Zdeno Chara skates during pre-game warmup against New Jersey on Tuesday (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).
The Boston Bruins are making a late charge, and it is coming at exactly the right time.
After a thrilling 60 minutes of scoreless hockey, Patrice Bergeron finally notched a goal in the closing seconds of overtime to squeak out a 1-0 win over New Jersey. The game felt like a desperate playoff contest: battles for every loose puck, excellent goaltending, and heightened physical play.
By beating the fourth-place Devils, the B’s managed to cling on to a playoff spot. With only six games to play, Boston is in a three-way tie for sixth in the conference with Montreal and Philadelphia. Tonight proved that as long as they keep Tuukka Rask in net, they have a chance to win despite their sour offensive attack.
In Rask’s last two appearances, he has absolutely locked down the pipes. Rask flawlessly cleaned up Tim Thomas’ mess yesterday, nearly allowing the B’s to squeak out a point or two against Buffalo. Finally, he was able to contribute to one of the most important games of the year, powering Boston to yet another shutout victory.
Although Thomas shut down Calgary on Saturday, Rask has clearly established himself as the starting goaltender heading toward the postseason. He continues to add to his league best goals against average, which now sits at 2.08 ahead of even Buffalo’s Ryan Miller. If the Bruins manage to sneak up the standings and play either Buffalo or New Jersey in the first round, it could make for one of the more exciting first round playoff series.
Patrice Bergeron celebrates a 1-0 victory in New Jersey on Tuesday (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).
The Boston Bruins held on to eighth place on Tuesday, setting the table to control their own destiny with six games remaining (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).
Patrice Bergeron snapped the puck into an open net past Martin Brodeur to seal the overtime victory Tuesday (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).
Another positive of late has been the Bruins road record. In the team’s last 13 road games, they are 9-3-1. They will face two tough road tests in April against Washington, who leads the conference. The major goal will be to play well enough to avoid a playoff matchup with the Capitals, who have dominated the B’s this season.
With Boston’s amount of overtime losses this year, they will likely have to top either the Canadiens or Flyers outright to avoid eighth place. When points are deadlocked, the first tiebreaker is wins, which the Bruins lack. What they do not lack are close games, which offers them incredible versatility moving forward. The continuous overtime format of the postseason could prove crucial for Boston. They will have the opportunity to grit out games rather than have flashier, higher-scoring teams steal shootouts.
Boston will get right back to work Thursday against Florida, who are 10 points back and virtually out of the race. Atlanta was able to keep pace tonight against Toronto. The New York Rangers beat the Islanders to also stay in the hunt.
Tags: Atlanta, florida, Martin Brodeur, New Jersey, New York Rangers, patrice bergeron, playoffs, Ryan Miller, Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask
