The Bruins notched their 61st victory of the season. They can solely hope it wasn’t a expensive one.
An under-the-weather David Pastrnak, who dedicated a nasty turnover earlier within the sport, blasted a one-timer previous Ilya Samsonov at 2:30 of extra time to elevate the B’s to a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on the Garden. It was Pastrnak’s 57th of the 12 months, coming off a pleasant feed from Dmitry Orlov on a 4-on-4 simply after a Leaf penalty was up.
Jeremy Swayman, in the meantime, had one other terrific sport, stopping 32 of 33 pictures.
But the B’s needed to be holding their collective breath after Charlie McAvoy left the sport within the second interval when he crashed exhausting into the boards and didn’t return. It was introduced he had an higher physique damage.
After the sport, coach Jim Montgomery stated the phrases that breath-holding Bruin Nation was longing to listen to, that McAvoy was held out for “precautionary” causes and “we don’t think it’s anything serious.”
But Montgomery stated he’s additionally inclined to carry him out of the 2 weekend video games in opposition to New Jersey and at Philadelphia, in addition to David Krejci, who missed his second straight sport with a decrease physique damage.
“Krech has just got some real soreness right now and we just want to make sure everyone’s feeling really good. When you have some soft tissue and some stuff, you don’ want it to get to the point where it’s chronic,” stated Montgomery.
The come-from-behind win, in the meantime, places the B’s one victory shy of tying the report for many wins in a season, held by the 1995-96 Red Wings and the 2018-19 Lightning.
Asked if Pastrnak had been itching to atone for his turnover that led to the Leafs’ solely objective within the second interval, Montgomery revealed that the sniper had been sick many of the day.
“I can’t give him enough credit for how he willed himself to help us tonight. He was not at his 100 percent level. He was battling a stomach virus and I give him full credit for helping us win this hockey game,” stated Montgomery.
There was a little bit of intrigue shortly earlier than the winner. Pavel Zacha had been referred to as for a hand go off a faceoff, which requires a two-minute penalty. But the officers bought collectively and accurately rescinded the decision as Zacha didn’t contact the puck together with his hand. It not solely stored the B’s on the PP, but additionally prevented a Leaf PP on the different finish of it. They wouldn’t rating on the PP (0-for-4 on the evening) however they by no means misplaced management of the puck after it went to even power.
“I thought it was great,” stated Montgomery of the officers’ determination to speak it over. “This is a hard game to officiate with the speed of the game now. I thought they did a great job of huddling and making sure they got it right.”
Pastrnak stated there was little question that he would play.
“You have leaders like (Patrice Bergeron) and you learn from them, so there’s not many things that will stop (him from playing),” stated Pastrnak. “The group is amazing. I felt like I could still help. But the guys did an amazing job and motivated me, too, so it was fun.”
The Bruins trailed 1-0 within the third interval however, simply after their third failed energy play, they tied it at 11:32. Brandon Carlo used all six toes and 6 inches of his body to make a vertical leaping keep-in on the proper level and bought it all the way down to Charlie Coyle, who additionally picked up the secondary helper on the GWG. The large centerman drifted over to the left circle snapped a shot that beat Ilya Samsonov to knot the sport.
“(Carlo’s) got a pretty good vert, that guy,” stated Coyle, who was been taking pictures the puck extra currently. “It’s something I keep telling myself to do because I’m a pass-first natured guy. I’ve been told my whole life, ‘Shoot the puck!’ So it’s nothing new. I stay on myself, like people stay on me.”
Things bought testy on the 14:33 mark of a scoreless first interval when Sam Lafferty hit an off-balance Matt Gzelcyk and knocked the Bruin into the boards exhausting and awkwardly. Though the hit wasn’t egregious, the consequence appeared unhealthy and A.J. Greer felt compelled to precise some revenge, instantly throwing off his gloves and touchdown a few pictures on Lafferty. Greer wound up getting two for an instigator, 5 for combating and the 10-minute misconduct.
Both Swayman and Samsonov stored the sport scoreless by way of the primary half of the second interval however a Bruin mistake led to the primary objective of the sport.
Pastrnak’s diagonal breakout go was picked off by Lafferty simply exterior the Boston blue line and he counter-attacked. He dumped it into the alternative nook and the puck rimmed again out excessive to Zac Aston-Reese on the left wing. Lafferty headed to the web to obtain Aston-Resse’s excellent return go on the proper submit for the objective at 11:34.Swayman had no likelihood on it.
But the self-inflicted objective in opposition to wasn’t the most important motive for concern. On a Toronto rush that produced likelihood for Nylander that Swayman stuffed, Bergeron crashed into McAvoy on the backcheck and McAvoy in flip slammed into the tip boards. He was gradual to rise up and left the sport.
But the B’s handled that loss, bought the equalizer within the third and finally prevailed in OT to drag inside one of many report. That is giving them juice to compete in these in any other case meaningless video games down the stretch.
Said Pastrnak: “We definitely know about (the record) because we’re looking for anything that will prepare us for the playoffs.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com