The Boston Bruins are dealing with some significant injury headaches. With that in mind, they’ll sacrifice some style points if they still end up getting wins.
That’s the story on Tuesday, as a 6-5 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings likely won’t make Anton Khudobin or the coaching staff as happy as possible, but they carved out the W.
To some extent, the Bruins’ big guns simply outscored their problems. Anthony Mantha had quite a night for himself with two goals and two assists, but it wasn’t enough to edge Boston.
Even with Patrice Bergeron sidelined, David Pastrnak (three assists) and especially Brad Marchand continued to dominate helpless defenders. Marchand collected a hat trick with the overtime game-winner and also generated two assists for a fantastic five-point night.
If he didn’t miss time thanks to factors including a five-game suspension, you wonder if the agitating superstar might force his way into the overstuffed Hart Trophy conversation.
Brad Marchand of the @NHLBruins collected 3-2—5 to match his single-game career highs for goals (3x) and points (4x). #NHLStats #DETvsBOS pic.twitter.com/VcQuJH9UHr
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 7, 2018
Torey Krug is another play who might step up with Charlie McAvoy sidelined for at least one month. The offensively gifted defenseman generated two goals and two assists on Tuesday. Krug might have his flaws overall, yet it’s tough to argue with this production; he’s already at 13 goals in 2017-18.
Speaking of people missing time, Frans Nielsen was shaken up by a questionable hit late in the first period, which might leave David Backes vulnerable to a suspension:
The Bruins now improve to 90 points in 64 games played, keeping themselves in the Atlantic Division title race. Although this win was far from pretty in their own end, it may also send the message - both to the Bruins and their opponents - that this edition of the B’s can win in a variety of ways.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.