Your Boston Bruins hosted the NJ Devils tonight at the TD Garden. In front of a sellout crowd (including the 2x defending Isobel Cup champs, the PHF Boston Pride), the B’s pumped the devils 8-1 sweeping the season series against the hapless Garden State team.
The Champs are in the building
Bruce Cassidy made some lineup changes in the aftermath of the Bruins’ no show game against the Leafs earlier this week. On the back end, Mike Reilly and Josh Brown took Derek Forbort and Conor Clifton’s spots as the 3rd pairing, with Brown making his Bruins debut. Up front, Anton Blidh slid back onto the 4th line in place of Nick Foligno (maintenance) and local boy Marc McLaughlin (North Billerica/Boston College) rode on the Charlie Coyle line in place of Craig Smith (illness). In net it was The Ice Bear Dude: Linus Ullmark vs. Nico Daws in net for the Devils.
Matt Grzelcyk got the Bs on the board first when his long range wrister beat Daws less than a minute into the game. Grz corralled the puck at the left point and after a stride to his right let it go with a quick release and beat Daws over the blocker.
Originally tweeted by Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) on March 31, 2022.
After a NJ power play, Jack Hughes tied it back up during the what Homeboy Jack calls “the vulnerable minute” when he let loose a dot from below the LW circle that beat Ullmark far side over the shoulder. All of sudden it’s a tie game and maybe NJ wasn’t just going to roll over and show their tummies?
Jake DeBrusk got the game winning goal late in the first when he tucked in Patrice Bergeron’s rebound. Bergy put a long shot on net (hey it worked for Grz) and DeBrusk gathered the puck all alone in the slot and went backhand-forehand to stash the puck behind Daws. I’ve been saying it for years : Good things happen when you go to the net.
Originally tweeted by Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) on March 31, 2022.
The Bruins blew the roof off in the 2nd period, hanging 6 on the Devils. Roll the clips.
Originally tweeted by Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) on April 1, 2022. Erik Haula got this play going with his backcheck in the NJ zone. David Pastrnak circled the net and Haula was driving the net when the rebound popped to him. 3-1 Bruins.
Originally tweeted by Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) on April 1, 2022. Jake DeBrusk gets this whole sequence going with self pass down the RW and then rotates back out high. As the puck goes to Grzelcyk, DeBrusk drives down and gets hold of Grzelcyk’s rebound to find Brad Marchand for the one-timer. 4-1 Bruins.
Patrice Bergeron gets the 5th Bruins goal when he redirects a Pastrnak point shot between his own legs to beat Daws 5-hole. I cannot find a clip of this filth, but I swear to you Dear Reader, it happened. 5-1 Bruins. This goal also forced a goalie change from the Devils as Jon Gillies (Providence College in the house) took over in the NJ net.
Originally tweeted by Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) on April 1, 2022. Marchy got his 2nd of the night (and his 30th of the year) when he finished off Reilly’s cross-ice feed. I’m not sure what I like better on this play: DeBrusk obliterating Ty Smith on the end boards, Reilly gathering the puck and then finding Marchand with that cross-ice pass, or Marchy’s drop knee one timer. Awesome all the way around. 6-1 Bruins.
Originally tweeted by Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) on April 1, 2022. Trent Frederic blocks a Jonas Siegenthaler clapper at his own blue line and breaks up ice with Marc McLaughlin. Freddie waits and lays it over to McLaughlin who puts it back against the grain and over the glove for his first NHL goal. 7-1 Bruins.
Originally tweeted by Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) on April 1, 2022. Pastrnak got this sequence going when he caused a turnover (yes, you read that correctly) at the offensive blue line. After corralling the puck, Pasta fed across the crease to Taylor Hall for the finish. 8-1 Bruins.
In the 3rd the Bruins played disciplined hockey and I think Butchie instituted the “everyone has to touch the puck before you can shoot” rule, as the Bruins were content to have the occasional net drive and just kept the puck in the Jersey zone.
Up next for the Bruins is the first half of a home and home with Columbus on Saturday.
Play the music – Goalie Hug
Plus/Minus
Plus:
- Way to bounce back after a lackluster effort against the Leafs. Everyone contributed and it was great to see. All lines were clicking, defending each other and moving the puck very well.
- Jake DeBrusk had himself a game. Had his skating legs going and (checks notes) he was playing the body. Saw very little of his fly-by game and he was hard on the puck all night. Looked like he deserved top 6 minutes as opposed to being a passenger on the top line.
- I think maybe Mike Reilly doesn’t like health-bombs? He played physical and with good first steps all game. Factored in 3 goals as he got the sequences going. That’s the response you want from a guy that’s been sat for a few, and I loved his response to Miles Wood’s hit on McAvoy.
Originally tweeted by Patrick Donnelly (@PatDonn12) on March 31, 2022.
Minus:
- Tough look for The Morning Skate’s NJ Devil guy Booth, as not only do his Devils get run out of the building, his boy Bratt put up a sick stat line: 0-0-0 with 1 shot in 17:14 TOI. I mean maybe Boother jinxed him with the
ballwashingarticle he just posted?
Game Notes:
- As Brick said on the NESN feed “Welcome to Boston Josh Brown”. First game in for the Bruins and the big boy takes on NJ tough guy Mason Geersten and gets the decision. I’ll take it.
Originally tweeted by Evan Marinofsky (@EvanMarinofsky) on March 31, 2022.
- Speaking of making good first impressions: Local boy and former BC Eagle Marc McLaughlin made his debut tonight. McLaughlin got on the board when he finished off a 2:1 with Trent Frederic with a one-timer back against the grain. Love to see it, he had around 50 people including his parents, brother and sister in the building.
- The Bruins honored Tuukka Rask in a pre-game ceremony. I’m assuming a jersey retirement is somewhere down the line for him. Statistically the best goalie in Bruins history.
- Low key great night from Charlie Coyle. He had an impact all over the game in all zones, he’s really showing how good he can be when healthy and used right. Here’s an example: Late in the first, Charlie McAvoy jumped up in the play and Coyle covered him back. McAvoy went behind the NJ net and the puck went back the other way. As Coyle was back in coverage, he read the play coming at him and made a quick poke to disrupt the play and cause a NJ turnover. A lot of forwards covering back would have attempted to pick off the puck and go back the other way, leaving the Bruins without a player back on D. Instead, Coyle played it like a defensmen and initiated the breakout the other way. Great heads up play.
- If Erik Haula doesn’t win the 7th player award it’s a travesty and I will demand a recount!
In case anyone missed it, Ked and I went over the trade deadline news and actually talked about all 32 teams this week on the podcast. You can catch it here.
Thanks and as always, you can find me on socials @abrow28
Originally tweeted by Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) on April 1, 2022.
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