Takeaways and thoughts from the Bruins season-opener
The Boston Bruins beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in a shootout last night. Brad Marchand scored the first goal of the game and also netted the shootout winner. It was the perfect redemption after the long-running joke regarding his bad puck luck last year.
The game consisted of several positives but also areas for improvement. Here’s what stood out the most to me.
Tuukka Rask is still valuable as ever
Rask had a tough night in net. He didn’t see an overwhelming amount of shots, but he did get run over several times, mostly by Devils forward Miles Wood. Despite being a target for the duration of the night, he got back on his feet each time and didn’t skip a beat. He also stopped two breakaways and made a total of 20 saves on 22 shots.
Coach Bruce Cassidy praised his starting goaltender postgame.
“His game was excellent,” Cassidy said. “I thought he was in midseason form. He didn’t look like he was fighting [the puck] or not tracking it.”
.@tuukkarask was real good. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/aDfQcJFspQ
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 15, 2021
Kevan Miller is back – and better?
Last night, the defenseman played his first game since April 4, 2019. Miller brought his typical gritty style of play and didn’t look rusty in the slightest. With so many young guys on the team, Miller is expected to bring a physical, veteran presence. A lot of fans were skeptical about his new contract due to his injury history and lack of performance. However, any doubters were quiet last night after seeing how much he stood out. Marchand was happy to see his teammate and March and Mill Co. business partner return.
“It was awesome to see Millsy back. We all know how hard of a road he’s had the past year and a half,” Marchand said.
“With how hard he pushed to get back and go what he had to go through, his resiliency… I think everyone was looking forward to tonight was watching him back on the ice. From the second he stepped on the ice at camp, you could see that fire in his eye. It’s fun to watch him out there. He’s a big part of this team on and off the ice. It was great. We wanted to win one for him tonight.”
Marchand back on track after surgery
After having surgery for a sports hernia this off-season, Marchand admitted he felt like he was playing at just 80 percent for the past couple of years. If we were only getting 80% of an already elite Marchand, what will he do at 100%? Scoring the first goal of the season and the shootout winner last night is a pretty good idea of what’s to come. Marchand was in midseason form even without top linemate David Pastrnak beside him.
Brad Marchand wins it for Boston in the shootout. pic.twitter.com/fodnpmovwK
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) January 15, 2021
Final thoughts
Even though the Bruins took five penalties last night and didn’t have an abundance of scoring, they were able to get by with a win. I would’ve liked to see them perform better offensively against a beatable Devils team, but goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was hard to get past, so the lack of scoring is mostly due to his stellar night in net. Also, being without Pastrnak on the top line is a huge blow. If the young defensemen can fill the holes left by Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug and the offense shakes off the rest of the rust, I have a good feeling about the rest of the season.
– Caylee Allard
Follow me on Twitter: @2kaRask