Bruins Blow Lead But Come Back to Ground Jets 4-2

Closing out victories has been a problem for the Boston Bruins all season, and Saturday night in Winnipeg was no different. Boston dominated through 2 periods and entered the 3rd with a 2-0 lead and a 36-15 shot advantage. But 40 minutes of dominant play went poof as the Jets tied the game early in the 3rd with two goals in a span of 1:25.

But the Bruins remained resilient and got the go ahead goal from Taylor Hall with 4:35 to go in the third.  Charlie McAvoy added an empty netter at the end to give the Bruins the 4-2 victory.

Brad Marchand and Trent Frederic potted the Bruins’ first two goals while goalie Linus Ullmark grabbed his 19th win of the season with a 27-save performance.

The win helped the Bruins (38-19-5, 81 points) keep control of the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference over the Washington Capitals,

3 Stars of the Game

Brad Marchand: Marchand got the scoring started early in the second period for the Bruins. An absolutely beautiful play made by both DeBrusk and Marchand on the give and go to give the Bruins the lead. Marchand was without his buddy and linemate Patrice Bergeron who missed the game with an arm injury.

Charlie Coyle: Coyle continued his sharp play. He didn’t end up scoring any goals but assisted on 3 of the 4 Bruins goals. Coyle finished the night with a plus-2 rating in 19:18 of ice time. He had 4 shots on goal and a blocked shot in a strong overall effort. Over his last 17 games Coyle has 4 goals and 16 points.

Connor Hellebuyck: He was not able to get the win for his team, but was arguably the best player on the ice. Hellebuyck stopped 41 of the 44 shots he saw from the Bruins. The Jets would have been blown out without the amazing saves throughout the night. Both the Bruins goals in the second period came off of terrible defensive play turnovers by Jets defenders.

Turning Point

It appeared like the Jets were a brand new team coming out of the third period. They came out on fire tying it up 2-2 in the first four minutes. All the momentum was on their side until defensemen Brenden Dillon decided to send the puck over the glass. This gave the Bruins a much needed power play that they were able to take advantage.

So That Happened

The Bruins held a 14-11 shot advantage after the first period before exploding in the second. They managed to outshoot the Jets 22-4 in the second which helped propel them to that 2-0 lead heading into the third period. The Jets then outshot the Bruins 14-9 in the third. That second period helped take control of the game for the Bruins who needed as many shots as they could take with Hellebuyck in net.

Words of Wisdom

The Boston Bruins have a record now of 18-4-2 after losing a game on the season. Coach Bruce Cassidy was asked after the game how the Bruins have been able to play so well after coming off of a loss.

“We don’t like losing.” Cassidy said about his team’s recent success.

“I think our guys, the next night, are usually ready to go,” Cassidy elaborated. “We wanted to win and it showed, you know? End of a road trip, desperate team at home with some momentum and we got the game back [in the third period]. And that’s a credit to the guys in the room for keeping their composure and then upping their game when they needed to.”

What Comes Next

We will keep an eye out to see if the Boston Bruins make any moves this weekend with the trade deadline approaching on Monday. The Bruins will look to win three out of four on this road trip Monday night. They will stay in Canada to take on the Canadians who have a league worst 41 points this season.