Bruins Steal One from Florida
Boston 3 Florida 2
Despite a less than stellar performance on the last night of March, the Bruins left TD Garden with a W, as they defeated the Florida Panthers 3-2. However, any win is a good win as far as the Bruins are concerned as they were able to widen the gap between them and Panthers, who now sit 6 points behind the Black and Gold.
The Bruins struck first when Loui Erikkson netted his 20th goal of the year and put the B’s ahead of the Panthers late in the first period. However, the lead did not last long. No emotion or energy carried over from the first period and the Bruins were complacent and lazy. Their lackadaisical effort and attitude costed them as Brandon Pirri and Brad Boyes both scored to put the Panthers up 1 by the end of the 2nd.
But, the Bruins’ young talent bailed the team out. Midway through the 3rd period, Dennis Seidenberg chipping the puck out of the defensive zone to David Pastrnak. Pastrnak fired a pass cross-ice to a streaking Milan Lucic who dropped it for Ryan Spooner. Spooner was quick to fire and ripped a beautiful shot on net where Pastrnak was able to bang home the rebound for his 11th goal in 41 games.
The B’s kept fighting and firing pucks upon Florida netminder Roberto Luongo. With 1:09 remaining in regulation, Milan Lucic was able to cap off a strong game with the tie-breaking goal. Lucic was able to rip a wrist shot past the talented goaltender and put the Bruins’ in a position to further distance themselves from the Panthers.
At the other end of the ice, Bruins’ goalie Tuukka Rask stood on his head throughout the last minute of the contest. Rask stopped a barrage of shots, one evening hitting the crossbar, as Florida had an extra attacker on the ice.
All in all, the Bruins were lucky to get two points out of this one. They did not play their best hockey and they definitely did not play a full 60 minute game. It are games like these that trouble me as the Bruins enter the final stretch of the season. The luck that the Bruins have benefitted from lately is going to run out, and their lazy and careless play is going to catch up with them. Not to mention, the team is getting most of its offensive production from young players, and I do not foresee that production continuing given the lack of experience of the rookies combined with the added pressure of playoff hockey.
