Bruins/Islanders: Game 3

As the series shifts over to Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY for game 3 of the highly contested series between the Bruins and Islanders, one of the big questions that loomed was the health of Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask. As pucks drops it's clear that this contest will be a low offense, physical, goaltenders' duel. Six minutes into the game, freshly reinserted Craig Smith roofs one over Varlamov, getting the Bruins on the board first, 1-0. The low offense and big-time goaltending continued all the way into the third with only six and a half minutes left in regulation, when Matthew Barzal manages to jam one home to finally get the Islanders on the board and tie the game 1-1, sending the game to overtime for the second game in a row. Brandon Carlo also left the game in the third, after a hit on the glass that had him come up woozy. The extra frame seems to be all Islanders, when Brad Marchand fresh on the ice finds a puck that he promptly brings up ice and fires a bad angle shot that finds the far end of the ner for the 2-1 game winning bruins goal. Bruins win and outshoot the Islanders 41-29.

Bruins/Capitals: Game 3

Ahead of the game three matchup, we saw the Washington Capitals make a change in net, going with llya Samsonov over soon-to-be 40-year-old Craig Anderson who had started the previous two games for the club. Bruins looked to take a lead in the series, with a little home brewing in front of a raucous Boston crowd. In a back-and-forth game of defensive chance, we don't see the first goal until almost halfway through the game, 8:21 into the second, when Ovechkin on the powerplay puts one past Tuukka Rask from office for the 1-0 Washington lead. Less than a minute later, Craig Smith delivers a tremendous pass in front to a spinning Taylor Hall who puts it up high to even the score at 1. Less than two minutes remaining on the period Washington gets the lead on a Garnett Hathaway pass to Dowd with the tip-in out in-front, 2-1 Caps. Bruins find the equalizer almost halfway through the third while on the powerplay Brad Marchand puts his best homerun swing on the net putting home the game-tying goal from Bergeron, 2-2. Bruins are save by two pipe-ringers down the stretch as now all the games in the series are now extended to overtime. After a scoreless yet eventful extra frame, the goes to a second overtime. Five minutes in Craig Smith retrieves a puck behind the net that goaltender Samsonov had left for Schultz, wrapping the puck around before the netminder had time to set, for the game-winning goal. The Bruins come from behind for the 3-2 victory!

Team Resiliency: Winning Formula

At 10-2-2, the Boston Bruins presently look like one of the best teams in the NHL. Their record aside, the team resiliency is what impresses me the most. This team is never out of a game; in the most desperate and needed times, the Bruins produce and find ways to win, time after time. 

On February 3rd, the Bruins found themselves at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia for 2-games against the Flyers. 12 seconds in, David Pastrnak, fresh off a 2-goal performance against Washington, opens up the scoring by sneaking one past Carter Hart's five-hole. We saw a lackluster performance at times by the young Bruins defensive core, resulting in Tuukka Rask allowing 3 goals on the night. Bruins overcome a 2 goal deficit to force overtime, including Pastrnak in a hat trick performance with only 15 seconds remaining in regulation. Patrice Bergeron did quick work in the overtime, tipping one past Carter Hart for the game-winner 30 seconds in. Philadelphia never had possession in the OT.

Two days later, the two squads once again squared off in a back and forth effort that remained scoreless into the 3rd when the Flyers finally broke one past Rask. Once again, we saw the Bruins victorious in a comeback effort with goals by Marchand and Kurally. Their 4th consecutive come-from-behind win in the 3rd period.

On February 10th, the Bruins, at 7-0-1 in their last 8 games, rolled into Madison Square Garden to take on the Rangers for a 2-game set. At 15:08 of the 3rd, with New York leading 1-0, Jake Debrusk skated through the crease roofing one past the netminder

Alexandar Georgiev, after review, it was determined the puck didn't completely cross the goal line. Minutes later, Sean Kurally made sure it counted with a shorthanded wrist shot to tie the score at 1-1. The two teams then traded goals to force overtime. With the Bruins even surviving a Tuukka Rask brain fart when he attempted to come off the ice for an extra attacker, thinking the club was down 2-1. Brad Marchand scored 36 seconds into OT on a breakaway wrist shot.

In the second game of the series, the Bruins found themselves as the beneficiaries of a 1-0 Halak shutout courtesy of a Nick Ritchie goal at 9:27 of the second. The real story is how the young Bruins responded to their teammates on ice treatment by the Rangers. At 9:27 of the 2nd, we saw Trent Frederic drop the gloves with Brandon Lemieux, where the young muscle held his own in a spirited bout. Shortly after that, in a lopsided tilt, Jeremy Lauzon unloads uppercuts on Pavel Buchnevich. A statement game that this Bruins team is not going to take any shit.

On February 13th, Boston shuttled down to Long Island, where they saw their 10-game point streak snapped at the hands of the New York Islanders. Marchand and Bergeron both added goals in a 4-2 losing effort, with both regulation losses this season happening at Nassau Coliseum. The Bruins next play Thursday against the Devils.