On Saturday night the Boston Bruins found out that it only takes one mistake to lose a game.
This may be just a regular season game for the Boston Bruins, but there was plenty of reason to tune in. On Saturday night fans got to see two of the hottest goaltenders in the NHL. Whenever you head down to Nashville to face the Predators you know it’s going to be a good game.
The Bruins may have lost, but there are some positives. They didn’t get blown out and the Predators are one of the top teams in the Western Conference. They also got some great play from a certain player but we will get into that later.
The good thing for the Bruins is that they are headed home and will be facing the Dallas Stars on Monday night at the TD Garden.
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So let’s get to the nitty-gritty. Here are my 3 takeaways from the Bruins 1-0 loss to the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.
1. One mistake is all it takes
The only goal of the game that was scored on the Bruins definitely wasn’t Jaroslav Halak’s fault. The blame rests solely on Danton Heinen.
The Bruins had a chance to clear the zone. Halak could take a breather and watch his guys go up the ice. Heinen had other plans. The winger missed an easy chance to at the minimum chip the puck out. Getting an icing isn’t that terrible.
Then to make matters worse Heinen plays horrible defense and allows Roman Josi to have his way with him and easily get to the net. Heinen played poor defense and needs to do a better job in his own zone.
One mistake can change the course of a hockey game and we saw that on Saturday night.
2. Jaroslav Halak is still hot
If you expected Jaroslav Halak to prove why he should be a backup goaltender on Saturday night you didn’t get the result you were looking for. Halak had another fantastic game even though he allowed a goal.
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Halak saw a boatload of shots on Saturday night. The goaltender stopped 39 shots on the night and is still the best statistical goaltender in the league. Halak now officially has his first loss in regulation. The “undefeated” streak is no more.
If I am Bruce Cassidy I am sticking with Halak in net for Monday’s contest. It’s not like Halak let up goal after goal. He is still the best goaltender the Bruins have at the moment.
Halak kept the Bruins in Saturday’s game. Without his stupendous effort, the Bruins would have lost by more than a few goals. When’s the last time you could say that about Tuukka Rask?
So make the right decision coach and make sure Jaroslav Halak is in net on Monday night.
3. The stripes were soft
Saturday night was not a good game for the referees. They called some of the softest penalties these eyes have ever seen. Obviously, there is one call we will focus on.
Brad Marchand was going towards the corner and fighting to try and get the puck. As he and Colton Sissons were going to the corner he tried to lift Sissons stick but missed.
Let me make this clear, Marchand’s stick NEVER touched Sissons, but the Predator went down like a ton of bricks and Marchand got 4 minutes for high sticking and an unsportsmanlike conduct.
The unsportsmanlike was given out because Brad Marchand is Brad Marchand. He is a pest and an agitator so when Sissons was skating by knowing he pulled a fast one Marchy mocked him and fell to the ground and continued to imitate him until he was in the penalty box.
It was an awful call and an awful decision. The NHL has to take a look and realize they made a huge mistake.
Hopefully on Monday night, the stripes will have a better game and the Bruins will walk away with the win.