Things starting entering doom and gloom territory with 0:42 left in regulation as, for the second time on the night, the Bruins surrendered the lead when Maxim Afinogenov buried one behind Tuukka Rask to help pull the Thrashers even at three apiece. Mad Max's tying tally marked the second time the B's had allowed the tying goal in the final minute in their last three contests. Unlike that last occasion, a 6-5 loss in OT to Pittsburgh Saturday, Boston walked away with a much needed two points.
Struggling scorers Marco Sturm and Michael Ryder both found twine in the first period to give the Bruins an early 2-0 lead. But, after a nice tip in by Nik Antropov and a rising bullet on the PP from Ilya Kovalchuk, the lead was erased. Ryder's 2nd goal of the game, of the PP variety (I kid you not, a goal on the man advantage for the Bruins) just 2:22 after Kovalchuk's bomb put the B's ahead 3-2.
Atlanta netminder Ondrej Pavelec made 15 saves in a wild, whistle happy third period. Six (mostly questionable) minor penalties were called during the frame, with all but one of them going against the Black and Gold. Despite spending nearly half the period with the extra man, the Thrashers failed to cash in until Afinogenov's facepalm-inducing tying goal.
Atlanta carried the play throughout majority of OT, out-shooting Boston 3-1. With an ever-dangerous shootout lineup looming, it appeared as though the Bruins were about to leave yet another important point on the table. After Rich Peverley led off by missing the net, Patrice Bergeron scored on an absolutely gorgeous move. The Bruins' center left Pavelec in the dust after deking backhand and tightly shifting to his forehand, before burying it into a virtually wide open net.
Slava Kozlov, who entered the game 24 for 41 in his career in the shootout (59%), was unable to slide a backhander by the outstretched left leg of Rask. Blake Wheeler flubbed the puck after, again, Pavelec bit on a deke to the backhand, giving Kovalchuk (gasp!) the chance to tie it up. Rask stayed strong, getting a piece of the puck as the super sniper tried to roof one on the netminder's glove side.
Game. Set. Match.
My thoughts?
* Referees Chris Lee and Brian Pochmara must get paid by the whistle. Six minor penalties in the third. Really? REALLY? Chill out, zebra stripes.
* How many times did a player (on either side) inexplicably fall down? Did someone replace the playing surface with Italian Ice? You know, that highly overrated dessert offering that dominated the frozen section at your local grocery store in the mid '90s? No? Nevermind then. Don't sweat it. Italian Ice really sucked anyways. And on that topic...
* Zdeno Chara and Derek Morris were bad news bears Thursday. Both were on the ice for all three of the Thrashers' goals, and finished a combined -3. Yick!
* Dennis Wideman had, arguably, his best game of the season. Bust out the champagne! Wides solid performance still included a wuh wuh wuh wiiiipeout in which he went to slap the puck away in his own zone, and seemingly skated over a banana peel before launching himself into the air. No Thrasher was within 15 feet. He would have made a sweet D-to-D pass to Matt Hunwick in front of Tuukka Rask at one point. The only problem was, Wideman was using the tape-delayed NESN feed on his iPhone to survey the ice, and Hunwick was long gone. It was awkward. But hey, +2 and 2 assists....pour me another glass!
* Michael Ryder is now on pace for a 23 goal season after his two tallies tonight. He and linemates Blake Wheeler and David Krejci seem to really be rediscovering the chemistry they had together last season. Keep your fingers crossed.
* Did Blake Wheeler break his wrist when he failed to score in the shootout? I'm not the only one who noticed the winger hunched over on his way back to the bench, right?
* Referee theory #2. Why the abundance of whistles in the 3rd period? To break the awkward silence. Despite putting together a four game winning streak, Atlanta showed little love for their hockey team Thursday night. Empty barn or what?
* Milan Lucic returned for the first time in just over a month and looked phenomenal. The bruising winger gelled well with Begin and Bitz on the 4th line, and generated a number of quality chances.
* It might not have been pretty at the conclusion of regulation, but the Bruins looked motivated as hell throughout most of the contest. Their inspired effort netted them a critical two points, putting an end to a three game win-less streak in the process. They'll need to crank up the effort machine even higher for Friday night's clash with the division leading Sabres in Buffalo.
JC
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