Alright, Jarimor Jagr hasn't even got here yet but he is still making an impact. Just after 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon, Peter Charelli took to the podium to make his second announcement of a major signing in the past 2 weeks, the only difference between this deal and the one preceding it was that when the dust all cleared, the whole thing would not turn out to be a false alarm. On march 28th it seemed that Jarome Iginla was coming to Boston yet at the last moment the Pittsburgh Penguins would rapidly enter the picture and steal the future hall of famer from the Bruins grip. 6 days later we sure found our reconciliation. As said before just after 2:00 local time yesterday the 3rd, our beloved Bruins found the next best thing snagging a man who seems to be the answer to all their problems: Jaromir Jagr.
Yet on a day that many couldn't envision to get any weirder, well, it did. At 2 Jaromir Jagr left Dallas, 5 hours later the puck was dropped on the Bruins and Senators second to last meeting of the year thus kicking off a near 2 hour period of some of the greatest hockey the Bruins have played in quite some time. Coming into this game, the Bruins hadn't scored a single 1st period goal in 7 games thus dating back to a March 17th meeting with then red hot Penguins. Yet as if to add insult to injury 5 of those 7 games had seen the Bruins allowing their opponent score first thus negatively contributing to their less than acceptable 3-3-1
win-loss-OT loss, and while last nights game started off the same way as those 5 in recent Bruins history that was pretty much where the similarities ceased to exist. Exactly 40 seconds after allowing Senator Colin Greening to backhand his 7th goal of the year past Bruin net minder Anton Khudobin mighty Zedeno Chara took a pass from Milan Luchic blasting a shot on net that found the stick of David Krejci and in turn the anticipating twitch of the twine that occurred milliseconds later as the puck smacked into the back of the net and tied the game.
"It was decent. Sometimes you need some dirty goals.” Krejci said when asked about the goal, and really when it comes down to it he couldn't be more right.
Nonetheless, while Krejci basked in the glory of his 9th tally of the year, fans just barely had time to sit down before a great passing play between Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand led to an empty net tip in for 21 year old Seguin,snagging not just his 12 goal of the year but shockingly Boston's 1st 1st period lead since the 16th of March. Nevertheless, the game went on and after that flurry of goals mere minutes into the game, the pair of opposing goaltenders, (Khudobin for Boston, and Lehner for Ottowa) stood tall as the 2 teams fired off a combined total of 41 shots on net (22 for Boston, 19 for Ottowa) , in just that 1st frame alone. When all was said and done, after 20 minutes of action, the Bruins held a 2-1 lead and even after a 2 to nothing shutout of Buffalo less than 48 hours earlier they were without a doubt playing some of their best hockey of the year. Yet the scariest thing was they weren't even getting started.
The second period commenced and slowly but surely, the shots piled up as that ever climbing shot tally became a defining story line in last nights game. 20 minutes later, save for another barrage of rubber towards both net minders not much had changed, still a two 1 lead for Boston yet when the Boston bench turned and gingerly walked off towards the locker room one vital player had already made that same trip far to early. That player: Patrice Bergeron.
Now amidst his 9th NHL season, Bergeron, the league's reigning Selki award winner might very well be without a doubt one of the most complete player not just on the Bruins but in the entire NHL. Nevertheless, all good things will come with a price and in the case of Patrice Bergeron, that price takes the form of a bruise where your one really does not want one. Your brain. Over the course of that near decade long career Bergeron has sustained 3 major concussions and when the smoke cleared on last night's 2nd period, he had felt another. As of the most recent update a timetable for his return has not yet been announced.
The clock was ticking and with 1 frame left in the game the Boston Bruins who had already notched 34 shots on net were in a position to, if they could lock this one down end up with one of their best efforts all season.
"We're professionals" captain Zedeno Chara said following the game. And after seeing their 1 goal lead punched away by way of a Andre Benoit slap shot they worked to hold true to that identity. The clock ticked away, and much like they had all night, the boys in black continued to pound away at the Ottawa net before with 10:21 elapsed in the 3rd some great work forward of the goal line saw the puck squirt out to Nathan Horton and allow him to quickly backhand it past Lehner for Boston's 3rd of the night and eventually the game wining goal.
When it all ended, Boston had compiled an epic 50 shots on goal that combined with Ottawa's 47 would show up on the stat sheet as almost a hundred total shot on net. "We're professionals" Big Z said and after last night's shooting gallery of a game, for the first time in quite some time they have finally embodied that widely used adjective.
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