COLUMBUS, Ohio – There may certainly be some frustration creeping into the Bruins game after falling behind 2-1 in their best-of-seven, second-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets while watching Sergei Bobrovsky really take over.
The Columbus was stellar again in Game 3 Tuesday night while stopping 36 of the 37 shots in a 2-1 victory. He's posted a sterling .943 save percentage in the series. The one bad goal on his series resume was allowed to Noel Acciari when he simply fanned on glove attempt. Other than that, he's has ranged from good to spectacular while holding Boston’s best offensive players down with his athletic style of goaltending.
“We definitely need to get the bodies in front of his eyes and make it a little bit tougher on him,” said David Pastrnak. “We definitely should have a few bodies ready to screen.”
The Bruins tried to counter by throwing everything at Bobrovsky in the net in Game 3, but he still managed to make all 15 saves in the third period while protecting a one-goal lead. His third-period stop on a Patrice Bergeron redirect from the high slot was a thing of beauty and a great example of the kind of goaltending that has stymied Boston’s offense in this series.
And his post-to-post movement has been extraordinary at shutting down one-timers that would normally be goals against many other NHL netminders.
Still, the Bruins are keeping the faith that things will turn after both Acciari and Charlie McAvoy hit posts in a game that could have arguably ended very differently were it not for a couple of inches.
“The secondary saves that he’s making are very impressive,” said the ever-optimistic Brandon Carlo. “But he’s definitely going to crack at some point. I have a lot of faith that we’re going to put pucks past him really soon. We had really good opportunities through all three periods to put pucks behind him and you credit him today. But overall I don’t think it’s going to last.”
Certainly, the Bruins hope that Carlo’s words turn out to be prophetic because the only way they’re going to win this series vs. Columbus is if they figure out how to get a few more shots past the otherworldly Blue Jackets goaltender. They also have to hope that Bobrovsky reverts to the shaky playoff form that he showed earlier in his NHL career, but it certainly seems he’s taken his game to another level in these playoffs.