Boston Bruins defeat two Eastern Conference opponents but lose defenseman Zdeno Chara to injury
The Boston Bruins accrued two wins and one loss this past week, putting them in seventh place in the Eastern Conference and eighth place in the entire league.
The Bruins have played a total of 10 games since their season began on Oct. 8, recording five wins and five losses in that span.
Last Tuesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks at TD Garden started out as a relatively even affair, with a goal by winger Brad Marchand at 13:57 of the first period and one by Sharks winger Logan Couture less than three minutes later, leaving the two teams level after one period of play.
However, the Sharks took control during a hectic second period.
Defenseman Torey Krug scored a power play goal 6:54 into the period to give the Bruins a lead, but it was followed by two goals from the visitors within one minute of each other to give the Sharks a lead.
Couture scored his second goal of the game at 16:15 into the period and Sharks center Joe Thornton tipped a pass from winger Joe Pavelski past Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask for a 3-2 San Jose lead heading into the third period.
The Bruins reclaimed their lead in the third period and held on for the win. winger Seth Griffith tied up the game just 4:50 into the period. Minutes later, winger Gregory Campbell put the Bruins ahead for good, giving the team a 4-3 lead.
Center Patrice Bergeron sealed the win with less than one minute left in the game with a short-handed empty-net goal, giving the Bruins a 5-3 victory over San Jose.
On Thursday night, former Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuck played at TD Garden for the first time as a member of the visiting New York Islanders.
Boychuck was traded to the Islanders on Oct. 4 for a pair of second-round draft picks in upcoming drafts in order to give the Bruins more salary cap room for this season’s trading deadline.
Though the game ended in a loss, Boston was dealt a bigger blow when defenseman Zdeno Chara went down with a knee injury that could keep him out anywhere for the next four to six weeks.
Islanders center Frans Nielsen scored the first goal of the game at 6:21 of the first period, but the Bruins fought back and tied it up with a goal from winger Milan Lucic with less than two minutes left in the period.
Chara was injured with 8:44 left in the first period when he checked Islanders center John Tavares. Though Chara finished his shift, he did not return to play after he left the ice with 8:12 remaining.
The Islanders solidified their lead during the second period, with a goal from Islanders winger Kyle Okposo at 1:30 and one from winger Cal Clutterbuck at 9:27, closing out the 3-2 win.
The Bruins finished off the week in Toronto on Saturday with a 4-1 win. With Chara out, the Bruins, behind young defenseman Dougie Hamilton, stepped up to take on Chara’s role.
Hamilton scored a goal against the Maple Leafs and produced two assists in the win.
The Bruins dominated the majority of the game against Toronto, with winger Carl Soderberg putting the Bruins on the scoreboard just 3:27 into the first, assisted by Bergeron and Hamilton. Cener David Krejci scored at 15:58 in the second period—again with an assist from Hamilton.
The Bruins secured their win in the third, with a short-handed goal from Campbell at 2:32 and a goal from Hamilton less than two minutes later. Maple Leafs winger Richard Panik scored the first and only Maple Leafs goal 14:27 into the third period.
The Bruins will take on the Minnesota Wild tonight at 7 p.m. at the TD Garden.
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