Although it is still quite early in the regular season, Oct. 30’s contest against the Florida Panthers was a big one for the Boston Bruins. It was the first time that they faced the Panthers since they epically collapsed against them in the first round last postseason, so the B’s looked for redemption. Although this game started off poorly for them, their determination and improved play allowed them to take this game by a 3-2 final score in overtime. It was a big win for the Bruins, and here are three notable takeaways from the contest now.
Bruins Refuse to Quit
As noted above, the Bruins had a poor start to this contest. They were heavily outplayed during the first period, and the Panthers made them pay for it. Panthers forwards Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart each scored during the first and put the Bruins in a very difficult 2-0 hole to start the game. However, instead of just rolling over, the Bruins refused to quit and put together a wonderful comeback effort.
As soon as the second period started, the Bruins noticeably had more energy and created more chances because of it. As a result, only three minutes into the second, captain Brad Marchand made it a 2-1 game. Charlie McAvoy, of course, would later tie the game in the third period. Yet, shortly after McAvoy’s goal, he received a five-minute match penalty for a check to the head on Oliver Ekman-Larsson. This put the Bruins down two defensemen, as Matt Grzelcyk got injured early on. However, even with this, the Bruins successfully killed the five-minute major against a Panthers team full of offensive weapons.
This remarkable penalty kill allowed the Bruins to force overtime, where Pavel Zacha secured the game-winner. This was a hard-fought win, and one has to admire the Bruins for refusing to quit when the odds were heavily against them.
Ullmark Bounces Back
This comeback win would not have happened without the spectacular play of reigning Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark. Although he allowed two first-period goals, the 30-year-old goaltender was perfect for the remainder of the contest and put together one of his best performances of the season because of it. By the end of the contest, Ullmark saved 35 out of 37 shots. It is hard to expect more from him than that.
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As you can tell by the Panthers’ final shot totals, they created an array of scoring chances during this contest. Ullmark was also tested a lot during the third period and Panthers’ long power play, as the star netminder saved all 12 shots he faced. It was simply a great performance from the veteran, and he was easily one of the Bruins’ most important players during this contest.
This was a good redemption game for Ullmark, as he, of course, was last in the net during the Bruins’ collapse against the Anaheim Ducks. After this appearance, he has improved to a 4-0-1 record, a 1.77 goals-against average (GAA), and a .939 save percentage (SV%). Needless to say, he has been excellent so far during this young season, and that only continued against the Cats.
Bruins Lose Grzelcyk to Injury
As noted above, the Bruins lost Grzelcyk to an upper-body injury during the first period. Thus, the Bruins played down at least one defenseman for the majority of this contest. While speaking with reporters after the game, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said that Grzelcyk is expected to miss “a couple weeks” because of the injury he suffered.
This is certainly the only bad news from this great comeback win for the Bruins. Grzelcyk has become a key part of the Bruins’ defense over the last few years, and they will now be forced to adjust without him in the lineup. Some call-up candidates to replace the Massachusetts native include Ian Mitchell, Mason Lohrei, and Jakub Zboril.
Nevertheless, with this win, the Bruins now have an outstanding 8-0-1 record and are the top team in the Eastern Conference. They will now look to carry over this momentum in their Original Six matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 2.
