The young and fast Chicago Blackhawks gave the Bruins all they could handle, but it was a guy in Black and Gold who decided Thursday’s fun back-and-forth home opener at the Garden.
During a 2-on-1 in overtime, Fraser Minten kept it to himself and sent a wrister shot past goalie Arvid Soderblom to lift the B’s to a 4-3 victory.
Nikita Zadorov made a good defensive play in the Boston zone and sent Minten away with Morgan Geekie on the winning play. Joonas Korpisalo (21 saves) also made two great saves in OT, one on a clean break-in by Connor Bedard.
It may have been a costly victory, however, as defenseman Hampus Lindolm left the game in the first period and did not return.
The Bruins didn’t start well, turning the puck over several times on the opening faceoff, and Korpisalo had to be sharp. The turnover would be a harbinger of things to come.
The B’s eventually gained a foothold and after the top line racked up all the scoring in the opening night win at Washington, they got some welcome production from the second line as Casey Mittelstadt scored his first of the year with 3:53 left in the game. Viktor Arvidsson had made a nice move to get around a Chicago defender, but he was forced wide and behind the net. He sent a pass forward that rattled around the skates of old friend Matt Grzelcyk. Mittelstadt was able to jump on it and sneak the puck under Soderblom’s pads.
However, the Blackhawks took advantage of a costly turnover. After a clean win in Korpisalo’s right circle, Nikita Zadorov came around the net and sent the puck into space in the left circle. Bedard collected it and the Hawks went back to work. Bedard served the puck and floated to the other side. Andre Burakovsky found him with a cross-ice pass and Bedard fired it over Korpisalo’s shoulder at 8:19.
But what was more concerning came at the 12:23 mark, when Lindholm, playing his second game back after missing most of last season with a broken kneecap, left the game. It was not immediately clear what was wrong with him. He did not return for the second period.
The Blackhawks created more and more turnovers in the B zone and then took the lead at 2:22 in what looked like a close game. After a Chicago faceoff win, the puck went to the right point and defenseman Louis Crevier, whose shot off Tanner Jeannot’s skate appeared to go over Korpisalo’s shoulder, giving the B’s their first deficit of the season.
However, Jeannot got it back with his first goal as a Bruin at 9:10 after a good third-line move. Mikey Eyssimont collected an errant shot from Henri Jokiharju behind the net and got to work. He made a nice move to get to the left circle and when he found a weak spot on the Chicago, he took the puck towards the net. He fired a shot that didn’t go through, but the puck went straight to Jeannot, who had an empty net to score.
The B’s caught a break late in the period when Ryan Greene was called for a cross-check of Marat Khusnutdinov with 1:10 left in the period. On the ensuing faceoff, old friend Nick Foligno was called for playing the puck with his hand on the draw and the B’s had a full two-minute five-on-3.
They couldn’t capitalize before the second period was over, but it took them 15 seconds into the third to capitalize. With Pavel Zacha, on one side of the net, he tried to get a pass to Elias Lindholm on the other side. It hit a Chicago skate in front and stayed there for Lindholm to sweep it in for a 3-2 lead.
It would be short-lived.
The B’s coughed up the puck in the offensive zone and then the Blackhawks broke out with speed, leaving most of the Bruins behind. Finally, Burakovsky took a pass in the middle of the ice and beat Korpisalo from the slot at 2:22.
The B’s had to kill a Charlie McAvoy interference penalty on Bedard – a chintzy call – at 9:50. As the B’s wrapped up the kill, things got tempestuous after Bedard threw a hit after the whistle. After a few lengthy wrestling matches, Zadorov and Sean Kuraly left for the B’s and Frank Nazar and Artyom Levshunov were sent to the box.
With about 6:20 left in regulation time, the B’s had a great chance to regain the lead at no 2-on-1 when Minten fed Jeannot, but Soderblom made a great save to keep the game tied.
The B’s got another power play with 2:42 to go in the third when Levshunov high-sticked Geekie. They had several Grade A chances but could not get the winner and the match went to the extra session.
Originally published:
#Fraser #Minten #lifts #Bruins #victory #Blackhawks