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Bruins Postgame Takeaways: Comeback Against the Blues The Biggest Win Yet

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AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

The Boston Bruins defeated the St. Louis Blues by the final of 3-2 on Tuesday night at Enterprise Center.

Morgan Geekie, Charlie McAvoy, and David Pastrnak had the goals for the Bruins to support Jeremy Swayman, who stopped 20 of 22 shots in net.

Brayden Schenn and Oskar Sundqvist each scored for the Blues, while Jordan Binnington made 27 saves on 30 shots.

But that’s just the box score. Here are the key takeaways from the night that was under the Gateway Arch.

Call It a Comeback:

Things looked dismal for the Bruins for most of the game. Down 2-0 entering the third period, their fate seemed to be set as they hadn’t won a game yet this season when trailing after two periods.

But rather than collapse in on themselves once again, the Bruins stormed back against St. Louis, scoring three goals in the third period, with David Pastrnak scoring the game-winner with 1:46 left to play.

“We stayed patient,” Pastrnak told reporters in St. Louis. “Honestly, I felt good after two. Even though we didn’t score, there was the belief that we were really one bounce away. We had energy all day. It was great energy on the bench. We were fresh and moving our legs. It felt like we could’ve played all night.”

Geekie and McAvoy Get The Message:

Morgan Geekie and Charlie McAvoy received a strong message before the Bruins set out for St. Louis, and they clearly understood it.

Back in the lineup for the first time in three games, Geekie scored his first goal of the season to draw the Bruins to within one after entering the third period trailing 2-0.

“That says a lot about him and how he’s wired,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said of Geekie to reporters in St. Louis. “I saw that he just kept working in practice. I sat him out three games in a row, but he came tonight, and he was really, really good.”

After being taken off the first power play unit for lacking a willingness to shoot, McAvoy showed just how good his shot is when he blasted a slap shot by Blues goalie Jordan Binnington to tie things up for Boston.

“If I could shoot like that, why wouldn’t you use it all the time,” said Montgomery. 

Penalty Kill Hits New Low:

Struggling power plays continue to miraculously find their form against the Bruins.

The Blues entered play on Tuesday as the NHL’s worst team on the man advantage. And yet, rather than shutting down a team that had scored on just 10.8% of its previous chances this season, the Bruins allowed St. Louis to score twice on the power play.

After Cole Koepke was called for a high-sticking penalty, Brayden Schenn found a wide-open path to the front of the net, allowing him to put St. Louis on the board first at 9:24 of the second period.

A few minutes later, Oskar Sundqvist doubled the Bruins’ deficit with another power-play goal for the Blues, this time while David Pastrnak sat in the box for a high-sticking penalty.

The two power-play goals were the first the Blues have scored on their home ice all season.

In their last four games, the Bruins have surrendered seven goals while on the penalty kill in 16 opportunities.

Hampus Lindholm Exits Early:

Hampus Lindholm was perhaps the player to watch for the Bruins tonight, but there wasn’t much to see of him after he left the game in the first period.

Lindholm blocked a shot from Justin Faulk off his left knee while on the penalty kill and had a difficult time skating off the ice. When the two teams returned for the second period, Lindholm wasn’t with the Bruins, and the team eventually ruled him out for the rest of the night with a lower-body injury.

It’s not yet clear how long Lindholm will be out of action. Either way, losing him for any amount of time is a huge blow to a Bruins blue line that is already ailing with Andrew Peeke on the shelf for the next few weeks.

The Bruins packed only six defensemen for this two-game trip, so a call-up from Providence is highly likely to come before their next matchup.

Bruins Lines:

Geekie – Zacha – Pastrnak

Marchand – E. Lindholm – Brazeau

Frederic – Coyle – Johnson

Beecher – Kastelic – Koepke

Zadorov – McAvoy

H. Lindholm – Carlo

Lohrei – Wotherspoon

Swayman

Korpisalo

Up Next:

The Bruins will fly to Dallas for a matchup with the Stars. Puck drop from American Airlines Center on Thursday is set for 8 p.m. EST.

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