Bruins head home after defeating Coyotes 5-2
By DJ Smith
70. Final. 2. 121. 5
In what many were calling a tough road trip, the Bruins are certainly not happy with their performance but they are able to head home with at least two points. The Bruins traveled to Arizona to play the struggling Coyotes and were able to finally put together a solid team win, defeating the Coytoes 5-2.
Brad Marchand led the Bruins in scoring Saturday night with two goals in the first and second periods. Tuukka Rask was in net for the Bruins as he stopped 31 of 33 shots and was able to capture his first win since November 28.
After the Bruins dropped three straight to the Sharks, Kings, and Ducks, Bruins coach Claude Julien spoke to the team before the game and challenged them to string together a complete team effort. During this road trip the Bruins had matchups were they were having trouble scoring, and then there were games where they had trouble defending the puck. After the game Julien was happy to finally see his team put together a total team effort: “I thought we played well enough on this trip that somewhere along the way we should come out with a win. This was our last crack at it, and we found a way to get that win that we desperately needed.”
The game got started with Marchand scoring his 7th goal of the season just one minute into the first period thanks to Reilly Smith and Dougie Hamilton. The Bruins would add another goal thanks to Kevan Miller, his first of the season, which put the Bruins ahead 2-0 within the first 6 minutes of the first period. The Coyotes Joe Vitale was able to cut the lead in half with a goal thanks to assists from Shane Doan and Michael Stone, the Bruins were able to head to the dressing room after the first 20 minutes up 2-1.
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The second period was dominated by the Bruins, scoring three goals throughout the period including a power play goal from Loui Eriksson in the final 30 seconds of the 2nd period. Simon Gagne and Brad Marchand also notched goals in the period to give the Bruins a 5-1 lead heading into the third period.
In the third period the Coyotes were able to capitalize on a power play when Mikkel Boedker scored thanks to Antoine Vermette and Keith Yandle, but that was the last goal that got by Rask. Rask, who had struggled this road trip, was able to get back to his normal self, blocking 31 shots including a late rush by the Coytoes in the third period.
The Bruins head home now and have until Thursday before their next game, when they matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks in a rematch of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals. For the Coyotes they also have until Thursday before their next game when the are home against the Nashville Predators.
The Bruins and Blackhawks can be seen Thursday December 11th at 7:00pm on NESN or you can listen to it on 98.5 the Sports Hub.