The Boston Bruins completed a dominant home-and-home sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night, getting three goals from Frank Vatrano and four assists from Ryan Spooner in a 6-2 victory.
As the Bruins now turn their attention toward a Sunday afternoon date with the New Jersey Devils, let’s dive into some notes from Friday’s action.
— Tuukka Rask stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced to pick up his fifth consecutive win. The Bruins goaltender has allowed two goals or fewer in each of his last seven starts.
— In addition to his career-high four helpers, Spooner also displayed a confrontational side we’ve rarely seen from the young Bruins center.
After Penguins winger Patric Hornqvist flattened Dennis Seidenberg with a big hit along the boards, Spooner swooped in to stick up for his teammate, dropping his gloves and challenging Hornqvist to what would have been the first NHL fight for either player.
Hornqvist declined the challenge, however, and Spooner instead was slapped with a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
“It’s the first time I’ve done that,” he told reporters after the game, as aired on “Bruins Overtime LIVE.” “I don’t know what, I guess, got into me. I just saw (Seidenberg) get hit, and I thought it was a charge, so I tried to fight, and he didn’t want to fight. So, I went to the box.”
— Vatrano wasn’t the only Bruins property to record a hat trick Friday. Austin Czarnik also notched one for the Providence Bruins, and 2015 first-round draft pick Zach Senyshyn did the same for the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
This type of thing is becoming (pardon the pun) old hat for Senyshyn, who has three hat tricks — including a four-goal effort — in his last seven games.
— Penguins winger Conor Sheary, a former roommate of Vatrano’s at UMass-Amherst, scored the first two points (a goal and an assist) of his young career in the loss. The Melrose, Mass., native made his NHL debut Wednesday in Boston.
— David Pastrnak did not make the trip to Pittsburgh, missing his 21st consecutive game. General manager Don Sweeney told reporters Thursday, as aired on “Bruins Face-Off LIVE,” that the young winger is “closing in on” being “back to full health” in his rehab from a fractured foot.
There’s still a chance Pastrnak could play for his native Czech Republic in the World Junior Championships or spend a few games down in Providence before making his return to the Bruins’ lineup.
— USA Hockey on Thursday presented Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs with the Lester Patrick Trophy, given annually to an individual who displays “outstanding service to hockey in the United States.”
Speaking with reporters at Boston’s Renaissance Hotel, Jacobs offered some high praise of his team’s current direction under Sweeney and head coach Claude Julien.
“Did I see us being this competitive right now? I can’t say I really did,” Jacobs said, via ESPN.com. “I thought it would take perhaps a little more time. They told me early on this is going to be a difficult evolution here. I think we’re stronger than we’re ever going to be, than we’ve ever been as an organization.”
Jacobs also was in attendance Thursday for the unveiling of a renovated street hockey rink in Charlestown, Mass.
— The transformation of Gillette Stadium from football field to hockey rink has begun.
The New England Patriots’ home stadium will play host to the 2016 Winter Classic, with puck drop set for 1 p.m. ET on New Year’s Day.
Thumbnail photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
