BOSTON — The Bruins scored one of their most impressive wins of the season Thursday night, dispatching the Chicago Blackhawks in the defending Stanley Cup champs’ first and only visit to TD Garden.
Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand each tallied a goal and an assist, Lee Stempniak and Torey Krug added two assists apiece, and the Bruins rendered Blackhawks star Patrick Kane nearly invisible in a 4-2 victory.
Kane, the NHL’s leading scorer, was held to two shots on goal, posted a minus-3 rating and failed to record a point in 20:06 of ice time.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
With less than five minutes remaining in the second period, David Krejci forced a turnover at the Boston blue line, triggering a 3-on-2 rush that featured three textbook passes and a smooth finish by Loui Eriksson, who deflected a John-Michael Liles feed into the net to give the Bruins a commanding 4-1 lead.
The assist was Liles’ first point in a Bruins uniform.
Chicago got a goal from ex-Montreal Canadiens winger Tomas Fleischmann in the final minute of the second but could not put another past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask despite outshooting Boston 11-2 in the final period.
Rask finished with 25 saves to improve to 6-2-0 over his last eight starts.
MAKING HISTORY
The win was the 387th of head coach Claude Julien’s Bruins career, tying Art Ross for the most in franchise history.
EARLY BERG
Bergeron scored just 78 seconds after puck drop to give the Bruins an early 1-0 lead.
The goal did not come easy for the All-Star center, who slid hard into the end boards before gathering the puck, maneuvering it around the back of the net and firing a shot past Blackhawks goalie Scott Darling.
Marchand and Stempniak assisted on the tally, which pushed Bergeron past Don Marcotte and into sole possession of 10th place on the Bruins’ all-time goals list. It also was Bergeron’s 25th goal of the season, marking just the third time in his career he’s reached that mark (2005-06 and 2013-14).
Stempniak, like fellow trade-deadline acquisition Liles, tallied his first points as as Bruin in the win.
CHICAGO CAPITALIZES
The Bruins completely neutralized their visitors throughout much of the first period, holding the Blackhawks to just one shot on goal over the game’s first 13:30. It was an excellent thirteen minutes of hockey for Boston, during which all four of its lines generated quality chances in the offensive zone.
A team as dangerous as the Blackhawks can take advantage of the slightest opening, however, and a hooking call on rookie Noel Acciari proved to be the break Chicago needed. Jonathan Toews hammered home a Christian Ehrhoff rebound 35 seconds into the ensuing power play to tie the game at one goal apiece.
Overall, though, Boston dominated in the first, holding Chicago’s top two lines to two total shot attempts at even strength.
MARCHAND MANIA ROLLS ON
Marchand added an exclamation point on Boston’s first period by beating Darling with 21 seconds remaining in the frame to put the Bruins back in the lead.
It was the 33rd goal of the season for the winger, who now trails just Kane and Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin on the NHL’s goals list. He has 18 goals in his last 22 games alone.
Krug and Stempniak provided the assists.
QUICK WORK
Ryan Spooner joined in the fun early in the second, scoring just six seconds into Boston’s first power play of the night to extend the Bruins’ lead to 3-1.
The Bruins also scored on the man advantage in Tuesday’s win over the Calgary Flames, giving them power-play goals in consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 5 and 8.
UP NEXT
The road gets no easier for the Bruins, who host the NHL-leading Washington Capitals on Saturday night. The Capitals are the only Eastern Conference team the B’s have yet to beat this season, with Boston dropping each of their first two meetings.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
