The Bruins haven’t performed many stress-free hockey video games this season. As a rule they’re locked in a one-goal recreation when the third interval rolls round.
However on Thursday, the B’s loved what was a rarity for them — a comparatively anxiety-free 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on the Backyard. Although the rating was lopsided, it wasn’t a simple recreation for Joonas Korpisalo, who turned apart 37 photographs for his first since Nov. 6.
The B’s broke open the sport with a three-goal second interval and cruised to the victory behind Pavel Zacha’s two objectives. The B’s by no means trailed.
After taking part in catch-up – and failing – in Detroit in Tuesday, the Bruins this time acquired the early leap on their opponent, taking a 2-0 first-period lead on a pair of objectives from their erstwhile first line.
The primary one was a pleasant play off the push at 6:30. Elias Lindholm made a pleasant backhand go to Morgan Geekie to present him the puck with velocity happening the left wing. As a fast 2-on-1 developed with Alex Steeves, Geekie made a slick adjustment to his forehand and made the go over Steeves for his sixth of the yr.
Geekie doubled the lead at 11:25, because of some good work by Steeves, who beat two Blues behind the web to get the puck to Elias Lindholm low in the correct circle. The centerman discovered an open Geekie within the slot and his shot broke off Jordan Binnington’s arm and in for Geekie’s twenty first of the yr.
The one penalty of the interval went to Tanner Jeannot, a phantom hooking penalty, however it was the B’s who had the most effective scoring likelihood after Steeves stole the puck within the St. Louis zone however couldn’t beat Binnington.
Whereas the B’s held a 14-10 shot benefit, they had been a bit sloppy in their very own zone and Korpisalo needed to be sharp. He was, constructing off a very good third interval in Detroit after he relieved Jeremy Swayman.
However the Blues stored coming within the second interval and halved the lead at 1:59. Large defenseman Colton Parayko carried the puck down low and behind the web earlier than feeding Pavel Buchnevich for the one-timer objective from the left circle.
That gave the Blues some reliable indicators of life. They began inflicting the B’s main issues in breaking the puck out of their zone.
However on one such event, Mason Lohrei took a feed from call-up Victor Soderstrom behind the web and mushed all of it the way in which out himself. He gained the offensive zone and fired a low proportion shot from the left wing. Binnington directed it to the correct boards, off which Viktor Arvidsson stepped right into a slapper that beat the goalie over the shoulder for Arvidsson’s seventh at 6:04.
The B’s then grabbed firmer management of the sport at 12:26. Zacha first received a puck within the defensive zone to get it over to Lohrei, who in flip dished it to Arvidsson. Arvidsson first whiffed on his first go try then linked with Zacha on his second. Zacha reduce to the excessive slot and sizzled a wrist shot over Binnington’s glove arm. It was Zacha’s first objective in 10 video games.
However he wasn’t performed.
Jake Neighbors took the Blues’ first penalty of the sport with 15 seconds left within the interval. That was sufficient time – simply sufficient – for the B’s to increase the result in 5-1. With time working down, Elias Lindholm shoved a free puck to Zacha on the correct aspect and he buried his seventh of the season with 0.1 second left within the interval.
The Blues truly held a 15-8 shot benefit within the second interval, however they had been in a deep, deep gap.
The Blues did get again on the board within the third interval at 9:07. A second after Korpisalo made an excellent pad save on Dylan Holloway, the netminder didn’t have sufficient time to reset earlier than Pius Suter roofed a shot from the highest of the crease.
That’s as shut as they acquired.
