaros like scoring a goal against his former club or what?
In Philly coach Craig Berube’s doghouse for much of the year prior to his trade out of town, the 28-year-old Meszaros struck for his sixth goal of the year, and second with the Bruins. That’s now two goals, five points, and a plus-6 rating in nine games with the Black-and-Gold.
All in all, Meszaros has been a solid contributor for Claude Julien’s squad, but it’s tough to say just where he fits into the mix when he’s a healthy scratch against teams like Montreal and Chicago. Those are true playoff previews for the B’s, and his absence was telling (in my eyes).
Is he part of their playoff starting six? Barring another injury, you’d think not.
- Another day at the office for the Boston penalty kill, which went a perfect 4-for-4 on the afternoon.
Their biggest stop of the night undoubtedly came in the third period with the B’s on an extended 3-on-5 kill after both Dougie Hamilton and Zdeno Chara landed in the box.
The Flyers had 1:47 of a two-man advantage with two of the Bruins’ top four defenders in the box (and down by a goal), and were held to nothing. Huge. Defenders Johnny Boychuk and Kevan Miller? Superhuman efforts.
- How do you explain the Bruins’ late-period collapses? I really don’t know.
For the second game in a row, the Bruins surrendered a goal with less than a minute left in the period. They did it twice in this game, no less. Fortunately you’re still about another game away from this becoming an alarming trend, but this is the stuff that can really burn you in the postseason.
On the more concerning of the two, Vincent Lecavalier’s game-tying goal in the third, it seemed as if the puck went everything but the stick of any Bruin on the ice. First Loui Eriksson couldn’t corral the puck out of the zone, then it took a hop over Boychuk’s stick, and then it ended in the back of the net past a sprawled out Tuukka Rask.
Lipreading Boychuk’s post-goal said it all-- “What the (you know).…
- It’s official: The 27-year-old Rask should be your 2014 Vezina Trophy winner. Period.
Rask churned out another incredible effort this season, stopping 49-of-52, including all eight of the Flyers’ shots in the overtime frame, and kept his season save percentage at a dynamite .931.
As it stands right now, his 34 wins are fifth in the NHL, his save percentage sits at No. 2, second to only Josh Harding, and Rask’s 2.02 goals against average is the third best in the league.
- Two for two. What’s that? The Bruins’ Reilly Smith’s figures in the shootout this year.
He’s a stud there. No sense for him not to be in your top three from here on out.