Here are five thoughts from the first period with the Bruins and Winnipeg Jets tied at a 1-1 score after the first 20 minutes of hockey at TD Garden.
1)Zach Bogosian with his fourth goal of the season for the Winnipeg Jets and his 18th point of the season on a long point shot that was tipped in front of the net. It appears that Bogosian is beginning to round into the form that made him a lottery pick in the first round, and explains some of the interest that the Bruins have had in him over the years. Some scoffed when I mentioned his name as a type of player that could have been in play if a Tuukka Rask deal ever came off, but hes a top pair defenseman and those are difficult to come by.
2)Ten blocked shots for the Jets in the first period including three for Johnny Oduya, and theyre winning the blocked shot battle by a 10-4 margin after the first 20 minutes. Looks like the Winnipeg Jets are bringing the good effort tonight and the Bs are going to have to ratchet up their game.
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3)A perfect example of a legal way to protect yourself with Joe Corvo sidestepping a Tanner Glass big hit attempt behind the net in the first period. Corvo stepped out of the way and Glass tookno pun intendeda face full of glass instead of making contact with the Bs defenseman. Glass went down the runway and appeared to be shaken up afterward, and it proves that players have plenty of ways to protect themselves with an aggressor bearing down on them.
4) David Krejci starts the Bs scoring play with a nifty transitional pass and makes it a nine-game scoring streak after picking up the secondary assist on the Milan Lucic-to-Nathan Horton goal. That line is going to have to produce buckets of offense with Marchand out for the next five games.
5)Thirteen saves for Tuukka Rask, who looks cool as a cucumber between the pipes and has still allowed only two goals since midway through a Dec. 3 win over the Maple Leafs.
Here are five thoughts from the second period with the Bruins trailing the Winnipeg Jets by a 3-2 score after the first 40 minutes of hockey at TD Garden.
1) Eventful second period for Shawn Thornton. He was called for an illegal contact to the head penalty for a hit on Chris Thorburn that actually never even made contact. Replays showed Thorntons shoulderelbow never connected with Thorburn, but he was whistled off anyway. That turned into a 5-on-3 advantage for Winnipeg, and Thornton earned himself a shaky penalty shot call with a breakaway bid coming out of the penalty box. That turned into a successful forehand-to-backhand top shelf shot to tie the game up, and he followed with a fight against former teammate Mark Stuart that ended with a bevy of Thornton right hands. He only needs the assist for the Gordie Howe hat trick.
2) A rough Joe Corvo turnover leads to an Eric Fehr go-ahead goal, and its been an uneven night for the Bruins defenseman.
3) Claude Julien switching around his lines and dropping both Gregory Campbell and Zach Hamill into the third line center spot for shifts during the second period. Hamill was bounced around by Jim Slater early in the game and hasnt been a prominent presence tonight like hes been in past game.
4) David Krejci has won all nine draws in the face-off circle through two periods, and seems to have been a man on a mission since a rough night against Steve Ott in Dallas.
5) Blake Wheeler with a tipped goal in the second period and leads the Jets in scoring with 32 points this season. After a slow start it appears that Wheeler might have just found a home with the Jets after never quite living up to the expectations of being a Bruin in Boston.
Here are five thoughts from the third period with the Bruins taking down the Winnipeg Jets by a 5-3 score after 60 minutes of hockey at TD Garden.
1) David Krejci follows up 9-for-9 in face-offs during the first two periods with a face-off win off the opening drop in the third period to set up a Nathan Horton game-tying goal. Krejci was a huge part of the victory and has really been playing at an elite level for over a month.
2) Bruins continue to put up ridiculous numbers in the third period this season and outscored the Jets by a 3-0 score over the final 20 minutes. Bruins outscoring their opponents by a 60-23 margin this season: that is a Stanley Cup-winning type statistic.
3) Benoit Pouliot with a solid first game in place of Brad Marchand that included a power play goal after second and third effort in front of the net. Game-winning goal and insurance score both set up by Patrice Bergeron.
4) Tyler Seguin gets the game-winning goal and electrified the crowd with a filthy, roofed backhander after cutting through Randy Jones and using his body to shield the puck on the way to the net. The ever-classy Randy Jones shoved Seguin to the ice after the 19-year-scored the goal and fired up the crowd.
5) Nathan Horton with five goals in his last four games and finally looks to be snapping out of the early season funk he had been in. The KrejciLucicHorton line is putting it all together at exactly the right time.