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Talking Points: Bruins Beat Sens 2-0, Depth Scoring, Swayman Shine

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Boston Bruins

After the humiliating 6-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, the Boston Bruins needed a fast and passionate start Saturday against the Senators in Ottawa. That’s exactly wah they got as goalie Jeremy Swayman (30 saves) earned his second shutout of the season and the depth players rose to the occasion in a 2-0 win to begin a three-game road trip.

Trent Frederic knocked home a rebound of a Craig Smith shot 45 seconds into regulation to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead and Curtis Lazar took a feed from Anton Blidh at 13:26 of the opening frame to make it 2-0. Swayman did the rest standing on his head in the final minutes of both the second and third periods.

Matt Murray prevented the game from getting out of hand and made 35 saves for the Senators in the loss.

Here are your BHN Talking Points:

GOLD STAR: Second Line – The second line of Frederic-Charlie Coyle-Craig Smith set the tempo and was a major factor throughout the game. After the debacle against the Hurricanes Thursday night, Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy decided to flip flop the second and third line left wings, moving Frederic up a line and Jake DeBrusk down. The rookie delivered arguably his best game of the season. His goal 45 ticks into regulation was his first since Jan. 4 and just his third all season. That’s mainly because throughout his previous 25 games this season he was unable to bring all the elements that can make him dangerous: grit, physicality, and skill. Those were all on display Saturday as he finished with two shots, and one hit in 13:25.

 

 

Meanwhile center Charlie Coyle was the engine for this line Saturday as he used his big body to create space for Frederic and Smith, and create offensive chances for himself. Coyle assisted on Frederic’s goal and finished the game with five shots and one hit in 18:01. Smith wasn’t too shabby himself. He was robbed by Murray on a shot that led to the rebound that Frederic buried. Smith finished with four shots and four hits in 14:48.

BLACK EYE: Watson Headshot on Achan – Until the NHL shows some consistency with how headshots are handled and called on and off the ice, NHLers will continue to suffer concussions and be at risk for CTE. That this blatant headshot by Senators winger Austin Watson on Boston Bruins rookie defenseman Jack Achan was only assessed a minor and that Anton Blidh also got two minutes for defending his teammate was pathetic and embarrassing for a league that claims they care for the well-being of their greatest assets. The problem is, that’s all the players are to the powers that be in the NHL, assets.

 

TURNING POINT: 1st period – After being flat from the get-go Thursday against the Hurricanes, the Boston Bruins needed to bring the noise from the opening faceoff Saturday and they did that and more. The Frederic-Coyle-Smith line set the tempo with that first shift and the Frederic goal 45 ticks in and the Bruins, specifically the fourth line of Anton Blidh-Tomas Nosek-Lazar. They out-shot the Sens 22-8 in the opening frame and came away with a 2-0 lead that they never relinquished.

 

HONORABLE MENTION: Jeremy Swayman – Heading into Saturday, Swayman had allowed five goals on the last 38 shots he had faced in a losing start to the Penguins (4-2 loss), Tuesday, and some relief work back on January 30 when he relieved Linus Ullmark in a 6-1 Bruins loss to the Dallas Stars. As mentioned above, Swayman didn’t see much rubber in the opening frame but in the final two periods, the Sens outshot the Bruins 22-15 and from the final five minutes of the second period until the final buzzer, they definitely put the pressure on Swayman and the B’s. The rookie netminder stood tall though and had a huge save in the final minute of the second and third periods. That resulted in the first traditional Swayman-Linus Ullmark hug of the post-Tuukka Rask era and since Swayman was recalled on January 29.

 

BY THE NUMBERS: 0 – With the win Saturday, the Boston Bruins remain the only NHL team to have not lost three-straight games.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “We were ready to play; we were on our toes, and it showed.” – Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy on the fast start the B’s had Saturday.

 

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