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That’s one you got to steal

August 25, 2020, 11:35 PM ET [36 Comments]
Anthony Travalgia
Boston Bruins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Bruins didn’t play particularly well in Game 2, yet, they found themselves locked up at three after regulation.

All the Bruins needed was one shot to go their way in overtime and they would be carrying a 2-0 series lead into Wednesday’s quick turnaround for Game 3.

In other words, the Bruins needed to steal a win in overtime Tuesday night.

Instead, poor puck management and the inability to get the puck out of the zone led to Ondrej Palat’s overtime winner, and a series that now becomes a best-of-five.

The stretch leading up to Palat’s strike was a frustrating one to watch for head coach Bruce Cassidy as the Bruins had four chances to clear the puck out of their zone, failing to do so each time.

“We had a puck alone behind the net, you know we just rimmed it to nobody, so that needs to be better, and then we recovered on the wall and tried to make a play through the middle and that got picked off, we didn't get it out,” said Cassidy.

“I just think we need to manage the puck better in those situations, we didn't, it has cost us at times in the playoffs, but you know it started with the decision to rim the puck when there wasn't a lot of pressure. It’d be a nice time to put out a fire and make a clean play.”

The inability to get the puck out of the zone on the shift that ended Game 2 began with a weak clearing attempt by defenseman Torey Krug who chipped the puck into the neutral zone in a moment where the two bodies closest to the puck were wearing Lightning blue.



The Bruins were able to recover from Tampa’s rush off the Krug clear as Carlo found himself in good position behind the Bruins net with the puck on his stick. Carlo decided to rim the puck along the wall, making what he thought was the safe play. But as the puck carried along the boards, there was no Bruin in sight and once again possession was handed back to the Lightning



Again the Bruins recovered from another instance of poor puck management, but this time it was a failed attempt to clear the zone by Joakim Nordstrom as he chipped the puck off the boards and back into the Lightning’s hands.



While the Bruins got lucky with the previous three mistakes, they weren’t so lucky the fourth time as a spinning Sean Kuraly attempted to use the open middle ice to clear the zone. But once again the Lightning were quicker to the puck and seconds later the puck was behind Bruins goalie Jaroslav Halak and the series was tied at one.



“I think momentum may be swinging our way and we get the puck close to the blue line a couple times and you don’t get it out against a good team, that’s what happens,” said Kuraly. “It ends up in the back of the net. So, we know that, we’ll look at it. You always wish you could have some of those plays back.”

Game 2 was a night where the Lightning took it to the Bruins for most of the evening, out-attempting them 86-54, out-shooting them 40-25 and out-chancing them 33-16. The Lightning also had 15 high danger scoring chances for to the Bruins 6 according to Natural Stat Trick.

“Well if there's 80 some attempts then obviously he’s (Jarolsav Halak) got to fight to see all 80 of them, so I imagine there'll be some fatigue there. I didn't think it was a taxing night in terms of high danger chances by any means,” said Cassidy. “Obviously the last goal got scrambly in front of the net, there's a breakaway, but we were pretty good otherwise. We only took two penalties I believe, so our penalty kill was solid again, so we'll see how that it is tomorrow.”

For how well Tampa Bay played in Game 2, they did the Bruins a favor by allowing them to stay in the game, giving them a golden opportunity to take a 2-0 series lead.

But now, with Game 3 less than 24 hours after their loss in Game 2, Wednesday’s contest becomes more of a challenge for a Bruins team that in a span of 24 hours could potentially go from being an overtime goal away from a 2-0 series lead to a 2-1 series deficit.

“I think the biggest challenge obviously is the pace. They’re fast games out there. Slow ice makes it a little tougher. Like you said, that’s a team that competes hard and works very hard. To play that two nights in a row, it’s going to be a battle,” said Brad Marchand who tied Game 2 at three with 3:58 left in the third period.

“We all play back to backs all the time. No excuses come playoffs time. You have to show up and you have to play. You have to find a way to win. just have to rely on the whole group tomorrow. Everyone is going to have to have their best games if we want to compete with that team.”

With Tuukka Rask opting out and no longer in the bubble, the Bruins lost the benefit of arguably hockey’s best one-two punch in goal.

With Rask out of the picture, and Halak facing a potential third game in four nights Wednesday thanks to the series’ first of—potentially—two back-to-backs, the Bruins goalie picture is a little cloudy at the moment.

In these first two games against the Lightning, Halak has seen 77 shots, a lot of rubber for a 35-year old goalie.

“I feel fine. Obviously, we just need to get a good night’s sleep and see how it’s going to go tomorrow. No one said it was going to be an easy series. We are tied now and basically starting from zero now,” said Halak. “Just like I said, we have to forget about this one and move on and we have another game tomorrow.”

The Bruins indeed have another game tomorrow, but will we see Jaroslav Halak? Or does Daniel Vladar make his NHL debut?

“If you ask me who my starting goalie is tomorrow night I don't really know, I’ll let you know tomorrow,” said Cassidy.
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