Morning Free Association: Statement? Game

Well, after the disaster that was Wednesday’s match vs the Flyers, the Bruins came back with a more complete game at home vs the Blues.

Thursday saw the return of David Backes to the lineup, in place of Noel Acciari on the energy line. Callup Peter Cehlarik got a 2nd game playing on Krejci’s wing.

It was also a “You Can Play” event – Hockey Is For Everyone Night. The Bruins taped up their sticks for pre-game with rainbow colored “Pride” tape, which were then raffled off. They also invited some different players to share the ice with them, including a special olympian, a sled-hockey player, and an 85-year old goaltender.

The #NHLBruins welcome an 85-year-old goalie out on the TD Garden ice for Hockey Is For Everyone Night. He gets to stand next to Tuukka Rask during the national anthem.

Pretty cool stuff. pic.twitter.com/O1e9JN7rbB

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) January 18, 2019

First Period:
The Bruins quickly moved play to the offensive zone, and took a couple of shots on goal, and Jack Edwards yanked all of us around by calling a goal on a Jake DeBrusk tip-in that was trapped under Jake Allen’s pad and never crossed the goal line.

Tuukka stood strong against a penalty kill due to a David Pastrnak high-sticking incident, and generally looked good for this match.

The rest of the period was uneventful until Zdeno Chara grew frustrated with a hit on Charlie McAvoy, and came to blows with Patrick Maroon

Zdeno Chara vs. Pat Maroon #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/PskDMqv8qP

— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) January 18, 2019

Not the most aggressive fight we’ve seen from the big man, but Maroon did not enjoy the situation. Both men would receive 5 minute majors.

Second Period:
New guy, Peter Cehlarik went to the box for tripping – a 2nd penalty in 2 games. But he redeemed himself by contributing to this Torey Krug goal a mere 30 seconds after being released from the sin bin,

David Krejci is a magician. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/oqtZGphEWa

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 18, 2019

Note how sweet Krejci’s transition & feed is there, and DeBrusk’s presence in the slot.
Of course, that was followed – less than a minute later – by a Benny Hill chase sequence in front of and around Tuukka’s net, that resulted in 2 or 3 rapid fire saves followed by a Ryan O’Reilly goal. John Moore and Kevan Miller combined to not block any Blues skaters in the sequence.

This pairing was also on the ice 9 minutes later when Carl Gunnarson fired this laser past Tuukka

Here's the broadcast look at Gunnarsson's goal … #stlblues pic.twitter.com/Cn7ditSwuf

— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) January 18, 2019

Fortunately, the Bruins would get that back before the end of the 2nd, via this Krecji-Zee-David Backes goal at the tail end of a power play

DAVID BACKES WITH A HARD-EARNED TIP-IN GOAL TO TIE IT UP!#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/7QbPcN4OCf

— Hockey Daily (@HockeyDaily365) January 18, 2019

They would end the period tied at 2-2

Third Period:
Tuukka stood strong against some shots early on in the period, and at 5:37 into the period Chris Wagner channeled his inner Brad Marchand and dropped this beauty into the net after flying through the neutral zone.

CHRIS WAGNER WITH THE BEAUTIFUL GO AHEAD GOAL IN THE 3RD! #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/PebTTeryXm

— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) January 18, 2019

Bruins lead, 3-2!

The game would be unresolved for the next 8 minutes until a Bergy-McAvoy-to-Brad Marchand goal stretched the lead to two.

Charlie McAvoy finds Brad Marchand, 4-2 #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/GiE9sNIOrJ

— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) January 18, 2019

So this was a good place to be in, and the Blues went to an empty net. They were able to put some good pressure on the Bruins, but the fishbowl struck again, dropping in an empty netter and the game would wrap up with a proud 5-2 win.

This win places the Bruins one point behind Toronto (who beat Tampa last night) and two points ahead of Montreal.

It was also Tuukka’s 252nd win as Bruins goaltender, which ties him for first with Tiny Thompson (though Thompson did so in 468 games compared to Tuukka’s 474). Thompson would go on to play an additional 85 games for Detroit, winning 32 of them. Tuukka critics may be interested to note that Thompson only played about 48 games per season compared to Tuukka’s 60.
252 wins also matches Frank Brimsek’s entire career. This puts the 2 at 52nd of all time, right behind Ken Dryden.