The Boston Bruins were only able to walk away with one point on Thursday night. The B’s need to play better before they fall in the standings.
I guess everyone can’t win in Boston. On the same night that the Boston Red Sox clinched their spot in the World Series, the Boston Bruins were unable to secure the win in Edmonton.
It was a back and forth game. The Edmonton Oilers had a much better performance in their 2nd matchup of the season against the Bruins.
The Bruins may have given up 3 goals but I’m not made at Jaroslav Halak. None of the goals were truly his fault. They were the result of lucky bounces and defensive breakdowns (more on that later).
More from Chowder and Champions
- 3 Midseason Chaim Bloom Decisions That Have Killed the 2023 Red Sox
- 10 Patriots Who Will Be Cut by Tuesday’s Roster Deadline
- MLB Screws Red Sox Fans With Broadcast for Mookie Betts Return
- 3 Most Underpaid Celtics Heading Into the 2023 Season
- Red Sox Continue Rollercoaster Season With Massive Win
Halak still appears to be the better goaltender so far this season. He hasn’t given up any soft goals and single-handedly keeps the Bruins in games.
Now I’m happy that the Bruins got the point. It wouldn’t be fun to start your Western Canadian road trip off with a 0-2 record. At least with the OT loss, they don’t come up empty-handed. The Bruins are going to need all the points they can get with a stacked Atlantic division.
So the Bruins need to respond with a much better effort in their next game. The Edmonton OT loss was a step in the right direction after an awful loss to the Calgary Flames.
So here are 3 takeaways from the Boston Bruins blunder-filled game on Thursday night.
1. David Pastrnak is an absolute stud
Man oh man. David Pastrnak is having an amazing start to the season. Pastrnak continued to dominate on Thursday night.
More from Boston Bruins
- Boston Bruins fans better be ready for a bridge year
- Boston Bruins Rumors: Why letting Tyler Bertuzzi walk is a big mistake
- Boston Bruins Rumors: Milan Lucic back returns to the Black & Gold express
- Boston Bruins Draft class 2023: Grades & thoughts on draft selections
- Boston Bruins win 3 big awards at NHL Awards Gala: Thoughts & reactions
Pastrnak tied the game halfway through the 3rd period and made sure that the Bruins secured a point.
Pasta got the puck by the circle and rifled a wrist shot by Cam Talbot. The goal was Pastrnak’s 8th of the season.
I don’t think we’ve ever seen Pastrnak play as well as he is this season. He is just running on all cylinders. His shots are flying off his stick and he is leading the Bruins dominant 1st line.
Brad Marchand added another assist to his season total. I think Marchand’s game has evolved. He is much more unselfish with the puck, but he is still taking shots and scoring goals.
As long as Pastrnak continues to score, the Boston Bruins are going to have a good chance to win.
2. David Krejci finally gets on the board
The Bruins have been getting all of their scoring from their first line. Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak have scored 36 of the Bruins 76 points. That’s almost half of Boston’s points.
The Bruins are going to need to spread the wealth and that involves getting David Krejci involved. Krejci finally scored his first goal of the season. Matt Grzelcyk delivered a beautiful pass and Krejci put it past Talbot.
Boston needs Krejci to be scoring much more. He may be the Bruins 4th best scorer, but he needs to score more goals.
Bruce Cassidy switched things up and had Danton Heinen on the 2nd line which seemed to work out. Heinen’s great defense led to Krejci’s goal. I think Heinen will stay on the 2nd line for a little while.
If Krejci and the 2nd line can start scoring it will be hard to beat the Bruins.
3. Sloppy play killed Boston
If it wasn’t for two mistakes the Boston Bruins may have won Thursday nights game. Jaroslav Halak isn’t to blame for the goals that were allowed, Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy are.
The Oilers 1st goal of the game was the result of McAvoy sleeping on defense. McAvoy took a bad angle on Kailer Yamamoto, and Yamamoto blew by Charlie and scored. McAvoy can’t be allowing players to fly by him. It’s not like he is old man Zdeno Chara.
Then in overtime, the game-winning goal falls on Brad Marchand. Patrice Bergeron broke out and had open ice ahead of him, but Marchand didn’t see Bergeron right away. When Marchy finally decided to pass the puck, it was intercepted and boom, the game was over.
The Bruins have now had 2 sloppy games in a row. They need to play a clean 60 minutes.
Next up for the Boston Bruins is the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night and hopefully, the Bruins will be able to get two points.