GOLD STAR: Tuukka Rask has been on a hell of a run with a 15-0-2 record over his last 17 games, and the latest was also one of his best. Rask stopped 20 shots in the first period as the Bruins really didn’t have their best legs, and then he made some of his best saves in the third period protecting a one goal lead, including a stop on a Damon Severson breakaway late in the game. In all Rask stopped 37-of-39 shots and really became a Finnish brick wall whenever the Devils began ratcheting up the attack in a game where the Bruins clearly weren’t at their best. Rask hasn’t been quite as dominant in the month of January with a .913 save percentage for the month even after his stellar work against New Jersey, but he’s going into the All-Star break playing some of his best hockey.
BLACK EYE: Jesper Bratt has been pretty strong for the Devils as a rookie this season, but he did not have a very good game for New Jersey this time around. Bratt finished with a minus-2 in 14:59 of ice time and had zero shots on net as the Devils fired 39 total shots at Tuukka Rask. Bratt certainly wasn’t alone in having a subpar game for New Jersey, but it’s expected that players like him would need to step up with Taylor Hall injured and out of the lineup. It didn’t happen for Bratt and the Devils on Tuesday, and subsequently New Jersey skates out of Boston empty-handed after starting the game like a hockey house of fire.
TURNING POINT: The turning point for the Bruins was getting a 5-on-3 power play after Miles Wood had a meltdown and took two separate penalties for cross-checking and interference on a retaliatory hit on Riley Nash. That landed Wood in the box for four minutes and Marcus Johansson followed right afterward with a tripping call. The Bruins subsequently enjoyed two minutes of 5-on-3 hockey and Patrice Bergeron cashed in on a goal that tied the game in the second period. It immediately ushered in a 13-minute delay as the TD Garden scoreboard went haywire, and the Bruins never trailed again in the rest of the game. It was a true moment where the Bruins had a chance to forcefully seize control of the game, and that’s exactly what they did.
HONORABLE MENTION: Brad Marchand wasn’t at his best, but he factored into the game on many different levels while also notching the game-winner for the Bruins. It was his breakaway in the second period where he completely deked out Cory Schneider and then flipped a puck over him for the slick, easy-looking score for his team-leading 21st goal of the season. Marchand finished with a goal, two points and four shots on net in 20:06 of ice time, and had a couple of takeaways along the way as well. Unfortunately Marchand also caught Marcus Johansson with an elbow in the third period that went uncalled on the ice, but could end up resulting in supplementary discipline with the league.
BY THE NUMBERS: 13-0-4 – the Bruins record during their 17-game point streak that dates all the way back to their last regulation loss on Dec. 14, and is tied for the third-longest stretch in team history along with 17-gamers in 1929-30, 1977-78 and 1982-83.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I thought Tuukka was our best player.” –Bruce Cassidy, on his goalie making 37 saves in the 3-2 win for the Black and Gold.