‘Obviously it’s on me:’ What Patrice Bergeron had to say about his costly penalty in overtime
The Blue Jackets scored 43 seconds after Bergeron was whistled for a tripping penalty.
Nine minutes into the first overtime of Game 2, Bruins center Patrice Bergeron kicked a puck onto his stick in front of the Blue Jackets net and tried to bury it past Sergei Bobrovsky. He whiffed on his first shot, and the Columbus goalie denied his second.
Blue Jackets center Matt Duchene had an eerily similar opportunity at the 16:18 mark of the second overtime. This time, Duchene tapped the puck from skate to stick and slid it between Tuukka Rask’s legs to give Columbus a 3-2 win and even the second-round series 1-1.
Duchene’s goal came 43 seconds after Bergeron was whistled for a tripping penalty. As Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones brought the puck out from behind the Columbus net, Bergeron stuck his stick between Jones’s legs and sent him to the ice.
After the defeat, the four-time Selke Trophy winner took responsibility for the costly penalty.
“You work hard to put yourself in a good position throughout the game, tight game. Obviously, it’s on me, try to avoid the penalty and that’s it. It’s a tough loss but we got to move forward,” Bergeron said.
Bergeron did not dispute the call.
“The stick got caught,” he said. “Obviously it’s one of those plays that you make many times and it’s not going to happen but my stick shouldn’t be there at this point of the game.”
In the first-round series against Toronto, Bergeron had three goals and four assists. He’s still searching for his first point against Columbus.
“In a playoff series, it’s always about looking forward and making sure we rectify those things,” he said. “A lot of it is about — play smarter, I guess.”
The Bruins head to Columbus for Game 3 on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
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