BOSTON —Â There was a time, not so long ago, when the Bruins routinely would win games in which they scored just a goal or two. That hasn’t been the case for the 2015-16 B’s, which made Saturday’s win all the more encouraging.
Entering its matchup with a red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs squad, Boston had scored three or more goals in eight of its nine victories this season and five or more in four of them. High-scoring affairs have been the norm, not grind-it-out nail-biters.
They got one of the latter when they went up against Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer.
Reimer kept the Bruins off the scoreboard for longer than any netminder had this season, keeping a shutout intact for more than 56 minutes and making a number of sensational saves in the process. Tuukka Rask was just as stout at the other end of the ice, however, assuring that if his counterpart cracked, one Bruins goal would be enough to secure a win.
And ultimately, Reimer did. Zdeno Chara, owner of one of the hardest shots in NHL history, wound up and blasted one past the Leafs goalie with 3:43 remaining in regulation.
It was the lone blemish on a 35-save night for Reimer, and it proved to be the game-winner. Brad Marchand added an empty-netter with 6.5 seconds to play, and the Bruins closed out their five-game homestand with a 2-0 victory.
“I think we had to work really hard to get this win,” head coach Claude Julien said. “They did a good job around their net. Obviously, Reimer was extremely good. I can see why they’ve been riding him.”
Rask faced just 22 shots in the contest, but he stopped them all to finish off his second shutout of the season. It was the 28th clean sheet of the 28-year-old’s career, moving him to within three of Tim Thomas for third place on the franchise’s all-time shutouts list.
“Tuukks was just so key for us,” forward Max Talbot said. “He made some huge saves, and the only way we could thank him was by coming back and having a good third period and get the win for him, which we did.”
On top of the obvious Atlantic Division implications — Toronto entered Saturday one point back of Boston after winning five of its last six — the win also gave the Bruins back-to-back victories on home ice for the first time all season.
It was a glimpse at the type of consistency Julien has pleaded his team to play with since training camp and a solid base to build on entering Monday night’s B’s-Leafs rematch.
“We keep using the word consistency,” the coach said. “I think it’s a real good win. We’ve just got to keep trying to play the same way night after night. If we play that way every night, we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win. It’s about trying to bring that on a consistent basis.”
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
