It wasn’t easy, but it sure was entertaining.
And in the end, the Boston Bruins picked up their third consecutive win after a 3-2 shootout triumph over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.
The B’s got up to an early 2-0 lead in the first period, but the offense went dry for the rest of regulation. The Devils put one home near the end of the first, and scored the tying goal with less than five minutes to go in the third frame.
After a thrilling overtime session, the teams duked it out over 11 shootout rounds, with rookie defenseman Charlie McAvoy giving the B’s a thrilling victory.
Anton Khudobin was the star of the night, as he stopped 40 of 42 shots and had multiple huge saves as the Devils overwhelmed the Bruins in the third period and overtime.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 9-7-4, while the Devils dropped to 12-5-4.
Here’s how it all went down:
EARLY OFFENSE
The Bruins wasted little time getting on the board at the Prudential Center.
Rookie winger Jake DeBrusk fired a wrist shot past Devils goaltender Cory Schneider at 1:25 of the first period for his fifth goal of the season, giving the Bruins the early lead they’ve been looking for much of the season. Rookie defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, appearing in his fourth NHL game, assisted on the play for the first point of his career.
https://twitter.com/NHLDaily365/status/933493133924622337
With just under nine minutes remaining in the period, Patrice Bergeron gave the B’s a 2-0 lead.
While Bergeron did a great job of burying the puck, the star of the play might’ve been David Pastrnak, who made an excellent pass to pick up the assist.
While closing the first period with a 2-0 lead would’ve been nice, it simply wasn’t meant to be.
Winger Jesper Bratt get the Devils on the board with a power-play goal at 17:10 of the first. Officials reviewed the play for goaltender interference, but ultimate deemed the goal good.
The Bruins closed the first frame with 10 shots on goal, while the Devils had 15.
GOALIES COME UP BIG
Somehow, someway, there wasn’t a goal in the second period.
The Bruins had three power-play opportunities, but Schneider stood tall and kept the score locked at 2-1.
In fact, the Devils had the best scoring opportunity of the frame, as Blake Coleman blocked a shot off the stick of McAvoy, and sprung loose for a shorthanded opportunity. Khudbobin, though, did what he’s done so often lately: come up clutch.
The Bruins outshot the Devils 12-9 in the frame.
DEVILS ON FIRE
The Bruins’ offense disappeared in the third period, and it’s a minor miracle that the game made it to overtime.
On the strength of two power plays, the Devils outshot the Bruins 15-5 in the frame. For a while, it looked like the Bruins would hang on and escape with a regulation victory, but winger Brian Gibbons put one home at 15:16 to tie the score 2-2.
Khudobin made multiple great saves in the closing moments of regulation, as the Devils rode a wave of momentum and flooded Boston’s end of the ice.
ACTION-PACKED OVERTIME
Once again, 3-on-3 overtime proved to be the greatest thing the NHL has ever done.
The two teams only combined for five shots, but both had multiple great opportunities, with both goaltenders standing on their respective heads.
Nothing against Schneider, but Khudobin really was the star of the overtime, as he made a pair of huge saves on breakaway opportunities.
SHOOTOUT WIN
This was unbelievable.
Taylor Hall scored on the first attempt for the Devils, and Pastrnak scored on the second try for the B’s. Then, a long, nail-biting drought.
That was until McAvoy made a sweet move and beat Schneider in the 11th round, giving the Bruins a hard-fought win. Check this out:
What a win.
UP NEXT
The Bruins return home to play the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday afternoon. Puck drop from TD Garden is set for 1 p.m. ET.
