The Boston Bruins once again came out of the gate awfully
lackadaisical. After two periods of sloppy hockey, the B’s kicked it
into gear and defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 2-0. In a game of ups and downs,
Boston got tremendous goaltending from Anton Khudobin and a hard-nosed, workmen
like offensive effort from the Lucic-Krejci-Horton line. The Boston defense bent at times but
played with the kind of conviction needed to secure 2 points.
Boston improved to 22-8-4, bringing themselves within one point
of the idle Canadiens, while cushioning their lead on the Leafs and Sens. This
was a must win game for Boston, but the fashion in which things unfolded early
on hinted otherwise. Buffalo recognized the B’s sluggish start and made life
difficult in the opening two periods.
Buffalo outskated the Bruins for the majority of the opening
40 minutes. Boston committed 4 penalties that resulted in Sabres power plays.
The penalty kill rose to the occasion, bailing out a Bruins offense that was
pretty much nonexistent for much of this one.
Fortunately for the B’s it was Anton Khudobin who stole this
game. Dobby was all over the place making one gigantic save after the next. The
Boston net minder turned away all 26 shots he faced. In victory, Anton Khudobin
improved to 7-3 this season and recorded his first shutout as Bruin.
Mostly settling for point shots in the first and second
periods, the Bruins looked vulnerable and susceptible to another loss. Boston’s
forwards were not getting the puck in deep and the Sabres controlled the dirty
areas. The Bruins game is predicated on a blue-collar style that encompasses
crashing their opponent’s goal. This all would change as the third period got
going.
Many times we have seen the Bruins outshoot the opposition
and loss this season. Milan Lucic, David Krejci, and Nathan Horton made sure
this was not going to be the case. Led by their top line in the third, the B’s
ramped up their fore-check, got pucks in behind the Buffalo defense, and began
to generate scoring chances in high percentage areas.
At 12:54 of the
final frame, David Krejci scored what proved to be the game-winning tally. Matt
Bartkowski snapped a pass to Nathan Horton in the slot. He then shoveled the
puck off Ryan Miller, producing a rebound goal for Krejci. Minutes later it was
Krejci and Horton hooking up again. Milan Lucic lugged the puck into Buffalo’s
end along the nearside wall and dropped a well-timed pass back to a trailing
Krejci. He quickly backhanded a pass through the paint past the Sabres defense to
Nathan Horton who buried an insurance marker.
Despite winning 2-0, the Bruins committed a great deal of
mistakes. Regardless, mistakes or no mistakes, Boston showed its killer
instinct in closing out the Sabres when push came to shove. The slow starts
certainly need to be addressed, but taking care of business when winning time
comes is what counts. Boston’s much maligned top line picked a perfect time to
snap out of a recent funk. Scoring twice in 3 minutes to secure the win should
alleviate some of the criticism they have been battered with.
The Senators will be in Boston Tuesday night to take on the
Bruins. Without a doubt the B’s will have plenty to work on Monday in practice.
Claude Julien must find a way to get all four lines rolling in order to produce
a higher goal output and more power play chances. Kasper Daugavins will likely
be in the lineup come game time and should help get a hobbling offense back on
the right path.
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