The Boston Bruins jumped out to a 1-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals in a back and forth game. In the end, the better team secured the victory.
Now that the Boston sweep is over thanks to the Boston Celtics, all eyes will be laser-focused on the Boston Bruins. The B’s stepped up to the plate and are now have a 1-0 series lead.
I think Boston Bruins fans learned a lesson. The Carolina Hurricanes shouldn’t be taken lightly. They are a quality hockey team that can cause some problems.
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A player that Boston needs to watch out for is Sebastian Aho. Aho was all over the ice on Thursday night and played great.
Also, Bruins fans got to see a familiar face. Dougie Hamilton had a horrible game committing two terrible penalties that helped Boston secure the win. I think Boston has permanent real estate in Hamilton’s head.
This was a very important victory for the Bruins. Without Charlie McAvoy they could have easily gone down 1-0, but they held it together and found a way to win. Now the Bruins need to keep the pedal to the metal and squash any hopes that the Hurricanes have.
There is definitely plenty to talk about coming out of Game 1. It was truly a whirlwind of a hockey game.
So here are 5 takeaways from the Boston Bruins great win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
1. Tuukka is still Tuukka
I really can’t believe my eyes. I don’t think anyone could have expected Tuukka Rask to have such an amazing performance in the postseason.
Rask was making some incredible saves. He stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced on Thursday night.
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None of the goals that were scored on Rask were his fault. One came off a deflection and the other could have been goaltender interference.
Once again Rask kept the Bruins in the game. He made some incredible saves that brought the TD Garden to their feet.
The Bruins need Rask to continue playing at this high level. If the refs are going to be soft (more on that later) the Bruins will have to kill a lot of penalties.
Once again Tuukka Rask was an amazing goalie. Who could ever imagine people ever criticizing this guy? The puck must look like a beach ball to him right now. Tuukka Rask is playing some of the best hockey of his career.
2. Soft as Charmin
The men in stripes haven’t had a great postseason and that continued on Thursday night.
The game got off to a rough start when the refs called the softest roughing call I have ever seen. Sean Kuraly got in a bit of a scuffle and a penalty was called on him.
You can’t call that penalty in the playoffs. That is just unacceptable.
Now the calls went both ways. The Bruins definitely benefitted from some questionable calls as well.
All together the referee’s need to be better. They need to be more consistent and gain control of the game. If not we will continue to see dirty hits like Jordan Staal’s hit from behind on Chris Wagner.
Both sides won’t be happy with the officiating so hopefully, we will see a better crew of refs when Game 2 arrives. If not this could be a long series for both teams.
3. The perfection line
Boston’s 1st line hasn’t always been impressive in the postseason but they definitely showed up on Thursday night.
Right out of the gate the perfection line was buzzing. They were getting some good scoring chances and were maintaining possession in the attacking zone for a long time.
The line ended up combining for a goal and 2 assists. Patrice Bergeron was able to score a beautiful power play goal to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead.
The line may have not scored any goals in even strength but they looked much better. David Pastrnak still had some fumbles but overall it was a great game.
I also want to point out something that Brad Marchand did. After the awful hit on Chris Wagner, Connor Clifton stood up for his fallen teammate and Marchand made sure to restrain Clifton so that Boston would get the power play. I guarantee no one in Toronto will be talking about that.
Overall the perfection line is headed in the right direction.
4. The power play is back
The Boston Bruins power play has been horrid as of late but they are finally getting things done. Boston scored 2 power play goals on Thursday night.
On the 1st power play there was a lot to like. Marcus Johansson was fighting for position in front of the net and he was able to sneak one into the net to tie the game.
Then on the 2nd power play Jake DeBrusk made a great effort from his knees that set up Patrice Bergeron’s goal. It was just a beautiful play.
If the power play continues to score goals the Bruins will be all set. All postseason we have been waiting for Boston’s special teams unit to come alive. On Thursday night they finally did.
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Now I want to see the Bruins special teams unit continue to show up and hopefully help the Boston Bruins get to the Stanley Cup Finals.
5. Some surprising goal scorers
You expect guys like Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk to score goals, but the Boston Bruins got some scoring from some surprising sources.
Right off of the bat you realized that this was going to be a special game. Steven Kampfer of all people sniped one past Petr Mrazek. Kampfer definitely isn’t known for his goal scoring ability, but he stepped up to the plate with Charlie McAvoy being suspended.
Then late in the game we saw a 4th liner show off his hands. Chris Wagner dangled his way to his first goal of the postseason. It was just a beautiful play and was a perfect end to the night.
All in all, it was a great night for the Boston Bruins. The only complaint is that they got complacent in the 2nd period. I want to see the Bruins dominate for a complete 60 minutes.
Still the Boston Bruins should definitely be happy with their performance in Game 1.