The Bruins won in St. Louis tonight.
It was the best of games, it was the worst of games. It was a game of defense, it was a game of offense. It was a contest of hope. It was a contest of despair. We had a win before us. We had a loss before us. It was an excellent game, it was a terrible game.
OK, enough from you, Dickens!
There were a few milestones: Ken Hitchcock coached his 1400th game. Claude Julien coached his 700th for the Bruins. Patrice Bergeron notched his 30th goal, for the third 30-goal season of his career. The Bruins scored their first powerplay goal against the Blues since 2009. There was a lot going on.
But, don’t let the milestones fool you: It was ugly.
It started off as a solid game for both teams, lots of hard-earned opportunities in both directions.
Jaden Schwartz scored on a 2-on-1 after some not-so-great defense.
Pretty pass. Prettier goal. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/p7LhkenQCE
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 2, 2016
What is a Jaden?
John-Michael Liles made a beauty of a pass to Loui Eriksson, who bested Elliott.
John-Michael Liles dishes to Loui Eriksson for the breakaway goal! pic.twitter.com/ojD5vZsoZl
— Weekend at Bergy's (@weekendatbergys) April 2, 2016
David Krejci banged in a Matt Beleskey rebound to take the lead.
David Krejci cleans up Matt Beleskey’s shot to give the #NHLBruins the 2-1 lead! pic.twitter.com/6fSsKojCsS
— Weekend at Bergy's (@weekendatbergys) April 2, 2016
The Blues tied the game on a Paul Stastny goal at 5:39, but the Bruins dominated the second period.
Can't stop, won't stop. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/4s5HIQ59fu
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 2, 2016
On an offensive zone faceoff, Krejci dished the puck to Beleskey, who wound up and beat Elliott, glove side.
Matt Beleskey's 15th goal of the season! #NHLBruins https://t.co/FpP35QJrvf
— Weekend at Bergy's (@weekendatbergys) April 2, 2016
At 15:27, Lee Stempniak passed from Elliott’s right to Frank Vatrano in the slot. Vatrano lit the lamp.
Frank Vatrano’s 8th of the season gives the #NHLBruins the 4-2 lead! pic.twitter.com/jiLNMeuImy
— Weekend at Bergy's (@weekendatbergys) April 2, 2016
A sweet goal celly followed.
#LetsGoBruins pic.twitter.com/iw2EACT11X
— Weekend at Bergy's (@weekendatbergys) April 2, 2016
With 1:16 to go in the second, David Krejci scored from the top of the right circle. Notice the expert screening by Loui Eriksson. This goal doesn’t happen without him.
David Krejci’s 2nd of the night makes it 5-2 #NHLBruins! pic.twitter.com/57DwbrJwfB
— Weekend at Bergy's (@weekendatbergys) April 2, 2016
After 40 minutes, the score was 5-2.
Then the third period came, and the wheels fell off. It started off okay, or so it seemed: the Bruins had chased Elliott out of the crease, and were now facing Jake Allen.
St. Louis never tied the game in the third, but it was downright scary: two Blues goals happened simply because the Bruins made some appalling defensive gaffes.
The lone highlights from the third period, in my humble opinion:
Patrice Bergeron’s 30th goal of the season! 3rd career 30 goal season. pic.twitter.com/bHeizYrYHb
— Weekend at Bergy's (@weekendatbergys) April 2, 2016
— Weekend at Bergy's (@weekendatbergys) April 2, 2016
There were all sorts of penalties for both teams throughout the entire game, as well as an injury to Kevan Miller and David Pastrnak (who luckily returned).
David Krejci and Loui Eriksson both had a great game. Liles was pretty good, except for his puck handling error that led to a Blues goal. Tuukka Rask wasn’t terrible but should have been better.
Bruins win, 6-5.
Fuckin’ right boys. pic.twitter.com/eQyalTqDwF
— Weekend at Bergy's (@weekendatbergys) April 2, 2016
NUMBERS
The following players had a multiple point game:
| TEAM | # | PLAYER | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOS | 46 | David Krejci | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| BOS | 21 | Loui Eriksson | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| BOS | 39 | Matt Beleskey | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| BOS | 26 | John-Michael Liles | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| BOS | 47 | Torey Krug | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| STL | 26 | Paul Stastny | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| STL | 36 | Troy Brouwer | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| STL | 42 | David Backes | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Top ice time:
BOS – Chara: 28:32
BOS – Liles: 26:12
BOS – Eriksson: 21:29
BOS – Krejci: 20:32
BOS – Bergeron: 20:13
STL – Shattenkirk: 24:46
STL – Pietrangelo: 24:49
STL – Brouwer: 21:20
STL – Stastny: 20:45
STL – Steen: 20:29
The Bruins barely scraped by tonight, after looking convincingly better after two periods. Two hard earned points.
Definitely more Batman & Robin than Burt Reynolds in this case, Bruins.
Believe it or not I stayed up til 5 to watch that gameven and after (rightfully) defending Krejci from idiots I was happy to see him light up a good team for 4 points. Worth the loss of sleep. But I’m not gonna lie, Rask could have been a lot better.
Shit, sorry. Still getting used to the site and I’m on the phone. Didn’t even sign in
Krejci really had a great game. Eriksson, too. Rask could definitely have been better and so could be defense – yikes.
I know it’s weird but having Miller out is going to hurt.
Chara, Krug and Liles aren’t grade A this year but they need capable bottom pair guys if only to help manage their mins. At least to me.
After opening my big fat mouth, I couldn’t watch the rest of the third when the slide started to happen.
I told MCB’s that “despite their best efforts, the Bruins managed to win against the Blues last night.”
Kittens, everyone. Fuzzy one and pixelated.