But while they celebrate the fact that they avoided falling out of the top eight spots in the Eastern Conference (after the Rangers won in Florida and could've bounced the Bruins down to ninth if Boston lost to Toronto), they may want to finally realize what they need to do to maintain that playoff spot and possibly make some noise in the postseason should they get there.
The Bruins were also rewarded with some more good news after the game as NESN rinkside reporter Naoko Funayama confirmed that defenseman Dennis Seidenberg will travel with the team to Washington DC for their tilt with the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals on Monday. Seidenberg was checked out at a Toronto area hospital and is apparently OK after suffering a cut on his wrist in the first period and not returning.
After being out-shot 14-5 and as Claude Julien told Funayama after the big win, "looking like we're skating in quicksand," the Bruins awoke from their slumber. They started banging bodies, crashing the net, skating and making things happen. Instead of letting the play come to them and depending on Tuukka Rask (27 saves), the Bruins took the game to their opponent and dictated play for the remaining two periods.
They out-shot the Leafs 22-13 in the final two frames and looked like what they should look like for 60 minutes a game, a team on a mission. It's amazing what — despite their obvious, and at this point what must be accepted, lack of finish — this team can still accomplish when they bring the noise. They may not always come out on top, and it's clear it's going to be a struggle to score from here on in. But when, as Mark Recchi pointed out, "everyone is on board," they can beat "anyone" on any given night. This game once again proved that, as the Bruins, despite their scoring deficiencies, can succeed or at least compete with any team.
One guy who has been competing and has been on a mission since the Olympic break is David Krejci.
On Saturday night, he was a force again. Krejci had two helpers, including the faceoff win that led to the Satan game-winner in overtime. He had five shots on net, one of which Satan knocked in for the game-tying goal in the second period. After Saturday's performance, Krejci now has 18 points in seven games since the Vancouver Games.
Satan obviously was clutch in this win, but the way he scored his goals was the epitome of how this team needs to score. His first goal was a result of crashing the net and his second was a redirect of Zdeno Chara's blast from the point. Finally, the Bruins are following "The Recching Ball," Mark Recchi! Satan is known for more finesse goals, but on this squad, dirty is the way to go.
Chara's assist on the game-winner is obviously what will make the highlights, but with Seidenberg gone early, the captain had to take on an even bigger workload than he usually does, and he succeeded. The "Big Z" logged 32:53 of ice time with one big shot, an assist and finished a plus-2. The Bruins need more Norris Trophy performances from Chara in their final four games.
Rask was once again amazing and deserves loads of credit for keeping his team in the game. He is starting to get Calder Trophy consideration as rookie of the year, and at 20-12-4 with a league -leading 1.96 GAA and .931 save percentage, there's no doubt he should.
This was another gut-check game and the Bruins came through. But now the question will be: Can they follow it up? There's really no choice.
They must battle the NHL's best team, the Capitals, on Monday, followed by a rematch with the Northeast Division leading Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. They close out the regular season with a back-to-back against the hot Carolina Hurricanes and the Capitals once again.
The final two periods were a prototype for success for this goal-starved team, and now we will see if they can follow it.
