During the Go Titletown preview of Saturday afternoon's game with the Senators we talked about what kind of taste this Boston/Ottawa game would leave in our mouths. If they lost, if they messed up like they did Thursday night in St Louis than the taste would be like that of some sweet and sour chicken minus the sweet. But if they won than the taste would be one of sweet candy that would last for two weeks.
Let me just say this. We’re not eating any chicken in Boston tonight.
The Bruins obliterated the Senators Saturday afternoon assembling their largest scoring output of the season and their second 5 goal victory in as many weeks. For the Bruins who knew they had to finish strong, this game quickly turned lopsided as Boston scored 2 goals in the first period alone.
Their first goal was scored just over 2 minutes into the game when Patrice Bergeron used a stellar burst of speed to break up the middle towards Craig Anderson. As Bergeron crossed the blue line with the puck on his stick, he dumped the quick pass to Loui Eriksson and then took it on the return as he roared unchecked through the faceoff circle. Though the pass surely stretched him to the limits of his reach, Bergeron utilized a quick tap of the puck to settle it before yet another lunging jab at it lofted the shot past a disoriented Craig Anderson.
As Bergeron celebrated the goal just behind the net, radio commentator Jack Edwards seemed to describe the play best. "How's that for effort?!"
5 minutes later, effort combined with execution once again as Boston stretched their lead to 2-0 with Chris Kelly's 4th goal of the year. Through 1 period, the Bruins had out-shot their opponents 11-6, their goalie Chad Johnson had continued his shutout streak to one 5 periods long but most importantly, the Bruins had not yet turned their sights to the break looming before them. And it showed.
With 2:42 to go in the 1st period, Kevin Miller took on a man in Zach Smith who was 3 inches taller than he and outweighed him by over 20 pounds. Yet in true Bruins fashion, Miller took the role of orthodontist when he made out to rearrange Smith's facial geography.
17 minutes into the game Bruins fans had just been treated to one of the biggest beat down by a Boston player all season and from that point on, this game turned from competition to clinic. Within 11 game minutes of the Miller fight, Patrice Bergeron solidified the clinic nature of this game when he caught Eric Karlsson standing still and tucked the puck between Anderson's leg and the post. As good as that goal was, the fact that Bergeron skated around both Karlsson and Anderson like they were beanbags was truly embarrassing for the Senators.
In fact less than two weeks after they beat the Flyers so bad that their captain called it their most embarrassing game of the year, the Bruins once again drove an opponent to a point where they verbalized their discomfort with the loss.
Jason Spezza called this game "embarrassing" while coach, Paul McLane sternly joked that "we probably owe them some money for the clinic they put on today"
Haha...that's funny, because it is true.
By the end of the second period the Bruins led 4-1.
Before 5 minutes ticked off the game clock in the 3rd period, that lead had been stretched to 5-1 and by 10 minutes in it was 6-1. Though Ottawa eventually scored again, the "killer instinct" that has been ever present this season in Boston shone through when Carl Soderberg snapped his 9th of the year past Robin Lehner to seal the Bruins' biggest offensive output of the season.
In their final game before the Sochi break, the Bruins treated their motivation like they would on any other day in any other situation. They came out flaming and scored, hit and fought with a fearsome edge. All season long this Bruins team has won off of a youthful drive like none other and Saturday was no different, well except for the numbers that drive produced.
0 comments:
Post a Comment