Bruins cap late rally with shootout win over Flyers in home opener
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Jake DeBrusk, shooting third for Boston, scored the lone goal in a shootout Thursday night, leading the Bruins to a 5-4 OT win over the Flyers in the Black-and-Gold’s home opener on Causeway Street.
The Bruins, down, 2-0, after 40 minutes, rallied back with third-period goals by Jack Studnicka, Charlie Coyle, Nick Ritchie, and Brandon Carlo.
Tuukka Rask, 22 saves on the night, including five in the five-minute OT session, stoned Jakub Voracek, Travis Konecny, and Claude Giroux in the shootout.
Greg Smith and Coyle failed to beat Carter Hart in the shootout, but DeBrusk cashed in for the 2 points when he scored on an off-speed forehand scoop that beat Hart to the top left corner.
Nick Ritchie and Brandon Carlo scored less that two minutes apart late in the third period, temporarily handing the Bruins a 4-3 lead, what was the Black-and-Gold’s first advantage of the night after falling into a 2-0 deficit in the second period.
But only 1:10 after Carlo fired home his first goal of the season, the Flyers drew back into a 4-4 tie when James Van Riemsdyk scored his second of the night, the big winger using his size to his advantage to muscle home a power-play strike from near the left post.
Travis Sanheim broke a 2-2 deadlock 7:13 into the third period, beating Rask with his mid-slot deflection of a Voraceck shot from high in the zone. It came just over five minutes after the Bruins rallied pulled into the tie after beginning the period in a 2-0 deficit.
After being stifled on 18 shots across the first two periods, the Bruins finally struck for their first of the night only 57 seconds into the third period when rookie Studnicka pushed home the first goal of his career.
Aided by a David Krejci feed from the left circle, Studnicka pushed home a second-effort backhander to trim the Flyer lead in half, 2-1. It was Boston’s first even-strength goal of the season, and it came 11-plus periods into the new season.
Only 1:10 later, Charlie Coyle pulled the Bruins even, ripping home a short-ranger forehander on a spin move in the slot. Newcomer Craig Smith put the initial shot on Carter, firing in from just inside the blue line, and Coyle made the deposit on the Bruins’ 25th shot of the night.
The first period at home felt much like the first three games on the road. The Bruins were dominant on offense, forcing the puck into the Flyers’ end, outshooting the Broad Streeters by a whopping 14-3.
But up on the scoreboard, things stood flatter than the Alberta plains. Score: 0-0 after 20 minutes.
Once again, the Bruins were unable to work their way into offensive situations that developed Grade A scoring chances close to the net. Most of their shots were from the perimeter, 30 feet or more, and led to no follow-up chances off of rebounds, tips, or deflections. They also didn’t exhibit the requisite hustle on the attack when they forced pucks down low.
It’s almost impossible in today’s game to score from beyond 20 feet, particularly at even strength. The Bruins again proved to be Exhibit A in that discussion. The goals aren’t going to come until they start to build some net-front presence into their attack.
For all his bountiful scoring prowess, David Pastrnak makes his money from the circles, most often the left wing circle on the power play, where he likes to launch his trademark one-time slappers on the power play. The Bruins need their bigger forwards, the likes of Nick Ritchie and Charlie Coyle, to provide more of that doorstep jam.
The shots were few for both sides in the second period, but the Flyers were more proficient around the net. Translation: two goals on eight shots and a 2-0 Philly lead after 40 minutes.
The icebreaker came at 6:17 of the second, the Flyers connecting on a power play compliments of a David Krejci high stick. Claude Giroux potted it, connecting on a sizzling wrister from the left wing faceoff dot. Travis Konecny was not credited with an assist, but he was instrumental in the strike, crowding the crease near the left post and taking away Tuukka Rask’s vision just as Giroux fired from the circle and beat Rask on the short side.
The 2-0 lead came just seconds after another Boston penalty [Anders Bjork, hooking) expired. With possession down low because of the power play, the Flyers doubled the lead when ex-UNH standout James Van Riemsdyk shoveled in a doorstep forehander off of Jakub Voracek’s feed from the right of the slot.
The Bruins, upside down on the scoreboard, owned an 18-10 shot lead when JVR connected. But they had not really put a Grade A shot on Flyers goalie Carter Hart.
The regular season has been trimmed this season from 82 games to 56, because of the continued havoc caused by the COVID pandemic. The season is young, but the first four games have shown the Bruins to be surprisingly deficient on the attack.
The issue going into the season appeared to be whether the Bruins could compete with their overhauled defensive corps. They thought they had enough scoring, even without star winger Pastrnak (hip surgery) in the lineup. Thus far, the defense has been proficient, and the offense deficient.