The Boston Bruins got off to a rough start on Thursday night but ended up shutting out the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Boston Bruins hosted the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night as they returned home to TD Garden after a long stretch of home games in Canada. It appears the B’s like being at home. The Boston Bruins shutout the Flyers 3-0 and secured yet another victory.
Now it wasn’t exactly the cleanest game. For most of the first period, the Bruins were just going through the motions. I thought I was going to fall asleep, but eventually, things would heat up.
Jeremy Lauzon was playing in his first game for the Bruins and I was rather impressed. Lauzon looked solid out there. He made plenty of great plays in the Bruins zone and I think he could help the Bruins out if they need him.
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With Charlie McAvoy and Kevan Miller taking a while to return from injuries, Lauzon may stay up in Boston.
Lauzon’s d partner also had a great game. I never thought in 2018 I would be saying that Steven Kampfer looked good on the ice, but he has been doing a great job on the ice. Kampfer is skating well and even secured his first point of the season on Thursday night.
Kampfer also dropped the gloves and beat Scott Laughton to a pulp. Wayne Simmonds did Wayne Simmonds things and came out of nowhere and attacked Kampfer
After that, the game became really chippy and all hockey fans can enjoy that. It’s good to see the team sticking up for one another.
So here are my 3 takeaways from the B’s 3-0 win on Thursday night.
1. Halak saves the day
Jaroslav Halak has had an amazing season for the Bruins. As of right now, Halak is playing like a guy who deserves a starting goaltender job.
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Halak stopped 26 shots and looked phenomenal. As the Bruins struggled out of the gate, Halak kept them in the game. What more can you ask from your goaltender?
If it wasn’t for Halak’s fantastic goaltending the Bruins probably lose this game. Right now he is one of the Bruins best players.
So now the question is, what does Bruce Cassidy do? The Bruins head coach has to decide how he handles this delicate goaltending situation.
It looks like Cassidy isn’t afraid to ride the hot hand.
I asked Bruce Cassidy if there will come a point where they'll stop scripting out goalie starts & just go w/the guy that's playing the best: "If Jaro [Halak] is able to push [Rask] and eventually take the job...if and when that happens then we'll look at that."
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) October 26, 2018
Halak is now 3-0-2 on the season and has a 1.43 goals against average with a .945 save percentage. He may be the hottest goaltender in the entire NHL.
I think it is fair to say that Bruins fans will be seeing a lot more of Jaroslav Halak moving forward.
2. Zdeno Chara
The ageless wonder continues to perform miracles on the night. Zdeno Chara scored two goals on the night and has 3 goals this season.
Chara blasted a shot from the point that had eyes and made its way into the net. It appears that Chara’s slapshot is still pretty impressive. The rest of the game would belong to the Boston Bruins.
With all the Bruins injuries, Chara is a great presence on the ice. With all the turnover on the Bruins defense, Chara can help out the young guys.
Even though Chara may not be as young as he once was, he still looks good on the ice. Chara is able to keep up with players and still isn’t afraid to get in a scrum. It probably helps that he is the tallest player to ever lace up the skates.
The Bruins may need Zdeno Chara now more than ever. Without him, the Bruins defense would be in shambles.
3. Jake DeBrusk gets what he deserves
Jake DeBrusk has been skating well this season. He isn’t racking up the points like he did in his rookie season. DeBrusk was rewarded for his quality play on Thursday night and scored his 3rd goal of the season.
The Bruins were on the power play and had a one-goal lead late in the 2nd period. David Krejci was skating near the faceoff circle and saw DeBrusk all alone in front of the net. Krejci then sent a nice saucer pass to DeBrusk who deflected the puck into the net.
DeBrusk looks like he is going to be a top 6 forward for a long time. He skates well and has a wicked shot. As the season progresses I expect DeBrusk to start heating up.
The Bruins next game is on Saturday against the Montreal Canadians. It’s the greatest rivalry in sports. Bodies will be flying and gloves will probably be dropped.
Games vs Montreal always tend to be entertaining so make sure you get a chance to watch it.