Things heated up in the second game of the Bruins' two-game series against the Rangers, as Trent Frederic and Jeremy Lauzon dropped the gloves and Nick Ritchie scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win.
Jaroslav Halak made 21 saves to pick up his first shutout of the season. It was the Bruins' fifth straight win and extended their point streak to 10 games. Here are three key takeaways:
1. Five-forward power-play unit not working
Searching for power-play production, Bruce Cassidy has elected of late to try a five-forward unit.
While the combination of David Pastrnak, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Nick Ritchie showcases a surplus of skill, they haven’t generated many scoring chances.
Without Charlie McAvoy’s or Matt Grzelcyk’s skating ability, this unit has had a hard time breaking out with speed and creating zone entries.
Furthermore, once they do set up in the offensive zone they’re getting too cute, looking for the perfect play rather than simplifying and getting shots to the net.
They’re also getting outnumbered to loose pucks which should never be the case on the man advantage.
This five-forward approach may be better suited for 5-on-3 power-play opportunities due to more time and space, but for traditional power plays they should revert back to having a defenseman at the top of the umbrella.
2. Rivalry renewed
The anticipation heading into the season was that eight games between divisional opponents would ignite intense rivalries.
For the Bruins and Rangers it took just two meetings for the animosity to start boiling over.
It started in the second period when Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba stepped up and landed a borderline high hit on Jakub Zboril, which led to a minor confrontation with Charlie McAvoy.
As the period moved along a series of scrums and fights would ensue, beginning with Trent Frederic and Brendan Lemieux.
After Nick Ritchie’s goal to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead, Frederic and Lemieux would fight off the ensuing faceoff, and both landed heavy blows.
Frederic wasn’t too thrilled, feeling as though Lemieux got a head start in the encounter by not squaring off and mouthed “We’re going again” as the two sat in the penalty box.
Fortunately for Frederic, he’ll play six more games against Lemieux and the Rangers to settle the score.
Brad Marchand then introduced himself to Brett Howden with some stick work after a whistle leading to a scrum involving everyone on the ice, and Jeremy Lauzon dropped the gloves with Pavel Buchnevich to cap off a physical period.
With the game in the balance in the third period tempers cooled off a bit, but there’s no doubt the final six meetings between these original-six rivals will be emotional.
3. Ritchie playing to his size
Many were quick to judge Nick Ritchie during his brief time with the Bruins last season.
After playing in a handful of games for the black and gold before the pandemic shutdown and a few forgettable games in the playoff bubble, there’s no doubt Ritchie was eager to get going this season and prove some skeptics wrong.
About a month into the season, Ritchie sits fourth on the Bruins in scoring and added the lone goal in the Bruins' 1-0 win over the Rangers Friday night.
With five goals, five assists and 10 points on the season, Ritchie once again played effectively for the Bruins en route to their fifth consecutive victory.
It’s apparent the Bruins coaching staff has had conversations with Ritchie about using size to his advantage on the forecheck and in front of the net.
In 17:10 of ice time, Ritchie had six shots on net, which was tied for the team lead to go along with his game-winning goal.
Friday’s goal, however, was much different than his prior four this season, which were net front on the power play.
This time, Ritchie received a pass in stride from David Krejci and used his speed to drive the net and follow up on his own rebound to give the Bruins the lead. It was his first even-strength goal of the season.
Ritchie continues to be a pleasant surprise for the Bruins.
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