Griffith’s Highlight Reel Goal Lifts Boston Bruins Past Devils

On a rare Monday night game, the Boston Bruins would host the New Jersey Devils on military appreciation night at the TD Garden. The Devils came into town not exactly playing their best, with three straight losses. They turned to Cory Schneider in net, despite the fact that he had been pulled in his previous two starts. The Bruins would give Tuukka Rask the start for the fourth straight game.

The start of the game did not look very promising. Just 1:26 into the game, Mike Cammalleri found Travis Zajac for the goal to put the Bruins down early. However, the Devils momentum wouldn’t last too long. Midway through the period, Brad Marchand drew a penalty which led to a powerplay goal for Carl Soderberg for the second straight game. For the rest of the period, the ice was tilted in the Bruins favor.

With just under three minutes remaining in the first, Patrice Bergeron was able to steal the puck at the top of the right circle and quickly beat Schneider on the five hole to put the Bruins up 2-1. According to my calculations, the Bruins generated 22 shot attempts in the period to the Devils’ seven. A definite advantage in possession you could say.

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The second period began just as the first finished. However, the Devils would finally get some zone time of their own, with over a minute of straight pressure with the Krejci-less first line on the ice. A bit later, old friend Jaromir Jagr would tie the game up with a wrist shot. The Hamilton-Seidenberg defensive pair was on the ice for both goals, and a few minutes before, allowed Cammalleri to walk by for a Grade A scoring chance that Rask was just able to get a piece of.

The B’s bounced right back, though, and Seth Griffith scored one of the best goals you will see all season.

Not too shabby for the little guy. Just 1:20 later, the Bruins struck again. Reilly Smith was able to rip a Bergeron pass by Schneider to increase the lead to 4-2. It was Bergeron’s third point of the game and Smith’s second.

The third period wasn’t exactly picturesque, but the Bruins were able to manage themselves. The Devils seriously outshot and outplayed the B’s, but to no avail. The Bruins had their least amount of shots in a period on the season with just three, but luckily kept the Devils off the score sheet. Rask finished with 26 saves on the Victory.

The Bruins will head up to Canada to take on the Maple Leafs on Wednesday night at 8. The Leafs have put up five goals in each of their past two games, winning both in the process.