Boston Bruins rebound to rout Ottawa Senators 5-3 -NHL Update
February has been up and down for the defending Stanley Cup champions but they managed to rebound after a shootout loss to Buffalo Sabres as Boston Bruins routed the Ottawa Senators, 5-3, Saturday night at the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Losing goalie, Craig Anderson, to a cut on his hand indefinitely, other players on the Ottawa team will need to step up, especially backup goaltender, Alex Auld, who faced 37 shots and managed to block 33.
"I felt good, but it wasn't enough," said Auld. "I think it's a good step. I think obviously I can just worry about myself and the way I play and the way I prepare.
Erik Karlsson gave Senators an early lead with his 14th goal of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season but Boston answered right back with two straight to overtake the Senators.
Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand added back-to-back goals for Boston to level and break that tie, both assisted by captain, Zdeno Chara.
"We got the start we were looking for, but then they score pretty quick after I lose a battle in our end and then they get a rebound and score," said Ottawa Senators captain, Daniel Alfredsson. "If we can hold on there, maybe we can get our legs going, but that kind of gave them some momentum."
Carter Camper added the third straight for Boston, 3:57 into the second, while David Krecji finalised the match in favour of the Bruins with his 13th on the power play, midway in the last.
Alfredsson tried to bring his team back with consecutive goals, a little over a minute apart, but Patrice Bergeron shot the insurance on an empty net, with less than 20 seconds remaining, courtesy of a quick turnaround.
Boston might not be considered as a team to make a replay of the 2011 NHL Playoffs but they certainly do have what it takes after their domination of a team like Ottawa, snapping Senators' four-game winning streak.
Bruins have the last of the month at home on Tuesday against Senators once again, which could show which team is ready to go into the playoffs, and which team still needs to work on some aspects of their game-play.
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