Jaroslav Halak was nails for the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
But Yegor Sharangovic simply made too good of a play literal seconds before the horn.
The Devils rookie gave New Jersey a 2-1 overtime win against the B’s at Prudential Center on Saturday with a snap shot that zipped past Halak with just 1.7 seconds to go.
Entering the offensive zone with speed, Sherangovic got the puck off a slick feed from Damon Severson. The 22-year-old had a couple steps on trailing defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, and that was all the space he needed to get his shot off.
Halak had no choice but to salute Sherangovic.
“I knew how much time was left, he just made a good play,” Halak said after the game, over Zoom. “He got a pass and he snapped it fast and it just was one of those that went in the five-hole. I wish I could take that one back, but it is what it is.”
Halak finished with 29 saves in a solid effort.
Here are some more notes from Saturday’s Bruins-Devils game:
— Trent Frederic is looking like a nice fit on the fourth line.
The Bruins elected to scratch Jack Studnicka on Saturday in lieu of sitting Frederic, and he rewarded his coach for the decision.
Frederic was everything he promised to be. Mostly skating on a line with Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner, Frederic brought energy, decent stickhandling, sound defense and plenty of ability to agitate. He and PK Subban had a private battle going much of the day.
“He did a nice job,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said following the game. “He was in people’s faces in terms of being physical, had a real good look late, protected some pucks. We’ll look at it closer for the detail part of the game, but the eye test was he was involved. He’s a young guy that’s still finding his way and we want involved every night, and I thought he did a good job with that.”
With David Pastrnak unlikely to return for a few more weeks, there will remain a spot up for grabs in the Bruins forward group for the foreseeable future. Early on, Frederic has done a solid job locking it down.
— The Bruins lost another winger, with Ondrej Kase exiting the game in the second period after a collision with Miles Wood.
Kase has a history of head injuries, which made the hit a little concerning. The Bruins ruled Kase questionable for the rest of the game, but he didn’t return. That he wasn’t outright ruled out right away is promising.
Following the game, Cassidy didn’t have an update on the winger, saying they would likely know more Sunday.
— In part because of Kase’s departure, Cassidy had the line blender on full tilt.
Although Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron began the afternoon with Anders Bjork on the right, Kase, Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci and Craig Smith all took shifts on the top line at some point.
“Playing with a lot of guys, sometimes it’s not a bad thing,” Smith, who began on the third line but ended up playing with a few other linemates in his debut, said. “It keeps you fresh. Everybody is new, I’m jumping in trying to be sharp and trying to be predictable for my linemates, but overall I think everybody was able to adjust to (the changes).”
Studnicka skated on the top line in the opener, meaning in six periods and two overtime frames of action thus far, the Marchand-Bergeron duo has had seven different right wingers.
— Ther Bruins finished with 28 shots in the game, but Cassidy was quick to say it should have been more.
Boston was a little too passive on occasion, especially in the third period with the game tied.
“We’re not shooting enough. We’re not playing off the original shot, and that to me is just not playing hockey for a while,” Cassidy said. “We’re always looking to make a pass and it showed tonight, it showed in our forward shot totals. I haven’t looked at them exactly, but they can’t be very encouraging. So we’ll address it and they’re going to have to buy into that.”
