Bruins fight their way past Jets in Winnipeg

WINNIPEG — It’s not often one period has more penalty minutes than the entire game clock.

The Bruins first game back from the all-star break was anything but boring. A 2-1 score doesn’t do a 64 penalty minute-filled second period justice, as the Bruins came from behind and used fisticuffs aplenty to get past the Jets at Bell MTS Place on Friday night.

A thunderous Charlie McAvoy hit in the first period sparked a violently intense affair, forcing the Bruins to kill six penalties — which they did all successfully — en route to their second consecutive win more than a week apart.

Nikolaj Ehlers circled the net and made a nice dish from the opposite faceoff dot to Patrik Laine at the edge of the slot, the the Jets winger fired in his 18th goal of the year to put Winnipeg ahead 1-0 just 6:06 into the contest.

After that is when things got out of hand.

It all started with a McAvoy hit on Mark Scheifele late in the first period. Jets defenseman Neal Pionk challenged him, and the two grappled — with no official fighting major called — and the Bruins ended up on the power play.

On an ensuing 5-on-3, Patrice Bergeron took a feed from Brad Marchand with 53 seconds left in the period and sniped his 22nd goal of the season for a 1-1 game.

The mayhem didn’t end there; it was just getting started in the most eventful period without a goal all season.

Ehlers laid a heavy hit on Marchand in the neutral zone 3:28 into the second and the two fought, sending Marchand to the room for a bit.

After what feels like a dozen Bruins penalty kills, Brandon Carlo challenged Gabriel Bourque for a hit on Charlie Coyle, earning himself an additional 10-minute misconduct. Karson Kuhlman brawled with Luca Sbisa later on in the frame, and Sbisa had the same fate.

The period even ended on a thrilling note, with a Laine breakaway being stopped by Torey Krug as the Bruins defenseman went to the box.

While the Bruins killed six straight Jets power plays, they struck on their fourth of the night just over three minutes into the third.

Pastrnak found the winger by the crease and DeBrusk deposited his 16th of the season from right in front to put the Bruins ahead with 16:53 left in the game.

For Tuukka Rask’s first game back from concussion, he didn’t have it easy; Laine scored the early goal but he was tested plenty after. Early in the third, rookie defenseman Jeremy Lauzon bailed him out with a stick stop on Scheifele who looked to have had an open look. He faced 37 shots overall.

The Jets pulled Laurent Brossoit with 1:30 left and while the Bruins didn’t jump at their first couple of empty net chances, but they survived.

The Bruins face the Wild in Minnesota on Saturday night as a part of their back-to-back weekend.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/31gQRIt