The Boston Bruins had a choice to make in this game against division rival the Ottawa Senators. Either they could win, extending their lead over the Senators in the Northeastern Division and finishing off their road trip on a high note, or they could lose, put their division lead in jeopardy and give the road trip a less-than-stellar exit. The Bruins chose the first option, winning 5-3 and taking this victory home with them.
Patrice Bergeron, perennial hard worker who is one of only four Bruins to have played all 60 games this season, was a difference-maker in this game. His nine shots on goal were the most for any individual Bruin and he tallied three points: two goals and one assist. His goal near the beginning of the first period opened up Boston’s scoring for the night and came as the result of hard work in controlling a rebound that was sputtering out of the blue paint after a save by Ottawa’s Alex Auld. Later in the period, he assisted on Brad Marchand’s 22nd goal of the season. To close the scoring, he potted an empty net goal at the end of the game.
Carter Camper scored his first-ever NHL goal in the second period to make it 3-1. Adam McQuaid tried a shot from the blue line that Auld saved, but the rebound went in front of him and Camper nudged it past the goal line.
“I’ve been dreaming about it ever since you’re a little kid practicing in the back yard or on the ice by yourself picturing that first NHL goal,” he told Anthony Gulizia. He said that the realization of what he’d done didn’t really hit him until he sat back down on the bench post-goal.
David Krejci scored on a power play in the third period to make the tally, at that time, 4-1 Boston. That might be the best payoff that coach Claude Julien could ask for in experimenting with Krejci’s recent play on the right wing.
Gregory Campbell played his 500th NHL game and was rewarded for it by taking a puck to the face fired by Matt Carkner. That happened near the end of the first period, so he went and received some stitches, but returned to play the rest of the game. Shawn Thornton was out sick, which means it must have been bad because he played against St. Louis and Buffalo. (He does have a few days to rest up and feel well before Ottawa comes to Boston.)
In the third period, Ottawa seemed desperate and willing to target Bruins to try and sway the game their way. First it came with Johnny Boychuk taking a big hit from Chris Neil. (You can see that hit at 0:08 of this video.) Neil’s feet didn’t leave the ice, but Boychuk was rocked by the hit and left the game early. Then Kyle Turris delivered a hit to Joe Corvo that looks like a candidate for supplementary discipline. Turris’ feet did leave the ice and Corvo’s head was the principal point of contact. (There is an animated picture of it here.) Corvo did play the rest of the game, while Turris received a two-minute boarding minor, but this does seem like a potential for a call from Brendan Shanahan. Zdeno Chara later took on Neil to avenge the Boychuk hit. He landed some hits before going off-balance and hitting the ice. Neil met him there and looked ready to throw another punch at him, as seen in the rest of this video.
The score also changed when Daniel Alfredsson scored two goals from almost the same spot. Boychuk was already gone and Chara was in the penalty box after his fight, so Boston was playing with just four defensemen and missing its top pair. With the score 4-3, and the possibility of overtime hanging in the air, Bergeron got that empty net goal and sealed the deal.
The six-game road trip is now over and the official tally is 3-2-1. Now the Bruins return to Boston for a three-game home stand that begins with a rematch against Ottawa on Feb. 28. This game promises to be interesting, especially if Thornton is healthy and ready to play.
Buy Boston Bruins Tickets | Buy Boston Bruins Apparel[...] hit that Ottawa’s Kyle Turris delivered to Joe Corvo during the Feb. 25 game in Ottawa was deemed unworthy of supplementary discipline by Brendan [...]
One Rant to “Hard Work Rewarded in Bruins’ 5-3 Win Agains...”