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Five thoughts from the Bruins back-to-back set

November 17, 2019, 12:21 AM ET [2 Comments]
Anthony Travalgia
Boston Bruins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Bruins entered Toronto Friday night looking to snap their season-high four game losing streak with the first of a back-to-back set on tap. Behind two Brad Marchand goals, the Bruins beat the Maple Leafs 4-2.

On Saturday, the Bruins returned home to take on the red hot Washington Capitals who had their 13-game point streak snapped in Montreal Friday night.

In a game that was for the most park dominated by the Capitals, the Bruins held a 2-1 lead until T.J. Oshie’s tying goal in the final minute of the third period. After the two teams exchanged chances in the overtime, the Bruins once again lost in the shootout.

Here are some thoughts from the Bruins weekend split.

Brad Marchand scores from nearly identical spots in Toronto

Most of the Bruins offensive success to date has come from either David Pastrnak or Brad Marchand.

That was no different in Toronto.

Marchand’s pair of goals ended up as the difference Friday night, snapping the Bruins losing streak. Playing in his 700th career game, Marchand was excellent against the struggling Maple Leafs as his pair of goals were eerily similar.





What was impressive about Marchand’s tallies were that they came less than five minutes apart, and both times, they broke a tied hockey game. It was Marchand’s fourth two-goal game of the season.

Marchand took over the third period against Toronto, something usually reserved for his line as a whole. A difference maker in the period, Marchand put the team on his back and carried them to a much needed victory.

Charlie McAvoy’s best game came Saturday night

Charlie McAvoy’s offensive numbers haven’t been as high as you would expect midway through November. His all-around game hasn’t been up to par with what we’ve seen from McAvoy in the past, either. But on a night where he picked up a pair of assists, kept the always dangerous Alex Ovechkin off the board, and played excellent defense in his own zone, McAvoy looked much more like himself on Saturday.

“He was terrific tonight. Level of competition tends to bring out the best in Charlie, we certainly saw that tonight. We needed it against a heavier group. I think he took the challenge head on,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said following the shootout loss to the Capitals.

“With Charlie, It’s protect the middle of the ice, be assertive with the puck when you see ice, make good decisions when to go, and I thought tonight a lot of it fell into place. He was up the ice at the right time, defending at the right time, not being vulnerable to a serious counterattack from a team that can finish.”

With Torey Krug out of the lineup, the Bruins need McAvoy to find his game, offensively especially. Saturday night was a big stride towards that goal.

As nice as it was to see him pick up the pair of helpers, his play against Ovechkin was the best part of his game. In the 12:04 of five-on-five ice time Ovechkin skated against McAvoy, Ovechkin had just two shots on goal.

He may have had another shot, or even a goal, had McAvoy’s efforts not disrupted this Ovechkin breakaway attempt.



Add Patrice Bergeron to the Bruins growing list of injured players

Coming off a late night traveling back to Boston early Saturday morning, the Bruins did not skate prior to Saturday’s tilt with the Capitals. So it wasn’t until shortly before puck drop did we find out that Patrice Bergeron would miss the contest with a lower-body injury.

“He finished the game [Friday] night in a little bit of discomfort. If it wasn’t a back-to-back, we’d hope he’d play. Since it’s back-to-back, we’re going to be careful,” Cassidy said pregame. “We don’t want him to end up missing four, five games, or something worse.”

With Bergeron out, Krejci slotted up to the first line center position, centering Marchand and Pastrnak while Coyle moved off the wing, centering Anders Bjork and Danton Heinen.

Jaroslav Halak earns point for Bruins

The Bruins were frustrated being a minute away from their second consecutive victory, but even more frustrated they wasted arguably Jaroslav Halak’s best performance of the season.

Making 42 saves, including half a dozen that left several Capitals’ players shaking their heads, Halak earned the point Saturday, and he should have had another.

“He was our best player by far,” Cassidy said of Halak. “Disappointing that we couldn’t finish it because I thought our third period, we really bought into what we needed to do compared to the Florida game, for example. We didn’t give up much at all.”

Delivering your best performance of the season against the best the NHL has to offer should more often that not result in two points. But with the Bruins continuing to struggle closing out games, Halak and the Bruins left another point on the table.

“He was the best player on the ice and he deserved better,” said McAvoy. “He made some highlight reel saves and by far he was the best player on the ice tonight. He kept us in the game and he gave us a chance to win and I really wish we could have won that one for him.”

Why do the Bruins hate shootouts?

Once the Bruins failed to secure an overtime win against the Capitals, you knew how the shootout was going to play out.

Lasting two extra rounds, the Bruins added some suspense to the shootout. But at the end of the day, it was the same ol’ song and dance as the Bruins dropped to 0-4 in the shootout this season.

After Saturday’s lackluster performance in the shootout, the Bruins have scored just twice on 16 shootouts attempts. Both of those have come off the stick of Coyle who opened the shootout for the Bruins with a goal.

“Just trying to be confident going in, see what’s available,” said Coyle. Nothing really that I’m focusing on, just trying to score, that’s all.”

The Bruins are now 5-11 under Cassidy in the shootout.
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