#FBF: The Last Time the Bruins Won a Shootout
Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Bruins accomplished something they hadn’t experienced in almost four months: win a game in a shootout. The Bruins had lost seven consecutive shootouts before Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand’s scores gave the B’s the victory.
With their last shootout win coming all the way back on Nov. 21, 2014, here’s a look back at what has changed since that day…
In that game:
-The Bruins trailed the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-0 going into the third period. The B’s scored three unanswered goals to take the lead 11:32 in before Jack Johnson tied the game 1:15 later. Once neither team could put the puck in the net in overtime, the two teams headed for a shootout.
After a scoreless six and a half shootout rounds, rookie Alexander Khokhlachev, playing in just his second NHL game, beat Sergei Bobrovsky to give the Bruins the win.
The Bruins since then:
-That win marked the Bruins’ eighth win in a 10-game stretch, propelling them to 13-8. Their 26 points put them in third place in the Atlantic Division, five behind the Montreal Canadiens for first place in the Eastern Conference.
-The Bruins would tally just six more wins in 2014, ending the calendar year at 19-15-4 and out of the playoffs if the season ended on Jan. 1.
-Since that shootout win, the Bruins have gone 22-14-10 and occupy the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Washington Capitals for the first Wild Card spot.
The Bruins’ goal scorers in that game were Dennis Seidenberg, Matt Fraser, and Daniel Paille. Seidenberg hasn’t put a puck in the net since then, and has just five assists in 46 games since. Formerly the Bruins’ best shutdown defenseman outside of Zdeno Chara, Seidenberg has struggled this year, prompting speculation he still hasn’t quite recovered from the torn ACL that ended his 2013-14 season.
Paille has just four goals and five assists in 44 games since then – with two of those scores coming on the same night against Detroit on March 8. He went on a 36-game scoreless streak from Nov. 22 to Feb. 18, as the entire fourth line has struggled this season to pull their weight for the Black and Gold.
Fraser isn’t even with the team anymore, as the Bruins put him on waivers on Dec. 28, where he was claimed by the Edmonton Oilers a day later. Since first suiting up for Edmonton on Dec. 31, Fraser has three goals and four assists in 25 games with the Oilers.
Khokhlachev, who scored the game-winner in the seventh shootout round that gave the Bruins two points, played just two more games for the Bruins before being sent back to Providence, where he has been ever since.
-Rookie David Pastrnak, who was taken with the 25th pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, made his debut three days after the shootout win. In 31 games for the Bruins this year, the 18-year-old has tallied nine goals and nine assists, while giving the Bruins’ offense a spark they have been lacking most of this season.
–Niklas Svedberg earned the win in that game, but has been used sparingly since. He’s started just seven of the Bruins’ 46 games since then, going 4-2, while having to be pulled from their loss on Feb. 10 after giving up three goals on 10 shots to the Dallas Stars.
–Tuukka Rask, who rested that night, has been one of the main reasons the Bruins are in the playoff hunt. He’s played an exhausting 41 games since that shootout win, but has still put up strong numbers, going 18-11-10 with a .925 save percentage.
IN OTHER BOSTON SPORTS
Former Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval.
Boston Red Sox
-The Red Sox were reported to have been “pulling ahead’’ in the fight to sign free agent third baseman Pablo Sandoval, according to the Globe’s Nick Cafardo, writing that a source indicated the Sox were offering Sandoval a five-year, $95 million contract. The Sox ended up signing the 28-year-old to a five-year deal.
-WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reported that former Red Sox ace Jon Lester was planning to meet with two more teams after having already met with the Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Atlanta Braves. Lester eventually went to the Cubs on a six-year, $155 million deal.
-Former Red Sox reliever Andrew Miller was reported to have “multiple offers of at least three years,’’ according to Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi. Miller took his talents to the Bronx after signing a four-year, $36 million contract with the Yankees.
Patriots running back Jonas Gray.
New England Patriots
-The Patriots were coming off of their 42-20 demolishing of the Indianapolis Colts in Week 11. Jonas Gray, who ran for 201 yards and scored four touchdowns in that game, quickly went from hero to goat in less than a week, as he was sent home after oversleeping and showing up late to practice. Gray would get just 24 carries the rest of the season and was inactive for two of the Patriots three playoff games, including their Super Bowl XLIX win over the Seattle Seahawks.
– Two days after being released by the Pittsburgh Steelers, running back LeGarrette Blount returned to the Patriots on a two-year deal. Blount played eight games for the Patriots the rest of the year (including the playoffs) and ran for 470 yards and six touchdowns.
-In other NFL news, the Buffalo Bills were forced to move their Nov. 23 game against the New York Jets to Detroit after a historic snowstorm hit upstate New York, dumping more than six feet of snow in parts of the region and completely burying Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Coach Brad Stevens and guard Rajon Rondo.
Boston Celtics
-The Celtics were beaten by the Memphis Grizzlies 117-100, dropping their record to 4-7 on the young NBA season. Four of the Celtics’ five starters scored in double figures, but the bench provided little relief against a Grizzlies team that had lost just two of their first 13 games.
-Three members of that night’s starting lineup are no longer on the floor for the Celtics, as Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green were later traded to the Mavericks and Grizzlies, respectively, while Jared Sullinger is out for the rest of the year with a foot injury.
-With another rebuilding season seeming inevitable, the Celtics have put together a very entertaining season that has them on the cusp of the playoffs, despite their 27-36 record. Danny Ainge has gone from being questioned by fans to looking like a genius after the impressive trades that filled the Celtics roster with young, hungry players and have made the team quite exciting to watch.
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