With all eyes in New England tuned into NESN on Thursday, giving the local sports network it's highest regular season rating in history for the hyped matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Bruins laid an absolute egg and infuriated their frustrated fan base. On Sunday, this time in the national spotlight on NBC against the New York Rangers, a squad looking to inch closer in the standings and further endanger the B's chances of qualifying for the postseason, the Black and Gold played with passion and a sense of urgency they were sorely missing in their last outing.
With a 2-1 victory over their visitors, just their second home win since the Winter Classic, the Bruins extended their lead over the 10th place Blue Shirts to five points. The Atlanta Thrashers, in 9th with 73 points, will enter their matchup in Philadelphia this evening trailing Boston by three points.
"The way we played against Pittsburgh, again, we had some issues but it’s still unacceptable. At one point we dig ourselves into a hole and you’re the only ones that can get yourselves out." Head Coach Claude Julien said after the win. "If people are disappointed, they have a right to be, because the game you saw today and the game you saw a couple days ago are two different games."
The B's were riled up from the get-go, as center Steve Begin and Brandon Prust dropped the gloves just 2:40 in. A little less than five minutes into action, Vinny Prospal laid out Mark Stuart and was whistled for boarding, as the Bruins' blueliner fell awkwardly into the boards behind Tuukka Rask. The B's would have none of it, as Patrice Bergeron and Dennis Wideman quickly jumped in to stand up for their fallen teammate. Stuart rose to his feet and was quick to grab the closest white jersey he could find.
" Oh yeah. It hurt pretty bad. I hit my face on the boards, but it’s all right." Stuart said of the incident. The defenseman likely felt a lot better after seeing the response of his teammates. "The guys came right in and I think we played a good intense game all night. We were physical all night – or, all day, so I think we can be happy with that today."
Boston finished the game with a 25-17 advantage in hits, playing a far more lively up-tempo game than their opponent.
"We got to do that every day, every game, or else." Stuart said of the Bruins' ramped up physicality. "You know, we’re a lot better when we play like that."
Miroslav Satan picked up his fifth goal on the year, burying a beauty of a cross ice-feed from Andrew Ference late in the second period. Boston upped the lead to two goals at the midway point of the final frame, as defenseman Dennis Wideman roofed a floating backhander by Henrik Lundqvist's glove from about 20 feet out. Ironically enough, it was Wideman's first goal since he scored in a January 9th home loss to Lundqvist and the Rangers.
"Yeah. If I shoot anything that finds the back of the net, I’m a little bit surprised." Wideman sarcastically mused. "No that was good. I was happy obviously that that ended up being a big goal for us."
Indeed it was as, with just 3:04 remaining, a shot from Michael Del Zotto deflected off of Milan Lucic and behind a visibly heated Tuukka Rask. "Yeah, it’s a frustrating goal because you see it, and you know it’s going wide, and then it just hits something and goes in." Rask, who finished with 23 stops on the afternoon, said of the tally.
Rask held the fort for the remainder of the pivotal contest, helping the B's earn a much-needed two points and bounce back from their dismal effort on Thursday.
So can we expect more efforts like Sunday's going forward?
"Well, yeah, that’s the goal for sure. That’s the plan." captain Zdeno Chara said. "For sure, it’s something that is totally up to us and we have to answer the challenge. There are only a few games left and we have to dig deep and find the energy every game now."
GAME NOTES
* The Bruins won 37 of 61 faceoffs (61%). Vladimir Sobotka won 10 of 15 draws, while Patrice Bergeron won 12 of 19.
* Sobotka and linemate Milan Lucic each had a team-high three hits on the day.
* Daniel Paille was awarded a penalty shot with 3:47 remaining in the second period, but was thwarted by Lundqvist on a wrister from close-range.
* Chara picked up eight minutes in penalties, including a double-minor for high-sticking fellow Slovak Marian Gaborik.
* Dennis Seidenberg helped pick up the slack, logging a game-high 28:22 of ice time. The deadline day pickup also fired a game-high six shots on net.
JC
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