|
 That has been hard to do when the Boston Bruins have held
third-period leads against the Philadelphia Flyers this season.
But on Monday at Wells Fargo Center, Connolly and the Bruins refused
to let this one slip away as the right winger netted a game-winning
goal with 1:54 left in regulation to stave off the Flyers for a 3-2
victory.
"We knew it was going to be tough," Connolly said. "They're good in
this building, we knew they were going to come."
In two games this season Philadelphia came back from third-period
deficits for a pair of wins over Boston.
Not this time.
The Bruins (26-17-5) have won five of their last six games since
falling to the Flyers on Jan. 13 and hold an Eastern Conference
playoff spot in third place of the Atlantic Division with one game
remaining before the All-Star break.
"When you're ahead of teams, you have to keep those points for
yourself," Boston center Patrice Bergeron said. "We gave
(Philadelphia) four points, so it's one of those where we wanted to
get that win in regulation."
The Flyers (20-18-8) have dropped three in a row and four of five
since that victory on Jan. 13, slipping to seventh place in the
Metropolitan Division.
With Philadelphia trailing 2-0, right winger Wayne Simmonds scored
two goals to tie it -- one in the second period, the other in the
third at 12:08. The Flyers have five wins when trailing after two
periods, but couldn't get their sixth.
"It's fun when you win, not when you lose," Simmonds said of
comebacks. "So that wasn't too much fun."
Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (17-14-4) was strong, making 34 saves
and improving to 10-2-2 lifetime against the Flyers.
Connolly, who had just one goal since Dec. 2 and was a healthy
scratch last game, gave Rask a win and himself a confidence boost.
"Obviously it's been a frustrating little while," Connolly said.
"I've been getting lots of chances and good opportunities, so to see
that one go in in such a big game right before the All-Star break,
it's good."
Philadelphia goaltender Michal Neuvirth (10-6-2) played in just his
second game since Jan. 5 and stopped 28 shots. His team fell behind
with a lackluster and undisciplined first period.
"This time of year you can't play 40 minutes," Flyers defenseman
Michael Del Zotto said. "We had a tough start. We've talked about
how we have to play a full 60 minutes if we want to be successful,
especially against these teams we're playing here. We're playing for
every point."
Boston used its second-ranked power play to jump on Philadelphia in
the first period.
It took just 5:04 for the Bruins to strike first when centers Ryan
Spooner and Bergeron got into the slot and connected for a 1-0 lead
on the man advantage. Spooner delivered a short pass to Bergeron,
who simply guided the puck past a recovering Neuvirth.
It was Bergeron's 19th goal and Spooner's 26th assist.
[to top of second column] |
With 2:33 left in the opening period, the Bruins went on the power
play again and capitalized as left winger Brad Marchand went top
shelf from one knee to supply Boston a 2-0 cushion.
Defenseman Zdeno Chara facilitated Marchand's fifth goal in as many
games by slicing the Philadelphia defense with a cross-ice pass.
"We're kind of shooting ourselves in the foot the first period," Del
Zotto said. "It haunted us tonight."
After a big first period, the Bruins shot themselves in the foot
during the second by committing four penalties. However, Boston
withstood Philadelphia's persistent attack, killing off three of the
four power plays despite being outshot 15-6 over the stanza.
"It was a tough 10 minutes for us," Rask said. "But we battled
through, battled hard and kept them at one goal."
Simmonds scored after he got the puck from center Brayden Schenn,
who impressively fed him across the goal crease to bring
Philadelphia within one.
The Flyers then made their third-period push as Simmonds scored the
equalizer.
"We didn't let that deter us from what we wanted to do and that was
win the game," Bruins coach Claude Julien said.
Boston still trusted itself.
"We have enough guys that can send the right message there on the
bench," Julien said. "And they did."
NOTES: Bruins G Tuukka Rask was a game-time decision but started in
net. Rask was a late scratch from the Saturday game because of a
lower-body injury. ... Flyers C Sean Couturier missed his second
consecutive game with a lower-body injury. Couturier, who is
considered day-to-day, has nine goals and 13 assists on the season.
... C Landon Ferraro, D Joe Morrow and RW Tyler Randell were all
healthy scratches for the Bruins. RW Brett Connolly returned to the
lineup and started on Boston's top line after being scratched
Saturday. ... Flyers C Jordan Weal, acquired in a trade with the Los
Angeles Kings on Jan. 6, made his debut with Philadelphia after he
was a healthy scratch in seven consecutive games. C Sam Gagner sat
to open a spot for Weal. ... Flyers D Brandon Manning entered the
lineup in place of D Evgeny Medvedev.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
