Tuukka Rask shines in Bruins win over Sabres at Garden

Tuukka Rask stopped 16 shots in the first period while the Bruins tried to find their footing, but his biggest save didn’t come until the third period.

The Bruins had taken a 3-1 lead after an abysmal start to the game, thanks in large part to Rask (34 saves) keeping them in it. With 4:47 gone in the third, he flashed what might be the league’s most sparking save of the season.

Evan Rodrgiues wound up and fired from the circle at what appeared to be an open net to make it a one-goal deficit, but Rask flew from post-to-post, dropping his stick and thrusting his blocker to keep the puck out of the net.

It stayed a two goal game, and the Bruins went on to beat the Sabres 3-2 and win their second straight contest, their sixth cpnsecutive game with a point.

Given the way things looked early, it was a gutsy win; and given how the Bruins (14-3-5) blew two third-period leads at home over the last week, the weight of holding a lead was all the more important, especially since the Sabres did bring it back within one later on.

It took 12:11 into the first for the Bruins to get their first shot on net, celebrated with a sarcastic applause.

Their second, though, drew real cheers.

Brad Marchand tipped Zdeno Chara’s shot from the point with 13:52 gone in the first to tie things up at 1-1.

Before then, just about everything went the Sabres way.

Just 20 seconds into a Sean Kuraly tripping penalty 5:05 into the contest, defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was down low to the crease and tapped in a power play goal to put the Sabres ahead initially.

At one point, they were outshooting the Bruins 14-0 before Brandon Carlo’s first shot floated in on net harmlessly into Linus Ullmark’s pads. They ended the period outshooting the B’s by a 17-4 margin, despite the tied score.

The Sabres slowed their pace in the second period while the Bruins woke up, and on their first power play of the contest, the Bruins struck.

With 14:45 elapsed in the frame, Matt Grzelcyk stepped up in the high slot for an open look, and the rebound went to Marchand at the bottom of the circle. He banked it off Ullmark and into the net for his second tally of the game.

By the time the third period rolled around the Bruins closed the shot gap further and took control.

David Pastrnak became the first player this season to reach 20 goals with a power play tally 1:56 into the final frame. Matt Grzelcyk made an absurd play to keep the puck in the attacking zone, leaping up to grab the puck out of mid-air before moving his stick between his legs to keep it in and the play alive.

The Bruins took advantage of the effort.

Pastrnak buried a rebound from Danton Heinen at the doorstep after the latter had been digging away to get the puck on net. He became the fourth Bruins player ever to reach the 20-goal mark in 22 or fewer games.

Then came the acrobatics.

Rodrigues ripped a shot from the circle with 15:13 left, leading to Rask’s spectacular save to keep it a one-goal contest.

It turned out, they would need it.

With 7:02 left, Brandon Montour fired a shot from the top corner to make it 3-2, and though there were close calls in the final minutes, that’s as close as it would get.

The Bruins host the Wild on Saturday night before embarking on a quick trip to Canada early next week.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/35mh2OX