Boston Bruins sneak past Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 in shoot-out – NHL Recap
Tyler Seguin tallied the lone shoot-out goal and Tuukka Rask turned aside 34 shots, as the Boston Bruins held off the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2, at the Nationwide Arena on Tuesday night.
Rich Peverley and David Krejci each scored a goal in regulation for Boston, which ended their four-game losing streak.
Boston Head Coach Claude Julien was pleased with Rask’s performance. He said after the game, “Definitely, it was one of his biggest and best games of the year. He was very poised and I thought he did a great job in the shootout.”
With this victory, the Bruins moved four points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League Northeast Division.
Grant Clitsome and Scottie Upshall both posted goals for Blue Jackets, who blew two leads and have lost eight of their previous nine games. Goal-keeper Steve Mason surrendered all three goals on 30 shots in the defeat.
Columbus rookie coach, Scott Arniel, was pleased with his side’s performance despite the defeat. He said, "We’re as happy as you can be without getting two points. I said to the coaches that was one of our best games in probably two or three weeks.”
Columbus got the scoring started with less than one minute remaining in the first period, as Clitsome converted a slap-shot through traffic.
Boston drew even in the 13th minute of the second period, as Krejci deflected a shot from Chara, which beat Mason to make it 1-1.
The Blue Jackets restored their one goal lead with less than eight minutes to play in regulation. The goal came when Upshall grabbed the puck in the slot and snapped a shot into the open net, giving him his 20th career-goal. It was Upshall’s fourth goal
in eight contests since being acquired by Blue Jackets at the trade deadline.
Less than three minutes after Upshall’s goal, the Bruins equalised the game at 2-2, as Peverley pumped home a short-handed goal.
Mason commented on the game turning so quickly in the final period and said, "It was a little bit of a setback, because we are on a high after the goal. But they got one back very quick, and for the rest of the play we kinda sat back."
Both teams could not make their chances in the extra-session, as Rask made three saves while Mason turned away five shots in the over-time.
Seguin finally notched the game-winner in the first round of the shoot-out. He confidently faked Mason with a left-to-right move and wristed a shot inside the right post to snatch the win.
An excited Seguin said after the game, “I felt great. It’s definitely nice to get back in the lineup and contribute to the team.”
The Bruins put in a fine performance and it will be interesting to see how they carry their winning momentum forward.
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