FINAL SCORE: Maple Leafs 4, Bruins 2
FROM JOE HAGGERTY
1) Two shots on net and seven shot attempts for David Backes in 10:12 of ice time in the first period. He had a pretty good offensive chance right off the hop in the first minutes of the game where he missed high over the net, but the scoring chances are definitely coming for him. He’s also been much more of a factor throwing his weight around in front of the net on his power play unit. It’s pretty clear that Backes has finally started to find his game playing lower in the B’s forward lineup and perhaps finally being fully healthy after the injuries early in the season. That’s a good sign for the 34-year-old and for the Bruins as they need to find more ways to generate offense than the same old stand-bys.
2) Anders Bjork has zero shots on net and is a minus-2 in 6:59 of ice time through two periods after getting back into the lineup following a pair of healthy scratches over the weekend. That’s certainly not the response that the Bruins were looking for and it makes one wonder whether Bjork would be better off spending some time in the minor leagues. He’s not using his speed consistently enough to be dangerous offensively and he’s not getting to the danger areas enough to be effective when his speed and shot aren’t effective. Plus his confidence might not be at an all-time high right now either.
3) Kevan Miller left the game after getting hit in the head/neck area with a John Tavares shot at the end of the first period, and TSN was reporting that he had been transported to the hospital as a result of it. That’s absolutely not what the Bruins needed on their back end right now, obviously. It’s really too bad as Miller had just jumped back into the lineup and was playing yeoman’s minutes for the Bruins with so many injuries on the back end, and was providing them with some snarl, grit and penalty killing ability that they desperately needed. They have to hope that Miller is going to be okay after what sounds like a scary incident.
4) I wondered if David Pastrnak might have some kind of hand injury considering that he was goalless in his last five games headed into this one, but he answered that with a resounding “no way.” He’s finished with two goals in this game and eight shot attempts in 13:34 of ice time through the first two periods in the eventual 4-2 loss, and was the best player on the ice for the Bruins. He’s certainly making up for that five-game slowdown in the goal-scoring department leading into tonight, and his shot has looked plenty lethal in this game.
Boston Bruins
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BRUINS RECORD: 13-7-4
HIGHLIGHTS:
LEAFS STRIKE FIRST
MARCHAND FEEDS PASTRNAK
PASTRNAK SCORES ANOTHER
LEAFS BREAK THE TIE
UP NEXT
THURSDAY: vs Islanders, 7:00 p.m. (NESN)
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