Boston Bruins: 3 takeaways from outstanding win in Ottawa

The Boston Bruins were in desperate need of a win and they got it on Tuesday night.

Now that’s the type of hockey that you expect the Boston Bruins to play. Tuesday night was a 60-minute lesson in how to play the game of hockey. The Bruins defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-1 and got back on the right track.

There were definitely some things that stood out, one of them being that the Ottawa Senators suck. They are a terrible team. It is going to be a rough season for Senators fans.

Now normally I would feel bad because it can be disappointing when your team is playing terrible, but Ottawa lost my sympathy on Tuesday night.

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The Senators are a dirty team. On two instances the Senators delivered insanely dirty hits.

It seems that poor Urho Vaakanainen can’t catch a break. In the first period, he rushed to an open puck in front of the net and got rewarded with an elbow right to the noggin.

Of course, there was no penalty since the game was in Ottawa. Urho didn’t return to the game and may be out for a while with a head injury.

Then in the 2nd period, Matt Grzelcyk was checked from behind, driven into the boards, and received a knee to the head as he was going down. Once again no penalty.

People love to say how dirty Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins are, but they looked like angels out there on the ice tonight.

But let’s focus on the positives and my 3 takeaways from an outstanding win in Ottawa.

1. Please keep scoring David Pastrnak

David Pastrnak is absolutely locked in this year. The winger is scoring at a frantic pace and put on another show Thursday night.

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Pastrnak scored two goals and now has 10 goals this season. He is tied with Auston Matthews for the league lead.

As the season moves forward, the key thing for Pastrnak will be maintaining this success. Throughout his career, Pastrnak has gone on horrible scoring droughts were he just can’t score.

With the Bruins relying on Pastrnak a lot this season they can’t afford for this to happen. If Pastrnak does continue to score at this rate he will surely be a Hart Trophy candidate and probably take the trophy home.

It seems that goaltenders are just incapable of stopping Pasta’s wrist shot.

Pastrnak also showed off his passing ability earning an assist on the night. On the power play, Pastrnak received a pass at the point and completely faked out Senators goalie Craig Anderson with a pump fake, and sent a pass to David Krejci who put the puck in the now empty net.

It may have just been an anomaly, but it seems that teams are scared of Pasta’s shot. He should now have plenty of opportunities to rack up assists.

2. Rask is back Jack!

Tuukka Rask definitely didn’t have the best of starts this season. The goaltender was all over the place and wasn’t able to make easy saves. Who can forget him giving up a 5 spot in one and a half periods?

The Tuukka Rask we know and love returned to the ice on Tuesday night.

Rask had a great game stopping 38 shots. He was always in the right position and for the most part, was able to control his rebounds. Still, there were definitely a few times where Rask made you nervous.

Usually, your goaltender is the only guy on the ice making saves, but the Bruins got bailed out twice on Tuesday night. Brandon Carlo played great defense and saved two pucks from going in the net.

If the Boston Bruins can get this Tuukka Rask day in and day out they will be a tough team to beat.

3. Dangle’s for days

Brad Marchand has been doing a lot of passing this season, but that doesn’t mean he can’t create highlight reel plays. On Tuesday night, Marchand weaved his way through the Ottawa defense like he was playing the latest edition of EA Sports NHL video game.

That was an absolutely beautiful play by Marchand. Some may say that he is passing too much, but as long as his linemates keep scoring I have no problem with it.

I also appreciated Marchand once again being a leader. After the Grzelyck hit that I mentioned before Marchy dropped the gloves. Now it wasn’t the best scrap for the “nose face killer,” but it was all about the effort.

Marchand has really evolved as a player and seems to be ready to take the next step in his career. Game in and game out, Marchand is becoming a more complete player.

The Boston Bruins return home on Thursday to face off against the Philadelphia Flyers.