BHN Talking Points

Talking Points: Boston Bruins Release ‘W’ Versus Kraken

Published

2 years ago

February 1, 2022

BOSTON – Here are the Talking Points from the Boston Bruins 3-2 win over the Seattle Kraken at TD Garden on Tuesday night.

GOLD STAR: Taylor Hall said he hadn’t been a big fan of his last five or six games, but he really stood up and played an important supporting role in a win that the B’s absolutely needed to get headed into the NHL All-Star break. Hall finished with a goal and two points, including a great pass through traffic to Pastrnak for a one-timer and a nice play picking up a puck in front of the Seattle net, in 13:29 of ice time along with five shots on net. At this point Hall is on pace for 20 goals and close to 60 points over the course of the full season, and that’s right about what the Bruins had in mind when they signed him prior to the start of the season. It’s also encouraging to hear him say that he wants to be a better two-way player in the second half of the season once coming back from the NHL All-Star break.

BLACK EYE: The on-ice officials and whoever made the call to downgrade Yanni Gourde’s hit from behind on Urho Vaakanainen really dropped the ball. Gourde saw Vaakanainen’s numbers all the way through before blasting him head-first into the end boards where the Bruins defenseman slammed his head against the glass and left the ice a bloody mess. Vaakanainen didn’t return to the game and Gourde was initially hit with a five-minute boarding major as the call on the ice. Somehow during the ensuing video review the officials downgraded the dangerous, reckless hit to a two-minute minor and Gourde was able to finish out the game without any further penalty. There are times when the review works correctly to reduce a penalty as it did in Colorado with Taylor Hall’s clean hit that accidentally injured Nathan MacKinnon, but the reversal on Tuesday night felt like a simple slap on the wrist for a dangerous play that caused injury from Gourde.

TURNING POINT: The new-look fourth line that Ty Anderson had a great nickname for, Swedish Clearwater Revival, drew a penalty in the third period that put the Bruins on the power play.

Blidh-Fogarty-Steen put in some work and draw a penalty. That’s the Swedish Clearwater Revival line. Venmo me $500,000.

— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) February 2, 2022

The tripping all on Mark Giordano ended the tension in a 2-2 tie game where the B’s had frittered away a two-goal lead, and instead David Pastrnak powered up for a power play strike to give Boston their game-winner. It was a pretty good night for Blidh, Fogarty and Lazar as Curtis Lazar also jumped up and defended Urho Vaakanainen while dropping the gloves off a face-off where Fogarty also stepped in at the draw. They played a physical game, drew a key penalty and kept the puck out of their own night in an effective energy line kind of night.

HONORABLE MENTION: David Pastrnak has been red-hot since the start of January with his one-timer and that continued on Tuesday night with a pair of goals on simple shooting opportunities from the face-off circle. The first was a great Taylor Hall setup through traffic where he bombed it off a Kraken defender’s stick and the second goal was a classic power play one-timer off Chris Driedger’s glove hand for the game-winner. Pastrnak finished with two goals and three points in 15:16 of ice time and had six shot attempts and a pair of hits in an active game. Pastrnak now has 14 goals and 22 points in 17 games since returning from the COVID/Holiday break that absolutely breathed life into the games of many Bruins players like No. 88.

BY THE NUMBERS: 13-2-2 – The Boston Bruins’ record this season after recording a loss, which has kept them from any prolonged losing streaks.

QUOTE TO NOTE: There is no quote tonight. Just this heartwarming video of two Boston Bruins goaltending friends reunited due to the Tuukka Rask injury and feeling good.