Bruins @ Blue Jackets, 04/04/22

With a 3-2 overtime victory, the Boston Bruins kicked off a four game road trip, finishing out their home-and-home series against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night, handing the Blue Jackets their seventh consecutive loss.  Coming off a 5-2 victory against Columbus, the Bruins looked to maintain momentum and stay in step with their divisional opponents the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning.  After defeating Tampa Bay 6-2 on Monday night, Toronto now sits at second place in the Atlantic Division with 95 points, leaving Boston tied with Tampa Bay in third place with 93 points each.  While these three teams have all but secured a playoff spot, their final positioning - and therefore their first round matchups - remains to be seen.

  

Two-time all star defenseman Zach Werenski returned to the Black Jacket’s lineup Monday night after missing three games due to an upper-body injury.  Through 60 games Werenski has put up 42 points while averaging nearly 26 minutes a game.  

Unavailable due to a nagging lower body injury, Derek Forbort was out of the lineup for Boston Monday night, and back in was Josh Brown; Brown had left Thursday night’s game against New Jersey following an unexpected check that sent him down the tunnel.  Partnered once again with Mike Reilly, Brown had 2 hits and 2 blocks during just under 15 minutes of ice time.

 Goaltender Linus Ullmark was between the pipes for Boston following Jeremy Swayman’s bounce back performance against Columbus Saturday night. Swayman made 22 saves on 24 shots for his 20th win of the season, and now sits at 4th place among qualifying goaltenders (16+ games played) with a 2.23 goals allowed on average (GAA) and 9th place with a .920 save percentage.  Throughout Monday night’s game, Ullmark proved instrumental to the  Bruins’ success, making 20 saves on 22 shots while frequently being the best penalty killer on the ice.

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Within the first few minutes of play, the Blue Jackets were already playing a much faster, more purposeful game than they had in Boston two days ago.  Werenski’s presence was felt immediately, as his ability to break the puck out of his own zone and start rushes led to a few golden chances for Columbus in the opening minutes.  After Bruins defenseman Matt Gryzleck was unable to field a puck backhanded from the Columbus end, a streaking Bemstrom split the defense and beat Linus Ullmark on a short side bid to open the scoring, putting Columbus up 1-0.  

After a series of infractions called against Boston, including an objectionable interference call on Brad Marchand, the Bruins penalty kill came up big and held the game at 1-0.  As is often the case with Marchand, he channeled his frustrations into his play, leading him to make several big hits, including one on Andrew Peeke that led to a Bruins goal, and Peeke leaving the game.  The goal came as Charlie McAvoy made a stretch pass to a lone Jake DeBrusk who beat Merzlikins, tying the game at 1-1 heading into the second period.  A case of “clean hit, unfortunate outcome”, the check infuriated the Columbus bench, particularly Jakub Vorachek.    Vorachek was handed a 10 minute misconduct for berating the officials for not making a call on the Brad Marchand hit.   As Peeke came up along the right wing boards to field the puck, he began to spin to his left and crouch just as Marchand’s shoulder initially made contact with his chest; Through both player’s momentum, Marchand’s shoulder then made contact with the lower part of Peeke’s head.  Peeke stayed down on the ice for a period of time before skating off under his own power.  Tempers flared throughout Nationwide Arena as the period ended, with Vorensky and Patrice Bergeron being dealt matching minor penalties for roughing.

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Once again the Bruins third line came up big, giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead after Craig Smith capitalized on what has quickly become that line’s trademark: a complete and utter refusal to give up the puck.  Trent Frederic, the first of the trio on the ice, maintained puck possession alongside Curtiz Lazar and Thomas Nosek while the latter two Bruins changed out and brought on Smith and Charlie Coyle.  Charlie McAvoy jumping down low to cycle the puck, as well as a few well threaded passes by Hampus Lindholm along the blue line, kept the Bruins on the attack, leading to Smith’s tie-breaker.

Columbus kept up their high-speed, quick-entry style of play, repeatedly testing Linus Ullmark who continued to stand tall in net. The Brad Marchand show continued as the forward was once again sent to the box following a scrum behind the Columbus net, where Marchand was ejected from the vicinity of Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzilkins by Cole Sillinger and Andrew Peeke.  Marchand and Peeke were charged with matching roughing penalties.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but the Bruins let up a goal in the last minute of play in a period.  After an impressive keep in at the blue line by defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, Zach Werenski beat Ullmark glove side to tie the game at 2-2 with 15.2 seconds to go in the second period.  Bruce Cassidy challenged the keep in, claiming it to have been the result of a play with a high stick, but the officials stuck with the original ruling on the ice, the goal stood, and Boston was assessed a delay of game penalty:  the 40th penalty minute of the game thus far.   

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The third period began on a Blue Jackets’ power play where Ullmark made several clutch saves to maintain a tied game, preventing Columbus from building any momentum.  It was announced halfway through the third period that Trent Frederic would not be returning to the game, likely the result of a collision sustained earlier that caused him to head straight back to the Bruins bench   Frederic was not the only Bruins to head down the tunnel, as David Pastrnak exited the game after falling to the ice following a faceoff.  Pastrnak has had a few instances of clutching his core while grimacing over the last few weeks, and it’s possible his departure is a continuation of whatever may be causing that discomfort.  

The game had to be decided in overtime, as Merzlikins denied several Bruins shots in the closing moments of regulation.  Following a play by defenseman Hampus Lindholm to keep the puck in the offensive zone, the red hot Jake DeBrusk beat Merzlikins far side to earn the Bruins their 17th win in the last 20 games.  

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The phrase “felt like a playoff game” gets tossed around a lot this time of year, but there aren't many other ways to describe the closing minutes of this one.  The eat-or-die desperation both teams were playing with at the end of this unexpectedly grueling tilt is what gives a playoff atmosphere its texture.  It’s at exactly this point in the year where nearly every team begins to feel that desperation bleeding over into the final games of the regular season. Where everything becomes about a single moment in time built upon an hour of spitting venom and blood, where neither team can possibly imagine going to the locker room empty handed.   And while both teams earned a point this game, there’s no chance a single player in the Columbus locker room was grateful for it.  

 A win that took its pound of flesh, the 3-2 overtime victory saw the departure of Boston’s biggest offensive threat in David Pastrnak and burgeoning third line winger Trent Frederic.  At this time there is no word on either player’s condition, but Bruins fans everywhere hold their collective breath, hoping to see the pair back on the ice before long.  The Bruins will play against the Red Wings in Detroit Tuesday night, looking to climb past Tampa Bay in the standings.