The familiar
refrain from last season taught us that if the Boston Bruins got off to an
early lead, chances were very good that they would prevail in the end - and
while it was rarely easy, the sharp goaltending of Tuukka Rask made it seem
that way...
...so it can be
said with some certainty that the Bruins have picked up right where they left
off in their 2019-2020 season opener, newbie Brett Ritchie and Danton Heinen
potting early goals and Rask making it hold up as Boston ruined the Dallas
Stars' home opener with a 2-1 victory on Thursday night.
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| Ritchie being congratulated on his first goal as a Bruin |
The Bruins jumped
out on the Stars like a Jack-in-the-box, hustling to keep the puck in their
offensive zone to counter the speed skating of the Stars to take a two goal
lead, then Rask stopped 28 of 29 Dallas offerings, his only miscue zigging
while Dallas forward Roppe Hintz zagged on a second period breakaway that
turned out to be the game's final score.
The book on Dallas
net minder Ben Bishop was apparently to attack his stick side from the left
wing, and that's where both Boston goals arrived on net from.
Ritchie, who played
for the Stars last season, took advantage of a Charlie Coyle diving blue line
theft, taking control of the loose puck along the left wing dashers and smoking
a wrister past Bishop just over one minute into the match to give the Bruins a
quick lead...
...then Heinen blew
one by Bishop four minutes later on the Bruins' first man-advantage of the
season, the second-line power play forward snapping a wrister from the left
circle - Coyle again figuring in the play as he set a perfect screen in front
of the besieged Bishop, who never saw the puck until it found the back of the
net, both Boston scores coming from identical angles, low and to the stick side
of Bishop.
Dallas finally
found their legs midway through the first period, at times skating circles
around the Bruins' defense and putting plenty of pressure on Rask as his
defensemen struggled with the speed and sharp passing of the Stars' forwards,
and it seemed to be just a matter of time before that speed and precision paid
off.
Sure enough, midway
through the second period, Hintz took control of a wobbler in the neutral zone
and blew past two Bruins' defenders like they were standing still, easily
beating Rask with a left-to-right dangle in the crease to cut Boston's lead in
half.
But Rask made the
lead hold up the rest of the way, his Bruins attacking the blue line to counter
the Stars' speed game and forcing them to set up a clunky looking cycle, the
defensemen clearing out traffic in front of the net to give the Finn a clear
line of sight - the only threat coming from the high slot deep into the third
period, which Rask stoned with a spectacular split save to preserve the
victory.
The Bruins open the
season playing four straight on the road, their next effort to come on Saturday
night in Phoenix, a match with the Phil Kessel-led Coyotes on tap, then
travelling to Las Vegas and Colorado before returning home to take on the New
Jersey Devils in next Saturday's home opener.
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