The Boston Bruins extended their win streak to three games with a 3-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night at Canadian Tire Centre.
Ryan Spooner (two goals) and Loui Eriksson scored for the B’s, and Tuukka Rask gave a great performance with 39 saves to help Boston increase its lead over Ottawa to seven points in the race for the last wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Bruins will return to TD Garden for a Thursday night matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Here are three takeaways from Bruins-Senators:
1. Ryan Spooner Extends Point Streak; Milan Lucic Reaches Milestone
The Bruins center has made the most of his latest opportunity at the NHL level by tallying a point in seven of the eight games since his recall in mid-February. He extended his point streak to six games with two goals against the Senators.
Spooner has posted seven points (three goals, four assists) during his point streak.
Milan Lucic picked up the primary assist on Spooner’s second goal, giving the veteran winger 200 assists in his Bruins career.
2. Bruins’ Power-Play Success Continues
Boston scored on the power play at the 1:02 mark of the second period when Spooner’s wrist shot from inside the right faceoff circle rang off the post and hit the back of the net.
The Bruins now have scored a power-play goal in three consecutive games for the second time this season and have five goals with the man advantage in their last three contests.
3. Tuukka Rask Dominates
The Bruins goaltender, who was celebrating his 28th birthday, gave his team a chance to win despite a number of defensive mistakes and a rough second period during which Boston gave up several quality scoring chances and was out-shot 21-10.
Rask finished with 39 saves on 40 shots for a .975 save percentage. The score would have been much different without Rask’s stellar play in net because Ottawa out-shot Boston 40-22 and led 27-16 in scoring chances during 5-on-5 action.
The Bruins are 4-1-1 in Rask’s last six starts, and he has a .941 save percentage in three games this month.
Thumbnail photo via Dennis Wierzbicki/USA TODAY Sports Images
