Boston Bruins
Talking Points: DeBrusk, Krejci Off The Schneid; Boston Bruins Win 4-0
Here’s the Talking Points from a resounding 4-0 win for the Boston Bruins over the New York Rangers in the first game of a two-game set that concludes Saturday afternoon at TD Garden.
GOLD STAR: Brad Marchand – Truth be told, the Gold Star could’ve been Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci, David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, or Jaro Halak. However, as I stated in the BHN Live Game Blog, Marchand keeps establishing himself as a Hart and Selke Trophy candidate, at least in this veteran puck scribe’s eyes. Marchand had three helpers and was really the catalyst for the offense early on. His assist on Bergeron’s shorthanded tally was a thing of penalty-killing beauty and just another example of how he continually puts the team on his shoulder when they need someone to lead. Marchand leads the team in assists with 19 and in points with 31.
Pure filth here from Marchand:
What an absurd play from Brad Marchand.
Patrice Bergeron finishes off the shorthanded goal.
2-0 Bruins. pic.twitter.com/TcRhUkknzH
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) March 12, 2021
BLACK EYE: The New York Rangers team effort. If I’m Rangers head coach David Quinn right now, I’d have the team back on the TD Garden ice right now putting the Rangers through a bag skate reminiscent of the one the late great Herb Brooks did with the 1980 Olympic team prior to the Miracle On Ice. …’Again! Again! Again!’.
It’s hard to believe that this same Rangers squad beat the Bruins 6-2 only two weeks ago. The Rangers looked absolutely disinterested and one has to wonder even when Artemi Panarin comes back Saturday, is this team not far off from falling out of the playoff picture and becoming sellers? There were nine scouts at the game tonight and according to some of them, they were there to watch the Rangers.
TURNING POINT: Krejci and DeBrusk scoring 1:21 apart early in the second period seemed to be the straw that broke the collective backs of the Rangers in this one. Obviously, those were two huge goals for Krejci (his first of the season) and DeBrusk (his first in seven games) but that’s also where you could see the Rangers become deflated and the Boston Bruins go into lockdown mode.
HONORABLE MENTION: Jake DeBrusk. The embattled Boston Bruins winger answered the bell after being benched on Tuesday, scoring his first goal in seven games and his second of the season. What was more impressive though was the two-way game and hustle by DeBrusk who had been called out by head coach Bruce Cassidy for a lack of effort on Tuesday. The fact he wasn’t satisfied after his goal and kept that up is a good sign going forward.
BY THE NUMBERS: 35 – The number of regular season games between goals for David Krejci dating back to Feb. 4, 2020.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I’m a pretty easy target at the moment. it’s warranted. But I took it personally.” – DeBrusk on using the recent criticism he’s faced as motivation to bounce back and score.
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A much needed win. And some great individual efforts. Emotionally a big lift to get a goal from DeBrusk and Krejci. While improvement was shown….still not that impressed with the overall effort. The B’s penchant for getting hemmed in for extended periods of time was still evident, Breakout passes were still more in the up the boards or flip it out desperation category. Still looking for that team that had tape to tape pass breakouts in that early season streak. Maybe we won’t see that again with Carlo, Lauzon and Miller out. Glad DeBrusk took it personally. But if you… Read more »
I was certain, once the Bruins listened to the mindless complaints of Bruins fans and let Krug go, that they would have a hard time offensively. Krug’s vision, both in the offensive zone, but more importantly now, in making that first pass out of the d-zone, is sorely missed. To my surprise, Jeremy Lauzon turned out to be an excellent breakout and setup man. We all remember Lauzie’s passes setting up goals in the beginning of the season. But as with Krug, we came to expect his visionary passes out of the d-zone, making he and McAvoy a supreme defensive… Read more »
Debrusk has oodles of talent. That’s never been in doubt. His problem has always been “between the ears”. How many times has Cassidy needed to call DeBrusk out, only for the young skater to up his game to another level? Perhaps the point is that he’s not so “young” any longer? Sometimes “maturity” means you no longer need external motivation to keep your game at the highest level you can manage? Perhaps, once people start seriously discussing putting you on the trading block, its time to realize that you need to bring that highest level consistently, or you’re letting your… Read more »