Well, perhaps he is actually a breath of fresh air for the Minnesota Wild, who were a bunch of conforming stiffs before Ilya Bryzgalov came along in a trade deadline deal with the Edmonton Oilers and was supposed to be quirky depth, but has thus far been the bell cow...
...his 6-0-3 record eye-opening, his .929 save percentage and minuscule 1.67 goals against average jaw-dropping - and for a guy that is hockey's number one flake, that's saying something.
 |
| Mikko Koivu scores the lone shootout goal in Minnesota's win |
Known for his daffy soundbites and wearing his emotions on his sleeve, the only thing that the Boston Bruins care about in relation to Bryzgalov are the numbers two and 142:15, representing the number of consecutive shutouts he's posted coming into Tuesday night's match at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, and the time that has elapsed since he's allowed a goal.
Both streaks came to an end on a Reilly Smith drive from the high point three minutes into the game, but that just tied the score at one as the Bruins and Wild set a pace more suitable for an All Star game, Jason Pominville scoring twice for the Wild in regulation and Mikko Koivu potting the lone goal in the shootout as Minnesota rallied for a 4-3 victory.
Ryan Suter also found twine for Minnesota, who clinched a playoff berth when the Phoenix Coyotes lost to Columbus in overtime before regulation ended for the Wild, then clinched the top wild card spot in the Western Conference with the extra point earned for the shootout win - while Boston still managed to increase their lead to three points over the St. Louis Blues in the race for the best record in hockey...
...Smith, Bergeron and Loui Eriksson scoring on Bryzgalov, who faced just 24 shots and stoned all three Boston shooters in the shootout period, while Bruins' netminder Tuukka Rask turned away 21 of the 24 shots he faced including half-a-dozen in a frantic overtime period that saw him making sprawling saves as Minnesota dictated the pace.
In fact, the pace was set and maintained at a high level by the Wild all evening against a Bruins roster that had been shuffled around by coach Claude Julien before the game to accommodate a night off for centerman David Krejci, who joined Jarome Iginla and Kevan Miller in the press box - Julien even rolling defenseman Torey Krug on the Merlot line as the left wing - his spot on the blue line taken by seldom used Corey Potter.
But despite the shuffling that affected all four lines, the Bruins were competitive, if not sharp - and held a 3-2 lead late into the third period when Suter potted the equalizer with just over a minute to play after Wild coach Mike Yeo pulled Bryzgalov in favor of the extra skater.
The opening period was a blur, starting with Pominville's first score, a drive from just inside the blue line that was more of a big whiff by Rask, who seemed to be mesmerized by the elevating puck as he watched it fly past to give the Wild the lead just over a minute into the contest - Smith's drive from the high point tied the game moments later, the puck skirting under the sliding Kyle Brodziak, Bryzgalov looking like he fully expected the puck to be blocked as he barely made a play on it.
Bergeron temporarily gave Boston their first lead of the game, potting his 29th from the slot when a scrum in front of the crease produced a loose puck right in the red-hot centerman's wheelhouse, a sand wedge shot later and it was 2-1 Boston midway through the opening frame...
...a lead that lasted only 29 seconds, Pominville circling in front of Rask after a faceoff in the Bruins' zone, taking a feed across the crease from Matt Moulson and wedging in front of Zdeno Chara to easily slap the puck past a stunned Rask to tie the score at two going into the rooms.
The Bruins took the lead once again, but not before all but four minutes had elapsed in the second period when captain Zdeno Chara zipped a shot from the point that pinballed between Gregory Campbell and Eriksson then past a helpless Breezy for the one goal lead, an advantage that would hold up until the final minute of regulation.
Pominville finding Suter wide open in the high slot Suter tied the score, his snap shot somehow finding it's way through a scrum in front of the Bruins' goal, setting the stage for an entertaining but scoreless overtime period, then Koivu ringing in a puck off the crossbar behind Rask to win it for the Wild in the shootout.
If the Bruins seemed a bit off on Tuesday night, it was just because of the imaginative line tweaking by Julien that got all seven of his healthy defensemen on the ice and flip-flopped the top two lines, with Carl Soderberg moving up into Krejci's spot to center Milan Lucic and Eriksson - and Dan Paille moving up to the third line to make room for Krug on the Merlot...
...but it was the revised defensive pairings that struggled at times, though it seems that the experiment between Andrej Mezsaros and Dougie Hamilton in the third pairing has promise, as Hamilton was particularly physical and engaged on the evening.
The Bruins now head to Winnipeg, where they can clinch the President's Cup and home ice advantage throughout the playoffs with a win over the Jets on Thursday night, coupled with a loss of any kind by the Blues.
No comments:
Post a Comment