Here are Joe Haggerty's Talking Points from the Bruins' 4-3 shootout loss to the Jets.
GOLD STAR: Kyle Connor was one of a handful of forwards that the Bruins passed on three consecutive times in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft in what’s become a real issue for the Black and Gold over the years. Tonight he made them pay on the scoreboard as he scored a pair of goals in the third period to bring the Jets back into a game they mostly trailed, and then he scored the game-winning goal in the shootout to add some insult to the injury. It was an otherwise quiet night for the skilled Winnipeg winger, but he made his moment count in the third period when the Jets really needed him. And he proved to be the real difference-maker in the game.
BLACK EYE: It would probably be Jaroslav Halak, who needed to step up and make a big save in the third period if the Bruins actually hoped to take two points from the game. Instead, Kyle Connor beat him first with a glove-side high blast after behind the B’s defense on a sloppy change, and then found a hole shooting it through him from the slot after Zdeno Chara was late covering him around the front of the net. It was probably the first one that could have really staved off Winnipeg’s third period momentum, but also credit the Jets for being a good, deep team with skilled offensive players that can make opponents pay for their mistakes.
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TURNING POINT: The Bruins took their foot off the gas pedal in the third period and allowed the Jets to score a pair of goals and take control of the game. That was exactly where the game turned when Connor scored two goals in a matter of 34 seconds and the Jets went from trailing to leading for most of the rest of the third period. Boston did manage to tie it late in the third and battle through a scoreless, mostly uneventful 3-on-3 overtime, but the Jets eventually prevailed largely on the strength of what they did in those final 20 minutes of regulation.
HONORABLE MENTION: Patrice Bergeron usually doesn’t show any rust after a long layoff from playing hockey and that was again the case on Tuesday night against the Jets. Bergeron scored a pair of goals including the game-tying strike in the third period, totaled six shots on net, had a hit and a takeaway and won 20-of-31 face-offs while doing it all on the ice. It was very clear that the B’s Perfection Line was totally energized by the 10-day break they had in between games, and it showed as much in No. 37’s game as it did in everybody else. The Bruins come away from Tuesday night with a point largely because of it and have to hope they can ride that top line again through the second half of the season.
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BY THE NUMBERS: 5 – Bruins center Trent Frederic becomes the fifth B’s player to play in his first NHL game this season joining Urho Vaakanainen, Connor Clifton, Jeremy Lauzon and Jakub Zboril in that class.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “My parents probably showed a lot of emotion because they’ve followed my brothers around and stuff. Obviously, a fight isn’t as cool as a goal or something, so I can only imagine what they would do then. It’s a lot of emotion. I’m just pumped and I’m pumped to have them in my corner so you know, a high-five, missed or not, they’re in sync and they’ve been great.” –Bruins rookie Trent Frederic on his parents’ enthused reaction after his second period fight in his NHL debut.
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