For Boston Bruins fans, this game against the New York Islanders proved for some enjoyable Saturday afternoon hockey. The slow start melted away into a full-on offensive onslaught and many different Bruins added great milestones to their personal stat sheets as the team put together a 6-3 win.
Near the end of a mostly slow first period, David Krejci opened the scoring when he got his 22nd goal of the season. This matched his best season in term of goal-scoring, 2008-09, although later he would put away number 23 and further his place in the 20+ goals club. Kyle Okposo answered less than half a minute later to tie the game up heading into first intermission.
Gregory Campbell added a shot of adrenaline into what was shaping up to be a sleepy second when he took on Micheal Haley. Not long after that, Chris Kelly scored his 20th goal of the season and joined the 20+ goals club too. He was already having his best goal-scoring season to date, but hitting that round number 20 surely must feel good. The momentum seemed to slow down and the second period got a little quiet again, however. P.A. Parenteau tied it up yet again and so the Bruins took one more tie into one more intermission.
But that third period was almost all Boston, much to the delight of Bruins fans who either traveled to see the game or live in the area anyway. Brad Marchand got his 27th goal of the year off an assist from Tyler Seguin, who turned around seven minutes later and decided to net his 27th too—with Marchand on the secondary assist. Parenteau did score again, properly corralling a centering pass and firing it past Marty Turco, but that would be the end of the Islanders' score sheet. Patrice Bergeron added his 21st of the year and then Krejci's second goal of the night happened 24 seconds later.
Milan Lucic assisted on two of the game's goals, providing him with the numbers needed to have his best season to date in terms of helpers. This tough guy excels in many areas: he too is a 20+ goals club member, but he also has more than 100 penalty minutes to his name.
In total, the line of Bergeron, Marchand and Seguin produced eight points: three goals and five assists. This line can be absolutely magic when it's intact and working at its best. I would say that this game is an example of when that line is optimal.
The 20+ goals club is getting pretty crowded, too. It now has six members: Marchand, Seguin, Bergeron, Kelly, Lucic and Krejci. If you want a little sadness with your happiness, consider that Nathan Horton was at 17 goals when he went down at the end of January with a concussion. If he was still in the lineup, certainly he would be a member of this club too.
Now the Bruins remain in the New York City area to take on the New York Rangers on April 1. The game moved from being a matinee to starting at 7:00 p.m. The Rangers are first in the Eastern Conference and the Bruins have not won any of their three previous meetings this season. This is the last regular-season chance to right that ship a little bit.
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