Hometown Hero! Fraser Minten Lifts Bruins to Overtime Win

Vancouver-native Fraser Minten scored twice, including the overtime winner, to lift the Bruins (22-18-2) to a 3-2 overtime win over the Canucks (16-20-4) on Saturday night. 

Minten (8) both opened and later closed the scoring against Vancouver, and the Bruins got a power play goal from Elias Lindholm (7). At the other end of the ice, Jeremy Swayman stopped 31 of Vancouver’s 33 shots in the overtime win. 

Even though the Bruins took six penalties on Saturday night, they controlled the special teams battle. The penalty kill went five-for-six, and Jeremy Swayman helped with 11 saves while the Bruins were shorthanded. The Bruins capitalized twice on their three power play chances. 

It took the offense a while to get going. Boston had two shots in the first 11 minutes of the game.

The Bruins got on the power play for the first and second of three times on Saturday. Marcus Pettersson committed two penalties, giving the Bruins a four-minute man-advantage. The fifth-ranked power play was taking on the 30th-ranked penalty kill. 

Fraser Minten, in his hometown, opened the scoring for Boston. 

The Bruins took a 1-0 lead into the intermission. 

The Canucks came out firing to start the second period. Filip Hronek drove a shot from the point. The shot was redirected off the skate of Elias Pettersson (forward) and into the net. It only took Vancouver 48 seconds to tie the game.

The Bruins again took advantage of a power play opportunity when Max Sasson cross-checked Casey Mittelstadt. David Pastrnak grabbed the puck near the corner boards, attacked the open ice, and drove the puck to the front of the net. Elias Lindholm parked himself in the crease and cashed in on Pastrnak’s pass, redirecting the puck behind Kevin Lankinen. 

The Bruins took four penalties in the second period and killed off the first three. That did not last, however, as Hampus Lindholm took a holding penalty late in the period. Filip Hronek, again, threw the puck towards the net front. It redirected, but this time it was off Charlie McAvoy’s skate and in. 

Swayman faced early pressure to start the third period. The Canucks generated nine shots in the first nine minutes, while the Bruins had one. Pavel Zacha took another penalty to put Vancouver on the power play, but the Bruins’ penalty kill made their fifth kill of the night.

Much like the first time these two teams met, this game needed more than 60 minutes to decide a winner. 

The Bruins, who won 39 of the 58 faceoffs on Saturday (67.2%), won the draw to start overtime. In the final minute, Pastrnak, Minten, and Mason Lohrei broke into the offensive zone. 

Pastrnak, from the blue line, put the puck on net, and after the puck navigated through the crease, Fraser Minten tapped it in and won the game for Boston, in the arena only five minutes away from where he grew up.

The Bruins picked up three of four possible points in the season series with the Canucks, avenging a shootout loss from two weeks earlier with a road win. Boston’s last two wins have come against teams that beat them in their six-game skid, and were helped by special teams and steady goaltending. 

The Bruins will open the season series with the Seattle Kraken (18-14-7) on Tuesday at 10:00 PM ET before returning home for a five-game homestand beginning Thursday.