Boston Bruins (21-14-4 46pts) v. Chicago Blackhawks (15-20-6 36pts)
Game Recap:
For the 11th Annual Winter Classic, the host Chicago Blackhawks would fall to the Boston Bruins 4-2 at the historic Notre Dame Stadium. This was a tightly contested game that showed great play in the net for both Tuukka Rask and Cam Ward, but it would be Sean Kuraly would bat in the loose puck to score the game winner for the Bruins.
Lineups:
Boston Bruins:
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson
Danton Heinen — Sean Kuraly — Chris Wagner
Joakim Nordstrom — Colby Cave — Noel Acciari
Zdeno Chara — Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug — John Moore
Matt Grzelcyk — Kevan Miller
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak
Scratched: Steven Kampfer, Ryan Donato
Injured: Charlie McAvoy (lower body)
Suspended: David Backes
Chicago Blackhawks:
Brandon Saad — Jonathan Toews — Dominik Kahun
Artem Anisimov — Dylan Strome — Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat — David Kampf — Dylan Sikura
Brendan Perlini — Marcus Kruger — John Hayden
Duncan Keith — Erik Gustafsson
Gustav Forsling — Brent Seabrook
Carl Dahlstrom — Connor Murphy
Cam Ward
Collin Delia
Scratched: Chris Kunitz, Andreas Martinsen
Injured: Corey Crawford (concussion)
Officials:
First Period:
Bruins Penalty – 5:52 – Brandon Carlo 2 minutes for Holding
Blackhawks Goal – 8:30 – Brendan Perlini (5) from David Kampf (10) and Dylan Sikura (3)
Blackhawks Penalty – 12:05 – Artem Anisimov 2 minutes for Tripping
Bruins PPG – 12:38 – David Pastrnak (24) from Patrice Bergeron (20)
Bruins Penalty – 17:03 – Matt Grzelcyk 2 minutes for High Sticking
End of 1st – BOS – 1 CHI – 1
Shots 14 12
Faceoffs 08 09
Hits 10 10
PP 1/1 0/2
Analysis:
Bruins – The Bruins had a good start to the game by generating good zone time that lead to two really good scoring chances. However, after their first penalty kill, they would still give up the first goal of the game, but they would respond by capitalizing on their lone powerplay of the period.
Blackhawks – The Blackhawks played a good solid period that saw them generate chances with their powerplay opportunities, and also score the first goal of the game.
Need to Do:
Bruins – The Bruins need to continue pressing the play in the Blackhawks zone, and continue to capitalize on their powerplay opportunities.
Blackhawks – The Blackhawks need to do a better job on special teams. They need to generate more traffic in front of Tuukka Rask while on the powerplay, and to lockdown their zone better and force the Bruins to shoot from outside of the slot area while on the penalty kill.
Second Period:
Bruins Penalty – 2:23 – Sean Kuraly 2 minutes for Hooking
Blackhawks Goal – 11:24 – Dominik Kahun (5) from Erik Gustafsson (14) and Jonathan Toews (20)
Blackhawks Penalty – 17:57 – Erik Gustafsson 2 minutes for Roughing
Bruins PPG – 18:48 – Patrice Bergeron (13) from David Pastrnak (26) and Torey Krug (20)
Bruins Penalty – 19:50 – Matt Grzelcyk 2 minutes for Hooking
End of 2nd – BOS – 2 CHI – 2
Shots 24 28
Faceoffs 18 23
Hits 20 21
PP 2/2 0/3
Analysis:
Bruins – Not a good first half to the second period for the Bruins, but their special teams was a key factor in this period as they killed off another penalty, and scored on their lone powerplay opportunity to tie the game at 2 a piece.
Blackhawks – The Blackhawks dominated the first half of this period generating 12 of the first 16 shots. However, they were unable to capitalize on their lone powerplay of the period, and were scored against on their lone penalty kill of the period as well, going 0 for 2 when down a man.
Need to Do:
Bruins – The Bruins need to continue with their strong penalty killing, but they need to also play much better at 5 on 5 as they are being dominated by the Blackhawks at even strength.
Blackhawks – The Blackhawks need to start this period strong and make the most of this powerplay that they get to start the period with. Also the Blackhawks need to do a better job of penalty killing if they hope to win this game. Discipline is key.
Third Period:
Blackhawks Penalty – 1:03 – Patrick Kane 2 minutes for High Sticking
Blackhawks Penalty – 1:42 – Artem Anisimov 2 minutes for Tripping
Blackhawks Penalty – 4:56 – Gustav Forsling 2 minutes for Tripping
Bruins Goal – 10:20 – Sean Kuraly (4) from Chris Wagner (3) and Matt Grzelcyk (10)
Bruins ENG – 19:27 – Brad Marchand (13) from David Krejci (24)
End of 3rd – BOS – 4 CHI – 2
Shots 36 38
Faceoffs 29 37
Hits 30 25
PP 2/5 0/4
Analysis:
This was a closer game than it should have been due to Chicago’s lack of discipline this period, but both goaltenders were spectacular. However, it would be the Bruins play overwhelming the Blackhawks to secure the victory.
Next Up:
Boston (22-14-4 48pts) v. Calgary (24-12-4 52pts)
Chicago (15-21-6 36pts) @ NY Islanders (21-13-4 46pts)
