Plus/Minus: Bruins Down Devils 4-2 For Fifth Straight Win
BOSTON (CBS) - If you missed Monday night's Bruins game, a 4-2 home win over the New Jersey Devils, then you missed a highlight reel goal from Boston rookie Seth Griffith.
It was a great individual effort from Griffith, who blocked a shot, cut between a pair of New Jersey defensemen and lifted a backhanded shot between his legs, which went five-hole through the legs of Corey Schneider.
The shot really energized the Bruins bench and gave the team a two goal lead late in the second period. Reilly Smith scored just over one minute later and the final score held solid at 4-2.
It was the Bruins' fifth win in a row, and the team is now 6-1 without top defenseman and captain Zdeno Chara.
Following the win, 98.5 The Sports Hub's Adam Jones had on Dave Goucher and Bob Beers of the Bruins Radio Network to break it all down.
"The effort it took to accomplish that [Griffith goal] -- if I'm New Jersey I don't like that it went in -- but from a Bruins perspective what a great effort at a critical time in the game," said color man Bob Beers. "It was 2-2, New Jersey had some momentum after the [Jaromir] Jagr goal, it was late in the second period and then you get that. Somebody needed to do something big; you talk about that on the bench all the time, like, 'Who's going to be the hero?' Usually it's reserved for the third period, but that was good timing right there."
The Smith goal after the Griffith goal continued a hot streak of excellence from the second line of the Bruins.
"They've been really good lately. The last three games they've been the Bruins best line," Dave Goucher said of the Patrice Bergeron line. "And in the previous two games they were really the only line that had anything going in terms of being a threat in the offensive zone. Brad Marchand didn't show up in the score sheet, but he was terrific tonight. Now for the Bruins the question is can they get other lines in the mix?"
Listen below for their full analysis!
After his chat with Dave and Bob, Adam talked about the Bruins that were standouts and the Bruins that were stragglers in their win over the Devils in a segment he calls "Plus/Minus."
Plus
Seth Griffith
"Where else do you start than with the guy with the highlight reel goal and a legitimate Goal Of The Year candidate? It was an unreal individual effort. Seth Griffith is fitting in nicely on that Bruins 'first line.'"
Patrice Bergeron
"His whole line has been finding its stride, but Bergeron specifically was a force against New Jersey. He had two assists tonight and one goal, which was his third of the season. A three-point night for Bergeron."
Tuukka Rask
"Tuukka stood tall for the Bruins tonight. Not that he was shaky in the first couple of periods, but he didn't do much to stand out. But in that third period the Bruins were outshot 14-3 and Rask was constantly under a barrage. It was a big period for the Bruins netminder, as he picked up the victory. Twenty six saves in the game, and 14 came in the third."
Minus
Dougie Hamilton
"I thought Dougie struggled. He had a hand in both goals tonight for New Jersey, one a brutal turnover and the other screening his goalie."
Torey Krug
"This is kind of harsh and I get that. It was his first game back from injury and you didn't really notice him. He had 21:00 + minutes of ice time, which was good, but just one shot from an offensive-minded defenseman. Not enough out of Torey Krug tonight, I thought."
Third Period
"As good as Rask was making 14 saves, it was a disappointing third period for the Bruins. The Bruins were outshot 14-3. They were playing in front, but it didn't seem like the same team from the previous 40 minutes of the game."
Listen below!
Hear every game of the 2014-15 Boston Bruins season on 98.5 The Sports Hub — the flagship station of the Boston Bruins. Pregame coverage with Dave Goucher and Bob Beers begins 30 minutes prior to every game!
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